Inflatable space stations take off

[SmartAlx]

BTW The inflatable module was originated by NASA. It was intended to be a habitation module for the ISS. They scrapped it but Bigelow saw the value. The fabric is made of many layers of various materials, some self healing. It's very sturdy. If I had to choose between the shuttle and Bigelow's Genesis 1, I would take shelter in Genesis 1.  Even during a solar storm. If they really did put water between the layers it would offer some protection against gamma and cosmic radiation.

[SmartAlx]

We had two of those habitation modules at the ends of two extendable tethers. The entire ship can be spun to provide artificial gravity. The tethers allow the arms to expand depending on the pull of gravity you want. Our craft could go to Mars and provide Mars like gravity on the way and on the way back to Earth it could gradually extend till it provided Earth like gravity, allowing the astronauts to gradually adapt to the gravity they need.

[SmartAlx]

Bigelow actually was actually planning on using these in a vehicle that spins. I was on a student team that worked side by side with Bob Bigelow on his space hotel concept 12 years ago.  We visited his facility in Vegas. Very very cool. We went inside a model of this inflatable module. I won't detail his hotel concept but you can see ours here.

h++p://arch.uh.edu/programs/gr­aduateprog/spacegradprog/index­.php

[UnTiedMusicStudio]

My original wedding rings are on Genesis II as part of their "Fly Your Stuff" program :) We had new rings made for our 15th anniversary and decided to fly our original rings into space for our 20th. pics etc at untiedmusic dit com slash 20years

[SuperColonel77]

Amazing our first step to an artificial gravity space station I'd love to work on this thing.

[the26thhour]

Balloons in space - who knew?

[Kapitananime]

News flash. Its 2011 and no space stations are for rent.

[GolasgilEldemar]

@Kapitananime How do you actually know?

Betcha Sheen already uses it on spring break....

[mattetjus]

@Kapitananime

Bigelow currently have sometime in 2014 stated as launch date.

The russians increase the launch costs when NASA also started to use their services more heavily if i understand it correctly, making Bigelow alter their launch plans. (they have signed for a launch with SpaceX in 2014)

[Deckers2006]

Where is the gravity? The women do not respond well to gravity void environments. If you want full support for these plans, at least keep up with what NASA gas been saying. We need gravity. Circa space odyssey 2001 {the movie}. There is never going to be a time when we can do without gravity and become somewhat productive. And we cannot reproduce in a weightless environment. Physically maybe, but not medically without accidental or spontaneous loss of the child's life.

[jamesbondaygee]

Aren't inflatable structures at risk for popping?? Isn't there a bunch space debris in orbit?

[MrC0MPUT3R]

@jamesbondaygee Apparently they are made of a material stronger than those of the hard shell design.

[theotrotchie]

It would make all of you vomit to know how this creep funded his projects. It's not so much his view of earth as it is his view of what goes on in his creepy budget suites. If you're ever a guest in Las Vegas, don't stay there at the budget suites........because what happens in vegas, winds up on the internet

[omega4chimp]

i was thining that we should have actual building built on the moon.

[TrickyEmu]

Okay. Stop joking. Roaches are indeed the best examples since they like places human beings like, too.

[TrickyEmu]

Great. The last thing I want in space are roaches!

[MikDonsen]

Anyone tearing on musk is ignorant or works for his competitors. He's producing a product way cheaper than anyone else. He's literally making everthing else possible. That being said he's only one part in something very big. Bigelow is another. The getting there is now covered. What we need next is a way to produce a space economy, mining, agricultre, manufacturing and researh.

[trnjana]

Око милион долара ће коштати проведена ноћ у соби хотела у свемиру планирано за 2015. годину

[Barnarded]

Why the hell is galactic suite getting all the fucking attention? Galactic suite hasn't even put a working prototype up in space and they claim they are going to launch the first space hotel by 2012? Yet Bigelow already has two working prototypes up in space. And yet Galactic suite is getting all the media attention when its clear they probably will never put a hotel up in space at all. I just dont get it.

