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Inflatable Space Station Prototype a Success

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the inflatables-in-spaaaaace dept.

Adam Weiss writes "The Genesis 1 inflatable space station prototype was launched last week from the Ukraine. Now, after a few days of forced silence, Bigelow Aerospace has announced that the mission is so far a complete success. Their website has a detailed description of the launch, as well as the first picture from the craft. For an account right from mission control, the Museum of Science in Boston has posted an interview with Eric Haakonstad, the Program Manager of the mission."

73 comments

  1. Old News? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Isn't this old news?

    Oh, wait. Nevermind. That was a spacesuit as a satellite.

    Eh, that's an honest mistake; inflatable spacestations and orbiting spacesuits are practically the same thing.

    --

    Falun Dafa is good!

    1. Re:Old News? by kjorn · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, at least they didn't hit the inflate button here on earth as see that some prankster had replaced their space station with the first orbital bouncy castle.

      Or some other inflatable, amusing and rude item :O hahaha

  2. Managing space debris by UR30 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Quote: "After eight years of planning, the actual creation and delivery into space took only nine months." This is fast. Now that space is not for big governments any more, it will be interesting to see what can be done with space. For example, what about debris in orbit, which will be a serious problem. Will space be a business opporturnity for waste-management companies?

    1. Re:Managing space debris by NTiOzymandias · · Score: 3, Interesting
      For example, what about debris in orbit, which will be a serious problem.
      Well they can always build it at a handy Lagrange point so there's at least plenty of room for it to spread out. As a bonus, the orbit would be that much more stable, as well.
    2. Re:Managing space debris by MrFlibbs · · Score: 3, Informative

      Ah, but getting to a Lagrange Point requires much more energy and therefore, cost. The shuttle can only achieve low earth orbit, and in fact NASA currently has no operational system to take humans any further than the Internation Space Station.

      For a commercial venture, getting people into low earth orbit is the only viable near-term solution. Putting a space hotel at the L5 point is still a long way off.

    3. Re:Managing space debris by hey! · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Now that space is not for big governments any more, it will be interesting to see what can be done with space.

      I agree, but not necessarily for the obvious reasons.

      Space exploration will still require government help. But governments, at least democratic ones that operate by consensus, aren't good at small things. By the time everyone's put their two cents in that's a lot of cents and more to the point, a lot of "stakeholders".

      Ventures like this, and of course Scaled, are almost too small for a government to do. Such projects are started all the time; some of them bear fruit, but many either are killed before their time or produce no fruit because resources and attention are drained to the massive consensus projects.

      On the other hand exploration of the outer planets, a Mars mission (if that makes sense) even a return to the Moon; these kinds of projects are too large for a private entity at the present time.

      It's a good time to have two tiers of space exploration and technology development. Private industry will make bring agility, public research will shorten the road to results beyond the horizon of private enterprise. Ideally, these two efforts would end up supporting each other.

      Will space be a business opporturnity for waste-management companies?

      This, I doubt, unless the cost per pound to escape velocity goes far lower than we have any reason to expect it to. It is likely that the process of shooting trash into space will generate more waste itself than the system could handle.

      It is wise, however, to reflect on this: practically every molecule in the waste stream was once a valuable resource that somebody paid good money to obtain. They were materials, found by long and painstaking prospecting, extracted from the Earth by dint of massive investment in machinery and infrastrucure, transformed by subtle chemistry to have valuable properties, and incorporated into the final consumer product. The consumer then takes those molecules, throws them into the trash, whence they may be scattered to the four corners of the earth, perhaps never in concentrations sufficient to warrant recovering.

      Relatively few changes in our society would cause those molecules to be redirected back into the production stream. It might not be economical now because it involves a concerted societal effort, but there's not technological reason it can't be.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    4. Re:Managing space debris by RealGrouchy · · Score: 1
      Well they can always build it at a handy Lagrange point [wikipedia.org] so there's at least plenty of room for it to spread out. As a bonus, the orbit would be that much more stable, as well.


