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Hotel Tycoon Pushes Inflatable Space Stations
heptapod writes "Reclusive millionaire and motel tycoon Robert Bigelow has announced launching inflatable space stations through his personal aerospace firm. He's working off of NASA's TransHab designs and hopes to get launch one as early as November 2005! I'm sure after someone wins the X Prize they'll need someplace to stay the night. I wonder if each inflatable station module won't come with complimentary bibles."
I wonder if each inflatable station module won't come with complimentary bibles.
But will the bibles be inflatable as well?
I like you, Stuart. You're not like everyone else, here, at Slashdot.
Who needs bibles when you could put one of these up there?
It'd be worrying if you saw a sign before leaving with
"bring a bike pump.... your life may depend on it!"
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Well, a 5 star hotel is considered the cream of the crop but what about a hotel full of stars? Now that I got your attention, inflateable hotels? What about all space debris floating around up there? I read that there's over 2000 pieces of space junk floating around up there. What would happen if one piece of space debris hit an inflateable part of this hotel? That would definitely be a damper in my vacation plans.
Hotels do not place bibles in the rooms, the Gideons do.
So you'd have to wait for them to visit the place and put some bibles there first.
"Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives" should be a convenience store, not a government agency.
Rimmer: Kryten, unpack Rachel and get out the puncture repair kit. I AM ALIVE!
BANG!
:)
Are you local? There's nothing for you here!
The x-prize is for a sub-orbital shot only. So they won't need a place to stay for a while yet.
Of course, once the proposed yearly x-prize competitions get going (races for height, shortest turnaround etc), it may only be a few years before a private party is able to launch people into actual orbit. Then it will be cool if someone has an of-the-shelf inflatable habitat ready for use.
He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
Space debris could be very catastrophic, but the chances of being hit by it are still miniscule (compared to say a launch failure or being killed on the way to the launch pad).
"...also funds the National Institute for Discovery Science, which investigates unexplained phenomena. It is particularly concerned with reports of cattle mutilations associated with UFO-type activity (such as strange lights in the sky). In 1996, Bigelow bought a Utah ranch from a couple who claimed that it had been dogged for years by "anomalous phenomena"; the businessman then installed scientific researchers and surveillance equipment to document activity."
OK then, I am going to trust this guy with my life in a hostile environment. Right.
I will wait until the mark X model is tested. Thank you very much.
them's some expensive arse space bibles!
current going rate of $10,000 a pound, I believe the shuttles had? maybe minus an order of magnitude.
you need to make up your mind. A hotel is where you stay when you take your family on vacation, a motel is where you take the hooker you just picked up. If he's a motel tycoon, then I'm bringing my own sheets for the bed when I go on one of those inflatable stations.
The NASA Transhab design uses "multiple layers, which consist of Mylar, Kevlar, Nextel and foam rubber, provide better protection from micrometeorites than a metal shell."
Source
There is quite a bit of info out there about the Transhabs, NASA are taking this quite seriously.
Truly, we need space inflatable jumping castles. Inflatable space stations? Bah!
Just because it's "inflatable" doesn't mean that it can't take a hit. You're not talking about a penny rubber ballon here. Even a rigid structure doesn't take hits well at the velocities encountered in space. And you'd actually have less chance of a breach with low impact collisions with a non-rigid structure. And the 2000 number awfully low, I think that's the activly tracked stuff.
By not having to send up a rigid structure, you can save on weight and space, resulting in considerable savings, as you can send up a larger structure with less assembly in space required.
Besides, by the time you inflate one of these to 1 atmosphere, the pressure difference between that and outside you'll have a very rigid structure. From looking at the articles, parts of the structure are rigid, providing points for preset 'utilities'. The expandable portions would be to provide space.
I don't read AC A human right
I don't think this is worthy of an X-Prize so much as a Darwin award.
but the lack of gravity might put a slight damper on your plans there.
Making the moon less necessary since 1998.