[linearpcm]

hmm...yah gr8! all needs 2 b done 1st in continue bombing every nation that wont give their gold and oil with ease in the name of peace, then next bomb moon and harvest it untill its dead too then lets go all into small cans and be shooted in space LOL..5 carrots for each family and 1 winniepooh softtoy as a partner of life..nomore physical experiences LAff..do not wake up can life is teh best eva! LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO­OL!!

[depaulsto]

Boeing's Crew Space Transportation Craft (CST) 100 is proposed which will act as a commercial space taxi taking astronauts and space passengers to and from low-earth orbit.

When Bigelow Aerospace unveils it's Orbital Space Capsule Complex, it will be much more efficient to store equipment than the ISS.

[LanceWinslow5]

It's a brilliant concept, this is very wise. Humankind needs to continue with these strategies.

[datzfast]

well i suppose the same micrometeorite protection could be used as a bullet proof vest for soldiers but do we really want them protected when the purpose of war is to kill numbers.

[patio87]

New scientist has the worst narrators.

[nerox2006x]

The ISS costs 100 billion dollars, imagine if we buit it out of inflatable modules like this. It would be bigger and probably alot cheaper! This is why Obama wants NASA to go private...

[robotmonkey73]

I have strongly opposed nearly everything Obama has done (I am a Libertarian) but I am glad to see that a president is recognizing the potential of the private space industry, even if he is a socialist bent on destroying freedom :)

This and legalizing stem cell research are the only good things he has done really, but they are two really good things that could change what humans are capable of

[will0ughby]

@robotmonkey73 can we please not make this political sir?

[StealthBlue]

Why not have an American company deliver the payload needed for Genesis I instead of Russian space agency. SpaceX for example is already preparing to deliver payloads for NASA to the ISS.

[swunt10]

@StealthBlue spacex is worth shit. they are to stupid to build rockets, thats why they fail nearly everytime they try to launch a rocket. the only good thing about spacex is the media work that they have done. they tried to cut costs at every single part of the rocket and they faild because rocket are as simple as posible by now, even a privat company can't do it more simple. especialy nasa knows that and thats why they didn't gave spacex as much money as other companies.

[Hypergalactica]

@swunt10 And you sir are a little out of touch with reality. Musk's ambitions are big, and while he will fail on some stuff the lessons he learns from them will lead to greater success. While SpaceX may have been given less money by NASA, they have not been unsuccessful: They have had 6 launches so far, and only 3 have failed. A 50/50 track record may not be good, but that's not a failure "nearly everytime!" While NASA's been doing it longer, rocket tech is within the hands of anybody (cont...)

[Hypergalactica]

@swunt10 ...with the dough and time to do it. NASA was once failing quite often: The first US orbital rocket program (Vanguard) failed 8 out of 11 times, and they had lots more money. Failures are inevitable, but the successes of commercial space so far prove that, despite explosions, delays and cost cutting, they are catching up to NASA fast. Who knows who will succeed in this race, but the future of space travel is commercial and not totally dominated by government.

[swunt10]

@Hypergalactica im not sure about what you wanted to say but we are not in the 60s. we already know how to build rockets. their is no time and money for trial and error. you simply can throw the most important parts of a rocket away in order to maximise profit. that only shows that youre not interested in space exploration but in making the big money. oh and 3 out of 6 sounds not only bad its even worse because the 3 successes are not really successes, maybe they didn't explode but nothing more.

[TheWimbleton]

@swunt10 The Merlin engine has never actually failed, and a Falcon rocket has never exploded; a few minor structural details cause all three failures. Since 9 Merlin engines were flown on the Falcon 9, it could be said that Merlin engines have succesfully flown to orbit 14 times, and failed 3 times. We'll all have to wait and see in the coming months and years to see who is really right about the viability of truely commercial spaceflight.