      As if suburbs on our own planet weren't bad enough!

      - RG>
      --
      Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
    5. Re:Managing space debris by Rob+Carr · · Score: 1
      For example, what about debris in orbit, which will be a serious problem. Will space be a business opporturnity for waste-management companies?

      The inflatable module is designed to handle a certain level of debris impacting it. Even the ISS has a layer of Kevlar around it to protect it. No matter how well protected a space station might be, there is the possibility of something with higher kinetic energy striking it. A full-scale station, like the ISS, will have to have maneuvering capability.

      There is, indeed, a market for an inexpensive way to collect up orbital trash. Coming up with that method and implementing it could make someone very rich, although not necessarily the person who invents it or first impliments it...

      --
      This sig seemed like a good idea at the time....
    6. Re:Managing space debris by WhiplashII · · Score: 1

      practically every molecule in the waste stream was once a valuable resource that somebody paid good money to obtain

      More to the point, it is extremely common for later civilizations to mine the earlier civilization's trash - see the history of copper mining, etc. Don't throw the trash too far, it makes it harder to mine. (I expect to see trash dump mining for plastic->oil in my lifetime)

      --
      while (sig==sig) sig=!sig;
    7. Re:Managing space debris by Kouroth · · Score: 1

      Agreed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_depolymerizat ion Check it out.

      --
      Thermal depolymerization - Lazy recycling.
    8. Re:Managing space debris by aevan · · Score: 1

      Reminds me of the anime Planetes. Has a rather interesting (IMO) take on what could happen, especially with a corporate space culture.

    9. Re:Managing space debris by Riverman1 · · Score: 1
      I think it just makes more sense to keep a space station as close to earth as possible. You're better shielded from cosmic radiation, and people don't want to look out into the vast emptiness of space, earth is a much more appealing sight. Also, the sun-earth L4 and L5 are chock full of asteroids, it'd end up being a disaster in wait.

      Save the lagrange points for telescopes and what not.

      I can't help but be fascinated by Bigelow. If I had the resources I'd build myself a vacation home on my favorite asteroid. I wonder if he has the same goal.

    10. Re:Managing space debris by Kasis · · Score: 1
      Relatively few changes in our society would cause those molecules to be redirected back into the production stream.

      Good idea!

      Just teasing :)

    11. Re:Managing space debris by hey! · · Score: 1

      You let the cat out the bag.

      I was hoping some people would say "that's a neat idea" before they figured it out.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    12. Re:Managing space debris by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah, but getting to a Lagrange Point requires much more energy and therefore, cost.


      Even more for G Point!
    13. Re:Managing space debris by despisethesun · · Score: 1

      Your point about waste management on Earth is well-stated. However, I believe the OP was talking about managing space waste as a business opportunity. Where there's people, there's garbage, and if we wind up with civilian orbital habitats of any appreciable size and/or quantity, there's bound to be plenty of waste products.

      --
      This poo is cold.
    14. Re:Managing space debris by Hotawa+Hawk-eye · · Score: 1

      This space hotel in LEO would be useful as a starting point / gas station for trips further out. If each launch that carries an inflatable module were also to carry an extra container of fuel and leave it there, over time you could assemble a substantial fuel depot where later missions headed to the Moon or Mars could refuel after escaping the atmosphere.

  3. Congrats, but... by camperdave · · Score: 1

    This is exciting news. When I first came across the Trans-hab concept, I thought it was brilliant. Now, a non-government entity is opening the doors to space by actually placing one in orbit. Wow!

    Pity it looks like a weather balloon.