While the X-Prize is a great thing -- and I'm personally crossing the Pacific this weekend to watch SS1's flight on Monday -- the current and upcoming generation of private spacecraft are still a very long way from being able to visit an orbiting hotel.
The good news though is that some companies do have a business plan for how to get from here to there in incremental, low risk, steps, and while making a profit along the way. XCOR, for example, has such a plan, financing later development with suborbital tourist flights and a few small satellite launches and sounding rocket replacement flights.
Scaled Composites may well have such a plan, though they haven't said yet what it is. But a story in today's Dominion Post (Wellington, NZ) originally from the Washington Post) (free registration required) quotes Burt Rutan as saying that suborbital flights are likely to start at US$30k - US$50k and drop to US$8k - US$12k in a second generation vehicle. That's a) a lot lower than the US$98k Space Adventures is planning to sell XCORs initial flights for, and b) indication that Scaled do in fact have an ongoing plan (d'oh).
Providing space? That must be like shipping ice to the north pole. ;-P
Money for nothing, pix for free
The article suggested nitrogen. We already haul compressed air up into orbit. You'd simply have a gas cylinder to provide the pressure.
I don't read AC A human right
Folks there are plenty of jokes about an inflatable structure but they need not be so fragile as one might think. After all bullet proof vests are largely kevlar.
& co ntent=http%3A//www.spacex.com/falcon_overview.php
Transhab had to deal with the problem of micrometerite impacts same as any manned space structure. Not to mention once you deal with much besides a micrometeorite it dosn't matter what the building material is.
On the positive side this could be a serious boost to private space ventures. This guy wants a 3/4 hab up next year ? Falcon V can boost 4000kg+ to Stations orbit for 12 million if all goes well.
http://www.spacex.com/index.html?section=falcon
If they make this work then in short order they could have a station with more inhabitable volume than ISS for a fraction of the cost.
I don't ask you to be me. I only ask you not expect me to be you.
I saw the headline "Hotel Tycoon Pushes Inflatable Space Stations" and thought it was about a video game (Railroad Tycoon-esque) with hotels where you could build inflatable space hotels too.
Disappointment runs rampant!
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What about all space debris floating around up there?
may be some will think, these hotels are space debris
I would imagine that, in the low pressure of space (it's not quite a vacuum), even a tiny amount of gas would inflate it quite effectively.
Of course, they still have to fill the thing with air to breathe, so I'm sure they can manage to carry up a little bit more to actually inflate it.
Never underestimate the power of gas filled bags. The Mars rovers even use them!
Space, for the most part is an empty environment. Once in space, the aerodynamics of the craft don't matter much. We have very strong synthetic fibers, make huge kevlar-like inflated bubbles. Big enough to dissipate the energy, or deflect the object. Use honeycomb like layers, and it could probably be made from replaceable pieces, in the (I'm thinking, unlikely) event of a puncture.
It would have to be assembled in space, and even large enough to encompase the craft to get to, and for use on the planet surface.
If your going to go anywhere REALLY far away....wear a bubble!
After someone wins the X prize they will be back on the ground very soon, because the X prize is just for 100km altitude, not entering orbit. Entering orbit is very much harder (8 km/s delta-V instead of about 1 km/s). I dare say there will be follow-on competitions (such as the X Prize Cup) but it'll be quite a while before a privately-developed launcher makes it to orbit.
Hmmm.....
Sounds more like a space Youth Hostel!
Bring a sleep sack and a TOWEL!
I don't want a pickle; I just want a Motor-Cycle! A four foot cop arrived with a five foot gun!
SpaceShipOne has just entered LEO. Wait a minute. You're not Mike Melville!
No, I'm not. But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Hey, do you know where I can find a subway? I sure am hungry.
Someone hates these cans.
They'll take a really deep breath before they leave the atmosphere.
Ah, the atmosphere.
NASA has decided that astronaut food rations will now include a large supply of beans.
