You are an astronaut, sent to the Moon, and told to set up camp.
You are not too happy with the thought of fastening a lot of pieces of metal together since in a pressurized spacesuit it would be both tiresome and hard on your fingernails.
You are pleased to find out that a complete structure will be inflated in space and dropped intact and ready to occupy thanks to Bigelow Aerospace, a company that has been orbiting inflatable structures back on Earth.
Make a note, take wife on a second honeymoon in Low Earth Orbit when you get back.
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http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/02/22/65477.aspx
Bigelow Shots For The Moon
Posted: Thursday, February 22, 2007 6:36 PM by Alan Boyle
Even as Bigelow Aerospace gears up for launching its second prototype space station into orbit, the company has set its sights on something much, much bigger: a project to assemble full-blown space villages at a work site between Earth and the moon, then drop them to the lunar surface, ready for immediate move-in.
In an exclusive interview this week, Las Vegas billionaire Robert Bigelow confirmed that his company has been talking about the concept with NASA – and that the first earthly tests of the techniques involved would take place later this year. The scenario he sketched out would essentially make Bigelow a general contractor for the final frontier.
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http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Photos/070222/070222_Bigelow_hmed_1p.jpgAn artist's conception shows a Bigelow Aerospace complex in Earth orbit. Such a
station could serve as the precursor for prefabricated lunar bases after 2020.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16639526/Before you go, maybe a good idea to do some testing here on Earth.
- LRK -
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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/exploration/mmb/inflatable-lunar-hab.htmlSnip
The first steps in making a lunar outpost a reality are being taken now, as planners intensify their efforts to determine what it will take for humans to safely live and work on the lunar surface.
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The "planetary surface habitat and airlock unit" has been delivered to NASA Langley for ground-based evaluation of emerging technologies such as health monitoring of flexible structures. Credit: NASA/Jeff Caplan.
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170069main_influnarhab01-330.jpghttp://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170068main_influnarhab01-1024.jpg---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for looking up with me.
Larry Kellogg
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More thoughts about inflatables. - LRK -
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http://www.asi.org/adb/02/06/inflatables-study-1.htmlStudy on Inflatable Lunar Habitats
William Mook has prepared a number of studies on space development, some of which relate directly to the Artemis Project's goals. This concept of an inflatable habitat could be a possibility for expanding the pressurized space of Moonbase Artemis for increased crew, or for lunar tourism. He has posted the following brief summary of his study:
Polyester film has a yield strength of about 25,000 psi. So a reinforced polyester film blown to form a 60-foot-diameter sphere would need to be about 1/80 inch thick to sustain a 3.75 psi pressure. You would need about 1/20 inch thick film to sustain 14.70 psi pressure.
Assume an outer shell 1/80 inch thick, and an inner shell 1/80 inch thick, separated by 2 inches. The film is bonded together every 2 inches or so by kevlar netting. The space between the two films is filled with lightweight polystyrene.
The whole sphere would inflate from a small pillbox type container. Assuming 3.75 psi working pressure, the sphere would weigh about 1,275 lb. The oxygen would weigh 2,225 lbs! More than the container!
Five floors would be formed the same way, and deployed along with the inflation of the spherical shell. They would consist of 2 sheets of polyester film separated by a kevlar reinforced polystyrene filler.
The poles of the sphere would be connected by a lanyard-deployed continuous longeron coilable boom. This would interconnect the five floors.
Starting at the south pole of the 60-ft-diameter sphere, the first floor is 5 ft above the pole. It is a circle 46 ft in diameter containing 1668 square ft of space. The second floor is 15 ft above the south pole. It is a cirle 53.6 ft in diameter and 2262 sq. ft. in area. The third floor is largest, with an area of 2,750 sq. ft. and a diameter of 59.2 ft. We then repeat the same sequence in reverse. The sixth panel is actually the ceiling of the fifth floor. The mass of these floors is 1,200 lbs.
The mass of the vertical shaft is 280 lb.
Assume the sphere is inflated on the lunar surface, from the nose of a landing craft. The craft is a cylinder 12 ft in diameter and 18 ft tall.
http://www.asi.org/images/asi199800032.jpg
>From the side of this cylinder is a 30-ft-long, 10-ft-diameter tube cut into two sections. The end of each section has attached to it an airlock door made of diffusion bonded/superplastically deformed titanium. The weight of each airlock is 480 lb. The weight of the outer tube, made of polystyrene foam inflated polyester film is 360 lb. Another lanyard-deployed continuous longeron coilable boom connects each of the airlock doors. The innermost door is attached to the airframe of the pillbox/spacecraft. This spacecraft contains all the environmental control systems as well as consumables. It is airtight, and forms a link between the airlocks and the station above. It also is a control center from which to control the station. The longeron coilable boom weighs 150 lb.
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
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