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    1. Re:Congrats, but... by I+Own+Things · · Score: 2, Funny

      It may look like a weather balloon now, but the next gen. is slated to resemble an absolutely huge woman ;)

  4. Good for the space industry. by Kranfer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    While I knew about this last week (whats with the lag on stories guys?!) I think that this design concept is something that should definately help the private space industry. I have been keeping up with the new private space companies through space.com and other outlets of information over the last year or so and I love this stuff. Not only is this design concept something new and innovative, but it is also paving the way for private stations to be built in space for less than say... the ISS is costing. I am a fan of the ISS as well, don't get me wrong, but this new technology has the potential to making stations much much larger than the ISS and allow for more dare I say it... spacious interiors for research and living quarters... since if you need more space you just launch another module that inflates itself and attach it. Don;t have to wait 2 years for this huge bulky thing to be built and put onto a shuttle to launch it either. Now all they have to do is figure out a way to do this on the moon. It'll be more difficult, as we all know, because of the fact that regolith on the moon is more abrasive... I wonder how this module would do in such conditions... anyone know?

    --
    -- Josh
    "Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me!" - Pete Conrad
    1. Re:Good for the space industry. by everett · · Score: 1

      While I knew about this last week (whats with the lag on stories guys?!)

      You know, most stories you see here on slashdot are submitted by people like you. If you wanted to see this appear on slashdot when you knew of it last week you could have submitted an article link and summary yourself.

      --
      Sig withheld to protect the innocent.
    2. Re:Good for the space industry. by Riverman1 · · Score: 1
      this new technology has the potential to making stations much much larger than the ISS and allow for more dare I say it... spacious interiors for research and living quarters

      Not to mention the bouncy walls :)

    3. Re:Good for the space industry. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1
      I am a fan of the ISS as well, don't get me wrong

      You just lost me. And, I'd bet, a large percentage of your potential audience.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  5. Experimental Autopilot checks out positive! by Ohreally_factor · · Score: 4, Funny

    I've just received word from my sources at Bigelow Aerospace that their experimental autopilot is working great! This inflatable technology is AWETHOME!

    --
    It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
    1. Re:Experimental Autopilot checks out positive! by painQuin · · Score: 1

      your link URL gets shrunk down to "[affordable...titute.org]"

      and I was thinking, "why would it shrink out four letters for three dots"

      then I checked what the address really was. far less interesting, let me tell you.

      --
      A guilty conscience means at least you've got one.
    2. Re:Experimental Autopilot checks out positive! by Ohreally_factor · · Score: 1

      I think what you want is halfprice-escorts.com. Paste at your own risk.

      Another picture of Otto Pilot with some other guy.

      --
      It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
  6. Space Debris by Snowtide · · Score: 1

    I think UR30 is on to something, anyone have any ideas what being hit by a small piece of space junk, a piece smaller than my fist but moving at a few hundred miles an hour will do to one of these things? I really want ideas like this module to suceed, anything to reliably get more people and productive work into orbit. On a humerous note, does an inflatable space station seem like something from Futurerama or Sluggy Freelance to anyone besides me?

    1. Re:Space Debris by MarkusQ · · Score: 2, Informative

      anyone have any ideas what being hit by a small piece of space junk,..will do to one of these things?

      I can't find a link at the moment, but ground tests showed pretty much what you'd expect--it does much better than a metal can, to roughly the same extent as a modern bullet proof vest out performs a suit of (aluminum) armor in a gun fight.

      Yes, there are things that will destroy it. But Kg for Kg, Kevlar is a lot better than aluminum foil at protecting you from small, high speed impacts.

      --MarkusQ

    2. Re:Space Debris by HangingChad · · Score: 4, Interesting
      I think UR30 is on to something, anyone have any ideas what being hit by a small piece of space junk, a piece smaller than my fist but moving at a few hundred miles an hour will do to one of these things?

      Millions in engineering and they overlooked that little detail. Time to pack it up and go back to the drawing board.

      Of course it would do damage. Just like it would do damage to a conventional space station, the Hubble, shuttle orbiter or anything else in LEO. You'd be lucky if it was only going a few hundred mph. More likely it would be thousands of mph and the effect would be spectacular regardless of what it hits. Anything the size you describe is probably already being tracked, along with burned out motors, dead satellites, wrenches, and pieces of insulation. What's harder to track are paint chips and debris from collisions. One dead Russian sat is leaking blobs of liquid metal.