My understanding is that the modules have a metal docking collar at one end as shown in these two pictures:
Pic 1
Pic 2
...now this! This whole inflatable tech is really taking off!
Reclusive millionaire and motel tycoon Robert Bigelow.....
Male jigalo?
Sue me, it rhymes.
2000 pieces of space junk? That's about the same amount as the pieces of junk I have under my bed. Spread out around the entire planet, they would be far apart.
Would it not make sense to make these 2-layer and fill them with an expanding foam - like the stuff they do cavity wall insulation with. That way the structure would be both rigid, and have good impact absorbtion qualities.
Hell, if a rubberized foam could be used there's a chance an impacting item wouldn't actually do so much damage. Of course if it's counter-orbiting even battleship plate's gonna seem fairly flimsy...
'Don't worry' said the trees when they saw the axe coming, 'The handle is one of us.'
And will they ship two, or prvide a hermaphoradite to save launch mass?
_O_
.|< The named which can be named is not the true named
Inflatable space stations will go nicely with inflatable space ships:
Is air the answer to space?
if only it were.
A blog about stuff.
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Obviously you hire some space garbagemen to clean it up.
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Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
"I wonder if each inflatable station module won't come with complimentary bibles."
Actually hotels sign contracts for the Gideon Bible. I would imagine Budget Suites/Bigelow Properties is under this contract.
The author of the slashdot post may not enjoy reading the Bible, the editor that didn't remove the blatant phishing comment may not enjoy reading the Bible, but there are those of us who do read. Even if it is for diversity rather than spiriutual growth.
I mean honestly, you are either going to have to take some reading material or a gameboy - you're not going to be able to go out on the beach for a stroll or to get a picture with Mickey.
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Grrr. You cannot posibly have any idea how angry i get when people blame violence on the existence of a religion
... but, I suppose, if you weren't religious, you wouldn't get so very angry, right?
The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies but also to hate his friends.
Ok, people wrote that hull breaches caused by rubbish in orbit are not an issue, but what about radiation? I would think you need more than a layer of kevlar for shielding against that...
"Oh, a lesson in not changing history from Mr I'm-my-own-Grandpa." - Dr Hubert Farnsworth
POP!
You can jam it into the hole that air is leaking out of :)
A goal is a dream with a deadline
"Well, a 5 star hotel is considered the cream of the crop but what about a hotel full of stars?" In other news, Motel 6 has changed their slogan from "We'll leave the light on for you." to "My God, it's full of stars!"
Because he is using TransHab as his model, he is also using the system designed for protecting it. The cool thing about TransHab is that it's outer shell is made of a ballistic material matrix (including Kevlar, etc.) which is resistent to penetration by micrometorites and is even capable of "bouncing" back from large impacts - like what happened to MIR. Typical Space Station construction (a.k.a. Alumiminum Can Construction) is not able to withstand impacts of that magnitude with out buckling or worse, pressure loss.
Bill
It's my Sig and you can't have it. Mine! All Mine!
Space debris could be very catastrophic,
Well, put it this way: a pressurized metal container can shatter if you hit it with enough force. An inflated structure would most likely take a pair of small punctures.
Of course, wither way you don't want to be in the way of that micrometeoroid while it's shooting through your space station, but if you're in a metal can, it might be coming at you with additional shrapnel that you've provided.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Suppose instead of two thin membranes with air in the middle this 'bubble' were actually several layers of membranes inflated with a gel capable of sealing any minor impacts. Multiple layers would help to slow the velocity of any object that can penetrate the initial membranes while the gel could congeal around the hole creating a seal. We know the military is working on 'fluid' armor that goes rigid on impact as well.
Such a scenario might actually be safer than the 'tin can' approach as the 'bubble' could heal itself.
I would also be curious if a lead powder suspension could be used in such a gel that could possibly serve as radiation shielding.
I don't think this is ever going to fly (pun intended). There have been so many space tourism ventures and none have come to fruition so far, except the ones started by the Russians with the long ago re-entered and burned Mir space station.