[magic2224]

so... what does this thing doo i dont know what it does does'nt make any sense :\

[702LTR450]

bigelow is the shit, im trying to get a job there now.

[Caliosg]

whats happens to it when they finish with it then. does it come back to earth or do they just leave it?

[will0ughby]

@Caliosg standard fall-back into the atmosphere

[beardmuffin]

Holy ficking shit

[Straitjacket2007]

If only the human race could give up war, we'd have more than enough cash to explore space. But until then checkout this short film of what is might be like. /watch?v=OMEnIWtmDXU

[tjmac7]

thats like asking dogs not to bark. war is a part of human behaviour, realistically we need to learn better forms of warfare. War will evolve like us but will be a part of us until we evolve, the next stepin evolution perhaps? who knows.

[afkamistan]

Individual survival is a part of nature, but we now live in an age that accomodates for everyone and acknowledges people's disadvantages. I love it when a pseudo-intellectual tries to comment on human nature, though. You tell yourself that you're sacrificing, no?

[tjmac7]

What do you mean tell myself that im sacrificing, i dont understand? Does it make me pseudo intellectual because i comment on my observations and draw conclusions or because i dont reference my influences?

[quadstrike]

we need to have like 50 games and a hige tounament of team multiplayer matches where hackers will be disqualified and the winner winds the debate of the "war"

[Straitjacket2007]

I like the idea of wars being won or lost on the strength of a game of counter strike or Halo. It would be a lot less messy than real war and everyone could be home for tea.

[quadstrike]

O.o did i just solve world wars?

[Disneyworld99]

Unfortunately, losing life has to be a part of war, War most of the time is not about killing the other person, it's about frightening the other person into submission so that you can control them.

[lalasufo]

that could be the case

[launger]

Flying condoms ftw

[ThompsonSeedless]

Bigelow!! That's the guy that Art Bell talks with on Coast to Coast am

[sneekmatrix]

first was a dog in space then a monek then gargarin , after so many years we now have ants and scorpions... any extraterrestrial intelligent life would then have to assume that in order of inteligence it was the dogs that got there first and after so many experiments - finally the ants are satisfied thats its saffe for them to go into space !

[tjmac7]

lol, or maybe e.t would be inteligent enough to realise no species could do it alone.

[sneakerset]

Yes,vectran has better thermal properties than spectra and only needed enhanced UV protection.Thanks for the material information update,S.C.

[sneakerset]

Maybe fully compartmented,self sealing chambers with multi-mix gas cores which allow for the extreme temp. differentials?Maybe specta-shield and neoprene-titanium laminates for the skin?And that viewer's right.The people have got to become tolerant and seek some real peace on this planet for the common good..we need peacemakers..not fools.

[aquamammal]

To everyone who is interested in Space and stuff, check out the movie Sunshine. This video totally reminded me of it for some reason.

Humanity needs to stop killing each other and unite under a common front, aka, space exploration.

[narcoleptus]

DamienZshadow's point about the risk of being 'punctured' by space debris seems very real!

The material would have to be very strong and  with some kind of self repairing system for small holes.

The Mongol army of Ghenkis Khan wore silk shirts because enemy arrows couldn't pierce the silk! which is still one of the strongest materials known to man.

[DamienZshadow]

Wow, this is awesome. Just another new innovation to help extend our reaches further into space. Take off is the most costly and difficult part of any space mission, so making things lighter and smaller is a huge step forward. But what I'm wondering is what the hell is it made out of? Hopefully this 'balloon' can be enough to deflect space debri and piercing particles traveling a neck breaking speeds around in the same orbit they are.

[88strands]

Yeah I'm wondering about obital impacts, but I'd bet theres some kind of kevlar weave in it. or they figured out the spider web.

[newscientistvideo]

Apparently these spacecraft are made of several layers of vectran, a material twice as strong as kevlar. Bigelow claims that the flexible shells are more resistant to tiny metorite impacts than hard shells. Pretty amazing!

