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After the X Prize
rscrawford writes "'Robert Bigelow, chief of Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace, is apparently setting higher goals for private spaceflight endeavors with America's Space Prize, a $50 million race to build an orbital vehicle capable of carrying up to seven astronauts to an orbital outpost by the end of the decade,' according to Space.com. Anyone think it'll happen?"
Having something go up to the edge of space and back is relatively easy compared to going into orbit then coming back down again.
For the technically minded, here's a short article with the specifics.
More details available from SpaceFlightNow, which is actually a re-print of an Aviation Week & Space Technology article.
actually, anyone at a latitude of 51.6 deg or less can easily reach ISS. latitudes greater than that have to waste propellant to decrease their inclination. since the russians are an integral part of the ISS assembly, the smallest inclination was chosen that would still allow them to reach orbit efficiently. otherwise, the station would most certainly be at a lower inclination to maximize the boost you get from the earth's rotational velocity.
Looks like we need a new moderation category - "Understatment".
(grin)
Honestly, reentry isn't THAT bad. The shuttle has it particularly difficult because it's designed for a very shallow reentry angle. As I understand it, the military demanded a large cross-range ability so that the shuttle could go up, perform spy stuff over the USSR, and hit the ground again after one orbit.
A steeper angle requires less shielding. The idea (as I understand it) is to accept a faster increase in heat buildup in exchange for a faster rate of deceleration. Once the craft is deep enough in the atmosphere and has shed enough speed, the atmosphere will actually begin to cool the surface.
The Apollo missions used a simple and inexpensive shield that consisted of an ablative epoxy/silicon material. Such a shield could easily be made replaceable after every flight. The shuttle's tiles OTOH, are supposed to be non-ablative and reusable. However, the number of tiles that they ended up needing resulted in very expensive post-flight inspections.
Honestly, the tech isn't that hard. The early space-modules were nothing more than some sheet metal, a space suit, a few maneuvering jets, and a heat shield. The early Mercury capsules even used a simple, non-ablative shock plate that pushed the atmospheric plasma around the edges of the capsule, preventing heating of the craft itself.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
The submission was a little sparse on the info, and since I've been following Bigelow Aerospace for a while, I feel obligated to share some more info on it. First off, there's an article with better photographs available here, and a press release here. The founder Robert Bigelow was also the founder of Budget Suites of America, and is applying a lot of the cost-cutting tricks he learned from his previous contracting experience to the aerospace industry. He licensed the Transhab technology from NASA (which had previously had its funding cut), and is subcontracting for things like life support from other companies who already have systems running.
The inflatables themselves (photograph here)are quite interesting, with a docking mechanism designed to attach with either a Russian Soyuz, a Chinese Shenzhou, and/or whatever vehicle comes out of the aforementioned America's Space Prize. A one-third size prototype of the inflatable module will be launched on the maiden flight of SpaceX's Falcon V rocket, which is itself a very interesting vehicle (~3000kg into LEO for $12 million, and the first orbital vehicle designed to be man-rated since the space shuttle). The first full-size inflatable habitat will be up by 2008, and it's planned to have a crew by 2010.
What's exciting about this is that the inflatable modules appear to be designed, built, and have undergone some preliminary tests. The outsides of the modules have withstood projectile impact tests fairly well. Pretty much all that needs to happen now is for them to undergo further tests and be launched. Bigelow's use of multiple contractors for the same part will allow him to ramp up production if there's a demand for it, and sell the inflatable modules for ~$100 million each to whoever wants them.
Regarding the prize itself, I'd actually be quite interested to see if somebody ends up just designing a descent capsule and sticks it on a Falcon V.