You need the hardware up and running to do this sort of thing without massive financing.
I mean there are plans to build space ladders from earth surface to orbit (forgot the link but you can find it with Google for sure) and what not propellerhead ideas out there. But no final funding.
I believe this when I see some hardware.
If you want free advice for running this kind of operation:
1) Contract the Russians or the French who have excess launch capacity for the greenbacks
2) Design a small module for the ISS
3) Launch it with 1)
4) Send your millionaires up to ISS Mir-style
5) Exchange service agreements with NASA/ESA/Russians for some PR promos
Branson just crossed the channel in a car and GHWB just jumped out of a plane, so I guess the other billionaires are feeling somewhat inadequate.
I say let's see more of this, perhaps as a new reality TV show. Except with middle managers and annointed CEOs doing the dangerous stuff with outsourced safety checking.
Uhmm, those bibles in hotel rooms aren't complimentary... you're supposed to leave them when you leave.
VIII. Thou shalt not steal.
Did you READ it, or just steal it?
You can estimate your chances of survival using NASA's model (PC only).
Now I have a place I can take my inflatable girlfriend, and not get shunned.
In Soviet Russia, the hotel inflates YOU!
Worst inflatable hotel EVER.
I've been looking over the Bigelow patents on USPTO site. Check out "inflatable satelite", "...thermal management" and "spacecraft sleeping berth" for some of the things they have been working on. The most revolutionary item so far seems to be building an inflatable Transhab-type module, but putting the solid core to the edge of the inflated cylinder. The core has two sets of fold-out floor panels that form two floors, plus the core has a vac-safe section. If there is a puncture, the crew can seal it up and evacuate into another section of their station.
Bigelow on USPTO.gov
start saving those frequent-flyer miles,
Josh
gigantino.tv - Heavy but weighs nothing.
Yeah, next thing you know, some jackass will start leaving Knoppix liveCDs in the rooms!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
I am confident that this inflatable space station will use some type of self-sealing layering making it more resiliant than a metal space station.
Snowden and Manning are heroes.
Really, it's not such a bad idea. If they can stop micrometeorites as well as a metal frame, that's what really matters. I can't see a good reason why rigidity should be important across the whole station - only at key points, such as docking ports, and perhaps a hollow frame to mount inflatable modules on.
:)
There's another real advantage to this method that hasn't been mentioned yet: radiation shielding. If you build your station out of plastic instead of aluminum, you'll get far better radiation shielding (it's the hydrogen atoms that do the best job!). Furthermore, aluminum is a kind of nasty metal to use in extreme circumstances because as it warps, it stiffens and eventually will break (metal fatigue). I don't know the sort of stresses that a station is subject to, but I'd imagine that at least the day/night temperature changes provide some stress.
Now they just need to get Dr. Schlock involved... he'll know what to do.
Carbon, made, only wants to be unmade.
Bubbles in the Sky is the name of a SF novel written in the 1950's or 1960's by (I think, but don't really know) Poul Andersen. In this book, the large number of workers (both genders) required to build the first space station etc. were housed in inflatables. Some of them finagled ways to stay up and continue working after their tour was over. Over the next year or three, they gradually developed their own oxygen generation capability etc. and closer to self-sufficieny in various ways. They even had their own radio station.
The inflatables were made of a multi-layer plastic that healed itself rapidly - if you sliced it with a knife (not easy, but doable), you could watch it "zip" itself back together. (This might be doable using a form of nanotech molecular design.) So, if a micrometeor struck, it would punch holes in several layers, but the cells where air was lost would collapse together, effectively sealing themselves while they healed.
As these squatters became more self-reliant, officialdom tried to get rid of them, of course. In case someone wants to read the book, I'll not reveal what happens.
I've looked online for this book but haven't had any success.
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Reminded me immediately of the book Neuromancer, where a "hotel tycoon" set up his own personal resort in space - free from duties, taxes and the government. It was a lawless paradise.