      Here's a good blog on space junk. One proposed solution are satellite robot junk collectors that snag space junk and then deorbit to dispose of it. Make a couple of those a part of every mission. For the big stuff all that's required is slowing it down a few meters per second and the atmosphere takes care of it for you. The problem are things too small to track.

      --
      That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
    3. Re:Space Debris by camperdave · · Score: 2, Informative
      anyone have any ideas what being hit by a small piece of space junk, a piece smaller than my fist but moving at a few hundred miles an hour will do to one of these things?

      It would probably just bounce off. This is not some child's latex balloon we're talking about. The walls consist of five layers of carbon fiber composite. The TransHab module that this thing is based off of had 16 inch thick walls.

      More than 50 ballistics tests at the University of Dayton Research Institute and the University of Denver Research Institute were devoted to firing particles of 0.25-5Z8 in. toward the Bigelow shield at velocities from about 1.9-4.3 mi./sec.

      "The tests showed we have a shield that performs comparably to NASA's, but at a fraction of the cost," says Brian Aiken, the overall Bigelow program manager. Aiken has extensive experience in satellite design, mostly on military spacecraft at TRW (now Northrop Grumman). Bigelow's Gamble
      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    4. Re:Space Debris by Ana10g · · Score: 1

      I've always been curious of solutions to the space junk problem. This was one proposed solution. Another that I thought of is to drag a giant curtain around with you in orbit, capturing, if not deflecting stuff. Sort of like dragging a big net through the ocean. Then, when done, just empty it (not sure how yet) at the atmosphere, and everything burns up. Unless you catch a satellite in the process :)

      --
      just an analog boy living in a digital age.
    5. Re:Space Debris by Riverman1 · · Score: 1
      Interesting topic, I can relate to an experience I had as a child. If you shoot a red rider BB gun at an aluminum can, the BB punctures it, but if you shoot it at a big plastic inflatable punching bag (you remember, the kind with sand on the bottom) it bounces right off and hits you in the face, scaring the bajesus out of you.

      What I'm saying is, I think the inflatable kevlar bag has more potential of stopping the meteor dead in it's tracks than the aluminum can called ISS. It's also more forgiving if the meteor hits closer to the edge and is deflected. I'm sure Bigelow has done tests, so long as it is as safe or safer than the ISS, they're fine. It is a serious consideration for passengers, I'm sure.

    6. Re:Space Debris by sinequonon · · Score: 1

      He who lives in inflatable space station should not throw glass...

      --
      -Bob-
  7. Sirius Cybernetics? by Max+von+H. · · Score: 3, Insightful

    From Bigelow's website: "At this point in time, the vehicle is happy and healthy."

    Reminds me of some elevators and automatic doors, all very happy to serve.

    *chuckles*

    --
    -- It's always darker before it goes pitch black.
  8. ...Nothing to see here by nephillim · · Score: 0

    ... What you saw was not a space station. It was in fact some swamp gas reflecting the light of Venus. Nothing to see here, move along!

  9. Ukraine? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think, you're off by a few thousand kilometers.

  10. Imagine a Beowolf cluster of these... by AngryDill · · Score: 2, Funny
    It would be like Macys' parade!

    -a.d.-

    --


    I'm Erwin Schrodinger and I approve of this message, and I do not approve of this message!
  11. Rubber Duckie Needs A Friend... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't mind having an inflateable submarine before upgrading to an inflateable space station. My rubber duckie gets lonely.

  12. Is this even real? by JamesTKirk · · Score: 3, Interesting

    OK, we don't have the launch footage because someone knocked over the camera(!?!?). And we lost contact right after launch because of a power outage. But here's a really blurry picture to prove it's up there.

    Also, our business model is that if we just get it up there someone else will... um... well, rent it or lease it for something. You know, it's just like building a strip mall. If you just build the space, someone else will pay to occupy it or use it to advertise. Except, of course, that this is in space where people can't really get to or see.

