Slashdot Mirror
Inflatable Private Space Station Launched
Anonymous_Space_Ranger writes "CNN is reporting that the first steps to have a private space station are underway in Russia. While today's launch is unmanned, it is designed to orbit the planet for 5 years while the durability of the design is tested and future flights are planned around it." From the article: "[Robert] Bigelow envisions building a private orbiting space complex by 2015 that would be made up of several expandable Genesis-like modules linked together and could be used as a hotel, or perhaps a science lab or college. He has committed $500 million toward the project."
I wonder how well a beer bong works in zero gravity...
Information wants a fueled airplane waiting at the hangar and no one gets hurt.
I hope they don't let go of the string and let it float away!
Slashdot.. where people join together in deliberate ignorance.
"While today's launch is unmanned, it is designed to orbit the planet for 5 years while the durability of the design is tested and future flights are planned around it."
t s/discoveryiss_single.jpg
Unfortunatly, the mission ended almost as fast as it started when they couldn't figure out how to get the air pump to work while in orbit.
In almost related news, here is a cool pic taken today of the ISS transiting the sun during today's EVA:
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/satcom_transi
It could be worse, it could be Monday.
Ahhhh, thank you!
just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand!
Cue the yo mama in space jokes . . .
Yo mama so inflatable, the shuttle tried to dock with her.
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
"could be used as a hotel, or perhaps a science lab or college."
Riiiight. They will send people to college... in space. Well technically LEO, but whatever. On the other hand, drinking and having sex in 0 G does sound fun.
There are 01 kinds of cars in the world. The General Lee, and everything else.
The Russians just launched my girlfriend into space!
I'll form my OWN solar system! With blackjack! And hookers!
Your opinion makes sense to me, on account of:
/.er always trumps the opinion of people studying a problem as part of a business plan to profit from successfully solving the problem.
1) All inflatable structures are essentially thin-walled latex balloons that will pop under the slightest stress.
2) Rigid structures in orbit are constantly stricken by space junk, but do not fail because of their thick armor plating.
3) Nobody is tracking the larger space junk.
4) Nobody has ever conducted experiments to learn more about the specific risk posed by the smaller space junk, meteoroids, etc.
5) And, of course, because the opinion of a random
Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.
I can see the title now.. Robert Bigelow, Interplanetary Gigolo
If you're 100x as likely to blow up on the way up or burn up on the way down than to have your space station smashed by space junk, it's not worth worrying about the space junk.
The world is full up with fussbudgets. Perhaps we should take all the phone sanatizers and . . .
KFG
"designed to operate in enviroments that we can only dream of"
No, I think we all have firsthand experience with water.
Eloi are stupid, throw morlocks at them!
"No, I think we all have firsthand experience with water."
/. Water implies showers and the outdoors...
This is
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
Will put it in a different orbit from the bulk of the space junk...then there would be a great void between in and the orbiting debris that we could call the "star-chasm"?
Sincerely,
The A.S.S.
[Amazingly Stupendous Sarcasmo]
A goal is a dream with a deadline
Gentlemen! What you are now travelling in, high above the comforting embrace of mother earth, is the pinnacle of inflatable technolo *pop*>FWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZZZZZZZZ
It's going to suck to be the one who has to blow that up...
noobcake or noobmuffin? It is the same price...
...it's a balloon!
GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
"The inflatable time machine is ready to go!"
Summary of parent comment:
... [Pop] Latex Balloons ...2) [Strike] rigid structures ... [with] space junk ...3) ... Track ... Larger Space Junk4) ??????5) ... profit [!!!1one!] ...
1) Summary of parent comment
2) Summary of parent comment:1)
3) ???
4) Profit!
Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.
"Wait a minute. Space debris! *slap* Guys, hold off on that idea - you have to read this slashdot post first!"
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"
- Charles Darwin
The specs indicate that the walls are 16 inches thick. The advantage is that the walls bend and you can fold it up for easy transportation into space. I guess the guys that are complaining the 16 inches is to thin are the same guys that brag to women that their 4 inches is really 8. They lack real perception.
My Sig indicates the end of the comment I posted.
I can't wait to join the 22236 mile high club!!!!!!!!!
load "$",8,1
KHAAANNN!!!
Find environmentally and socially responsible products on http://buy-right.net
It continues to astonish me that there are people out there who have $500 million (half a billion dollars!) to throw at a project as speculative as this. Certainly it's cool and I'd love to have one myself. This guy's able to throw $500 million at something just to see if there's anything there. Woof!
I wish some (one!) of these guys would get it into their heads to toss me $100,000 to see if I might work/do something they might consider cool. I'd spend the rest of my life bouncing from country to country installing Free Software on every box I run across and teaching its owner how to use it. Wouldn't that be a lovely legacy to invest in? Or not sexy enough? Drat. Consider it anyway please, you Mark Shuttleworths of the world.
"Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit
This is /. Water implies showers and the outdoors...
Does sweat count?
You can't take the sky from me...