:)
I just want to get into space, and if these dudes will front the money, I'll be sure to pay them back
lets go science fiction! With the invisibility cloak, the unscratchable metal and electronic ink pads, I'm ready.
I believe that you're referring to RST's (Radiation Shield Technology) product Demron. It is not a film, it is a fabric, not quite the film that you referred to, but the closest I could find.
Hard vacuum is only one negative atmosphere of relative pressure, 14.7 psi. A small leak would be loud but manageable. Explosive decompression could only happen through a large hole.
Ah, I see you've seen me in my Speedo...
How come Slashdot never gets Slashdotted?
I figure that when Bill Gates gets to be old enough to feel the pains of decrepitude, then he will jump at a chance to fund such a project--and so will lots of other rich millionaires. The only question will be: can I afford it?
Great men are almost always bad men--Lord Acton's Corollary
As others have already pointed out, the stuff you are referring to is Demron, manufactured by RST. When I first heard of it a year or so ago I found their claim regarding its extraordinary X-ray absorbing capability very hard to believe in the light of well-established physical model of the absorption of EM radiation by matter. The report published by Lawrence Livermore Lab. was funded by RST and the author did not respond to my request for a scientific explanation.
Until the results have been independently verified and published in a peer-reviewed journal, or else verified by myself, I will continue to have grave doubts concerning their claim. (IIAP and part of my job is monitoring the radiation safety of X-ray emitting apparatus.)
The hotel guests will go to their window to see the staggering view of the earth. Instead they are greeted with a stunning view of the inflatable McDonalds that just went up across from the hotel. Hey at least weight won't be a problem until they come home.
There's another real advantage to this method that hasn't been mentioned yet: radiation shielding. If you build your station out of plastic instead of aluminum, you'll get far better radiation shielding (it's the hydrogen atoms that do the best job!).
Depends on the type of radiation being shielded against. High-Z is better for gamma shielding (and shielding against secondary x-rays from other types of radiation, though using low-Z reduces the amount of this). You also have a bulk disadvantage with low-Z materials (though in space, it's weight and not bulk that matters, so you're stuck no matter what).
Furthermore, aluminum is a kind of nasty metal to use in extreme circumstances because as it warps, it stiffens and eventually will break (metal fatigue).
Aluminum itself has very low fatigue strength, but in practice aluminum alloys with better characteristics are used. Google for "duraluminum", an alloy commonly used for aircraft, for one example.
For space uses, the cost of launch dominates over the cost of materials, so you can afford to use as expensive an alloy or composite as you like in the structure. Materials problems typically occur due to design oversight (e.g. carbon composites being etched away by the atmosphere), as opposed to cheap materials being used.
Inflatable stations are still an interesting idea, though. If I recall correctly, the "Cosmos" solar sail was going to be inflatable, to save on mass (a rigid craft would have to be sturdy enough to survive launch, requiring extra mass).
With all of the space junk floating around up there (nuts, bolts, bits of paint, shards of metal, etc...) his inflatable space station would be Swiss cheese in a matter of days. Just ask NASA how many times the IIS has been hit (the modules are protected by layers of Kevlar to guard against just these types of impacts).
Possibilities:
1. Maybe god does and you just aren't listening.
2. Maybe god doesn't actively interfere with human affairs. It might be a free will thing or a "I just want to sit back and watch" thing (reference deists).
3. Maybe the *christian* god doesn't exist. There are *many* religions and many types of deities. It's one thing to say a god of christian conception doesn't exist, but another to say that no god exists. Search around and maybe you'll find a religion that suits your beliefs. Not every religion is like Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. Some are quite radically different.
For instance William Blake seemed to believe that the imagination and creative impulses *were* god and through them you could see the "infinite" (or some such...I don't quite get it).
Anyway, there are tons of books written all throughout history about religion, many of them repeating that same argument. If you wanted you could research all of those and then decide for yourself what you want to believe.
When you can bring an inflatable church along too.
Zero-G jumping castles! :D