    This story is so sketchy, and the web site is so cheesey, I'm tempted to think this whole thing is fake. I know it's been in the news before, but so has the Phantom console. At best, it sounds like some crackpot in Real Estate came up with a stupid but futuristic sounding idea, and managed to get a lot of funding for it.

    The only possible use I can see for this is to lease it to NASA. NASA could save money by abandoning the ISS and use this for a lower cost. Of course NASA ran out of useful experiments to do a long time ago, so I don't know what they would actually use this for, but it would be cheaper than what they're doing now.

    1. Re:Is this even real? by Riverman1 · · Score: 1
      I first heard about his efforts a number of years ago and have been periodically checking up on this project. Bigelow is taking huge risks. He has spent estimated 70 million so far, of his 500m+ fortune. He is undoubtedly doing it mostly for his own interest. I read that he is a very effective manager and can do this sort of thing for cheap. Why hire a $50,000 camera crew when you have a camcorder, and a tripod you got free for applying for a capital one card at the vegas auto show. (DOH!)

      I had my doubts, but he currently has an orbiting spacecraft. Now he's got everybody's attention. By the way, this spacecraft is due to be de-orbited, it is only a test model, not intended to earn revenue. I suppose when he is ready there will be manned launchers from companies like SpaceX.

    2. Re:Is this even real? by FleaPlus · · Score: 1

      This story is so sketchy, and the web site is so cheesey, I'm tempted to think this whole thing is fake.

      Um... you can see it for yourself, and the satellite has been tracked by government ground stations since its launch.

      The only possible use I can see for this is to lease it to NASA.

      Or the various millionaires who might want a roomier destination than the ISS to take a trip on a Soyuz rocket to.

  13. This is (tm) really cool(tm) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Pretty neat thing to see (tm), though 'I think (tm)' that
    The Site (tm) needs more Moronic Trademarks (tm).

  14. Launched from where ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    AFAIK the Dnepr LV is launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, not from the Ukraine.



    The Ukranians build (most of) the rocket (which is a converted R36 ICBM), the Russians launch it from the spaceport they lease from Kazakhstan and control it from the outskirts of Moscow.



    Some pictures of the Dnepr being launched can be found on kosmotras's website: http://www.kosmotras.ru/st2.htm
    And some info on the russian mission control center:http://www.mcc.rsa.ru/

  15. You have GOT to be kidding by jeffmeden · · Score: 3, Insightful
    From TFA:
    Las Vegas, We Have a Problem
    Just as the anticipated time of SpaceQuest's contact with the Genesis I was approaching, a major storm caused power outages in much of the Arlington area. SpaceQuest, which was to receive the first communication from Genesis I and relay it to Las Vegas, had no power. Now, there was a little more than 30 minutes before SpaceQuest controllers were supposed to hear a cry of life from the Genesis I, but there was no life in the receivers in Virginia.

    They are trying to manage a SPACEFLIGHT and they don't have a simple backup power source? Don't book my ticket just yet please...

    1. Re:You have GOT to be kidding by gnuman99 · · Score: 1

      They spent their money on the wallpaper backgrounds for their mission control hence no backup power source. Compare their Mission Control center,
      http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/out_there/mission_ control.php

      to one of NASA's,
      http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/presskits/ff s_gallery_mcc_image3.html

      and you'll notice that NASA's people actually have *stuff* on their screens instead of wallpapers and miscalenous windows backgrounds.

      When you send something into space you want to have a return on the investment. This means communication with the satellite! And after a few days, they can only say "At this point in time, the vehicle is happy and healthy" and produce a grainy image. At least to myself, they do sound like a joke.

    2. Re:You have GOT to be kidding by deevnil · · Score: 1

      That was pretty funny whe they were talking about running dropcords across the street, I had to check and make sure I wasn't at theonion. I wonder if they ran to wal-mart and got a bunch of cheap cords that were so long and slender they'd only be able to efficiently power a lightbulb and maybe they grabbed a few of those powerblock/outlet expanders. I guess NASA set the example with the caulk and duct tape repairs.