Sandrine Ceurstemont

NewScientist Editor

[DamienZshadow]

wow! I have heard they were producing something like that for stronger space suits but had no idea they were planning on making these space bubbles out of them. That's pretty ingenious!

[Spitwater]

Yeah... they say their expandable surface has withstood 1.7-cm-diameter aluminum projectiles being blasted into it at seven km per second in tests on Earth, which is better than what the ISS modules can take.

[Neoli2300]

@newscientistvideo still, if it does become ruptured, its harder to repair than a hard shell. I think they should use reactive hardening putty which is malleable and soft until it is impacted where it becomes very hard and stiff.

[nbrado]

@newscientistvideo I would say much safer than a rigid structure, an EXCELLENT idea.

[monokhem]

@DamienZshadow There is also water between the layers. It is actually more resiliant than our riged space station moduals, and the water makes it better protection against radiation.

[DamienZshadow]

@monokhem That's ingenious! 3 years after having commented on this and it sounds even more amazing to me the second time. Rig a bunch of these together in a ring to create an artificial sense of gravity and we've got a new space station. You can even have the center of the ring be a giant sheet of solar panels. Oh man, so many ideas running through my head now!

[monokhem]

@DamienZshadow It's awesome. They already have plans and models for a Moon base at the factory.

[DamienZshadow]

@monokhem While Moon Bases are good but we'll need a good design for long term vessel or station for interplanetary travel. I saw NASA's latest work on the Orion Capsule but Surely they'll need more for a trip to Mars or something.

[monokhem]

@DamienZshadow The Orion capsule is compatable with the Bigelow moduals, so it could launch, dock with one of these and take it where ever it was going. After that, all you need is propulsion. That could be in a service modual.

Of course they need the Rocket to launch it, but even if NASA's rocket program goes south again the Falcon Heavy should be flying by then.

[DamienZshadow]

@monokhem Tomorrow looks like a bright future for humanity. Maybe someday we'll even meet in space.

[svb300]

@DamienZshadow Yep yur talking about a Torus Wheel. Look up the Stanford Torus on Wikipedia. Its called centrifigul force. Thats what Bigelow needs to do indeed. The ISS is going to become obsolete by 2020 cause of Bigelow. But thats the future though so get used to it NASA!!!!!

[DamienZshadow]

@svb300 Yea! That's exactly what I was thinking about! Why this hasn't been engineered into the standard for space stations a long time ago is beyond me. It was conceived of in the 70s and should have been tested by now. That would be the first real step to long term duration in space. The next step would be the Bernal Sphere!

[svb300]

@DamienZshadow Cheers mate!!!! To the future!!!! I cant wait for the day I can step foot on the Moon. When I first step down on the Moon I'm going to say "I came. I saw. I conquered."

Im also going to repeat that when I first step foot on Mars and any other world there after muahahaha!!!!!

[DamienZshadow]

@svb300 Hell yea! And after you say that I'll be there tapping my foot on that red Martian soil asking, "What took you? lol

[teemuruskeepaa]

lol

[superfisto]

Ant farm for the win!

[JohnMCope]

By the time Man is able to Colonize Space .. we will find it has been taken over by Giant Mutant Cock Roaches that escaped from a experimental space station from the year 2008.

[DamienZshadow]

LOL i was just thinking that! XD

[NumbFaith]

Help me. Most of the time when i try to watch NS videos, there is a very annoying voice which i simply can't stand listening to for more than 2 seconds. It sounds femaleish sound, but apart from that it is definitely not human. There is some of the videos i can watch with my sound turned on, and that is when the voice descriped is not present. Please help me with this problem, so i can once again watch NS videos without having to turn my sound off.

[Tigerpoi51]

Correct me if I'm wrong ... this thing is filled with out of control breeding Cock Roaches. Yuk ..