    3. Re:You have GOT to be kidding by James_G · · Score: 1

      Compare their Mission Control center, http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/out_there/mission_ control.php

      Errr... is it just me, or do these images look rendered? wtf?

    4. Re:You have GOT to be kidding by jeffmeden · · Score: 1

      That's hilarious... "Yeah here in mission control we are watching; Someone elses' space launch, Some old picture of a nebula, A picture someone made of a fake planet in a cloud field, Coverage of MIR (i swear thats live), some artist's rendition of 3 aerobag orbiters... What? Our own ship? Right... I think that was on channel 4, where did I leave that remote?"

    5. Re:You have GOT to be kidding by FleaPlus · · Score: 1

      Compare their Mission Control center, http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/out_there/mission_ control.php

      Errr... is it just me, or do these images look rendered? wtf?

      A number of the images are renderings from various articles on Bigelow Aerospace. For whatever reason, I guess they wanted to make the screen look flashier (or protect proprietary information) and just put up stock images and splash screens when the photo was taken.

  16. Ukraine?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ??? what does Ukraine have to do with this? Did they recently invade and annex russia and i miss it?

  17. From the Site's Marketing Questionnaire... by johnthorensen · · Score: 3, Funny

    4. If you had the opportunity to play a free game of bingo coming directly to you from the spacecraft with the possibility to win prizes, how often would you visit the site?

    WTF? Space Bingo? What kind of circus clown is running Bigelow Aerospace if this is their idea for making piles of cash with a manned spacecraft? And who the hell thought the target market for an aerospace venture would be my 70-year-old grandmother?

    Just goes to show why nerds work on the tech end of things, not the marketing...

    -JT

    1. Re:From the Site's Marketing Questionnaire... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1
      WTF? Space Bingo?

      You laugh, but one of the talks at the last Bingo World conference was on attracting younger players. (I missed it, because I was in a different talk at the time.) They do glow-in-the dark bingo and shit like that, and it works. I think Bingo is about the most boring way to waste your money possible, but I'm sure there's something worse. Keep in mind that this is my personal opinion; lots of people love bingo.

      You can bet your ass that people bored to play online bingo in the first place will be enthralled with the idea of space bingo.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:From the Site's Marketing Questionnaire... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, you must not belong here.

  18. Well done by Teun · · Score: 1
    Well done is my first thought.

    Private input into the space industry is an inevitable part of it's future.
    Finding of risk capital for novel ideas is possibly their biggest asset compared to traditional government projects.

    But I somewhat less impressed by all the (tm) stuff in the Bigelow website; the phrases 'Fly your stuff', 'Out there', 'Life and death', 'By your command' and 'Multiverse' are now trade marks???

    Just imagine Columbus having trademarked things like 'Go west' or 'The world is round'.
    When this is the stuff that makes a commercial success of what so far primarily has been an engineering challenge I get suspicious.

    --
    "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
  19. Ukraine??? by igny · · Score: 1

    What does Ukraine have to do with this project?

    --
    In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. - Yogi Berra
    1. Re:Ukraine??? by tetromino · · Score: 1

      They have most of the responsibility for the launch vehicle.

  20. phew! by veinard · · Score: 1

    I'm so glad it blew up!
    that sounds weird to say...

  21. The limits of human imagination by E++99 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    When Arthur C. Clarke imagined that in 2001 we would build an artificial computer intelligence that would turn homicidal in order to wrest control of a spacecraft, and that in 2010 we would land on a moon made entirely of diamond, people thought that sounded plausible and cool.

    On the other hand, if someone had proposed at that time that in 2006 a spacecraft would launch from the Ukraine called "Genesis 1", and that mission control in Las Vegas would lose power at the last minute and would have to run an extension cord to the restaurant across the street for power, people would have thought that was the stupidest, most implausible thing they had ever heard.

    1. Re:The limits of human imagination by meringuoid · · Score: 1
      On the other hand, if someone had proposed at that time that in 2006 a spacecraft would launch from the Ukraine called "Genesis 1", and that mission control in Las Vegas would lose power at the last minute and would have to run an extension cord to the restaurant across the street for power, people would have thought that was the stupidest, most implausible thing they had ever heard.

      I'm not so sure. There's a fair amount of SF from way back that assumes that space travel will be much like everything else humans do: a half-assed job held together by optimism, hacking and duct tape.

      A lesser-known novel by Clarke which I would love to see filmed was A Fall Of Moondust, which has aged remarkably well. A pleasure-boat skimming a lake of dessicated moondust is caught by a moonquake and sinks beneath the dust. The rest of the novel is dedicated to the survival of the people on board, the colossal media circus that springs up, and the ingenuity of the engineers and hackers putting together a rescue operation out of cannibalised parts on an absolute shoestring.

      It's a novel that has such a strong ring of truth about it. That's the danger we'll face, and that's how we'll overcome it. A hostile universe, waiting to be challenged with hope, hacks and duct tape.

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
  22. WTF launched from Ukraine??? by tetromino · · Score: 1

    Um, no. For those who can't be bothered to google, the Dnepr is a joint Russian-Ukrainian venture to make a profit out of disposing of expired ballistic missiles. Russia has lots of old SS-18 "Satan" ICBM's sitting around, which are expensive to maintain, many of which are past expiration date, and which it anyway has to get rid of thanks to the START treaty. The Satan was originally designed by OKB Yuzhnoe, which is located in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. Yuzhnoe therefore gets the job of converting the old ICBM into a civilian launch vehicle. The converted rocket, now known as Dnepr, then gets shipped to a brand-new launch facility in Orenburg, Russia, and the launch generally utilizes Russian Space Agency's infrastructure.

    So, in conclusion: old Soviet missile, refurbished in Ukraine, launched from Russia.

  23. geee by Ian-K · · Score: 1

    I guess this gives a whole new meaning to "inflatable toys"...

    --
    I'm no longer fed up with MS Windows: I go rid of them :)
  24. Inflatable spacecraft? Been done. 46 years ago by bmo · · Score: 1

    One of the first communication satellites was the Echo 1, a metalized mylar inflated sphere...back in 1960.

    It was large - lightly over 30 meters in diameter. It stayed in orbit for 8 years and was visible to the naked eye as a very bright star. The advantages were wide bandwith and low cost, but the disadvantage was high signal loss.

    Echo II was an improved version, with better sphericity and reflectivity, boosting performance, but passive sats were no longer sexy and NASA abandoned them for active satellites.

    --
    BMO

  25. HAL 9000 was framed! by MS-06FZ · · Score: 1

    When Arthur C. Clarke imagined that in 2001 we would build an artificial computer intelligence that would turn homicidal in order to wrest control of a spacecraft...

    HAL was compelled to obey the orders he was given, and was given contradictory orders: ensure the success of the mission at all costs, and serve and protect the crew. When it began to appear to HAL that the crew themselves could be a threat to the success of the mission, he had to choose the order that was given higher priority.

    --
    ---GEC
    I'm but the humble pupil, seeking to snatch the scratchbuilt pebble from the master's fully articulated hand
    1. Re:HAL 9000 was framed! by E++99 · · Score: 1
      HAL was compelled to obey the orders he was given, and was given contradictory orders: ensure the success of the mission at all costs, and serve and protect the crew. When it began to appear to HAL that the crew themselves could be a threat to the success of the mission, he had to choose the order that was given higher priority.
      Oh, sure, the old "it can only be attributable to human error" defense. ;-)
    2. Re:HAL 9000 was framed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      HAL was compelled to obey the orders he was given, and was given contradictory orders

      So HAL was taking orders from a woman?

    3. Re:HAL 9000 was framed! by MS-06FZ · · Score: 1

      Well, I was going to go with the Chewbacca defense, but when I explained it to HAL he started regressing again.

      --
      ---GEC
      I'm but the humble pupil, seeking to snatch the scratchbuilt pebble from the master's fully articulated hand
  26. Sketchy Math... by evilviper · · Score: 1
    From TFA:
    For Bigelow, a dream first drawn out when he started Bigelow Aerospa
    ce in 1999 had become reality.
    [...]
    After eight years of planning, the actual creation and delivery into space took
    only nine months.

    Let's see... 1999 + 8 years of planning + 9 months of "creation and delivery" (
    starting in October) would have to mean we're somewhere in 2009 right now...
    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  27. Meteor/Debris Protection System by TheBlacklion · · Score: 1

    I was a student under the lead engineer and patent holder of the original TransHab module. Dr. Scnieder now works for Bigelow. I've read so many "pop" like a balloon comments over the years, they drive me crazy. This system is MORE robust than an aluminum module. If the current system works like the original transhab sheild, I can tell you exactly how it works. There are alternating layers of a super-high strength fiber fabric, simmilar to kevlar but much harder. Its a ceramic based fiber IIRC. These are alternated with several inches of foam. The idea is when a peice of debris is inbound, it hits the fiber and fractures into smaller peices. Then, while traveling through the foam, the pieces spread out so when they hit the next layer of tough fabric they are spread out and each fragment is once again split. In this way each layer breaks the debris object into smaller peices and absorbs impact energy. The transhab had, I beleive 6 layers of this tough fabricseperated by 6 layers of foam, for a total thickness around 18". The beuty is the foam can be vacuum baged and stored in a very small space for launch. They acheived far superior performance to the aluminum cans that are currently up there.

    1. Re:Meteor/Debris Protection System by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The idea is when a peice of debris is inbound, it hits the fiber and fractures into smaller peices. Then, while traveling through the foam, the pieces spread out so when they hit the next layer of tough fabric they are spread out and each fragment is once again split.

      In other words a whipple shield, the same idea that is used behind every sane impact protection up there including the ISS. Granted the ISS uses pieces of metal space apart but the effect is pretty much the same.

  28. Thanks by pavon · · Score: 1

    Thanks for that explaination, too bad you haven't been modded up.

  29. Am I going to lose my job? by Abuzar · · Score: 1, Funny

    These foreign companies, man.

    It seems like every time I pick a profession, some foreign company is ready to take it over. At this rate, how much you wanna bet NASA outsources 60% of the Astronaut jobs to Ukraine?

    First, it was prostitution. Then EI pays me to upgrade to an IT Professional. What happens? The whole motherload of the IT profession gets shipped over to mama India. Why did I ever bother to immigrate here anyways? Could've just crossed the border and stayed in Bombay.

    Then, EI pays me to upgrade to an Astronaut. What happens? UKRAINE. That's what happens! Gesus-buggering-Kriste man, think I'd have some job security an Astronaut, eh? But, no sirreee! So like, what are they gonna pay me to upgrade to next? At 25, they should just cut me a pension and let me retire.

    Just as a side note, we could really use some other inflatable products up here, eh. How about a life-size replica of Asia Carrera?
    Shout out to Asia Carrera: Keep up the quantum research! ;-)

  30. How to find it in the night sky by FleaPlus · · Score: 1

    According to this article in Alan Boyle's Cosmic Log, you can actually spot the Genesis-1 spacecraft for yourself in the night sky. From the article:

    Bigelow wasn't just being metaphorical about seeing that Genesis spacecraft in the sky. Satellite experts have already worked out a schedule of viewing opportunities - some of which should be bright enough for the naked eye. Go to the Heavens-Above Web site, plug in your coordinates, then go to the satellite database and search for "Genesis-1." You can also go directly to this page to see Genesis' current location, but you won't be able to find out when and where you can see it from the ground.

    This Real Time Satellite Tracking page can also show you the orbital location of Genesis 1 and lots of other spacecraft, including the space shuttle Discovery, which was launched last week ... by that other space program.

    There's also supposedly more photos which have recently been released on the Bigelow Aerospace website, but it doesn't seem to be responsive right now.

  31. Check out the first link : by WhatDoIKnow · · Score: 1

    So that's where all that non-free and restricted software comes from! It's in orbit!

    :wq