Model of Inflatable Space Station to Launch Feb 16

alex writes "A Russian rocket will launch a 1/3 scale model of of the Bigelow inflatable space station a week from Friday, according to The Space Fellowship. This prototype will carry a thousand personal objects donated by Bigelow Aerospace employees. If all goes well, another prototype should go up by September, and non-Bigelow-employee enthusiasts might be able to contribute their own garbage--err, personal items--to the project. (Via Futurismic)"

Replace "February 16th" with "June 16th"

[benhocking]

According to TFA.

no armor necessary

[m874t232]

If the thing is properly constructed, the effect of a micrometeorite is no worse than with other constructions. Basically, don't think of an elastic skin that snaps, but something more akin to airtight canvas. If you punch a hole in that, you just get a small hole, nothing more. If anything, inflatable space stations are easier to repair than other constructions.

Re:Would it work in the (near) vacuum of space?

[david.given]

Will the goo harden in orbit, or does it need an oxidizing agent?

Vacuum has amazing evaporative power --- some substance with a volatile solvent in it should work fine. Exposed to vacuum, the solvent will evaporate off in practically no time. Plain PVA glue would most likely work, although you might need some thickener to reduce the flow rate.

I don't know what the Bigelow hab is using; from the very limited information available, I don't think they're going for this approach. I suspect they're just using an ordinary tough skin.

(The Apollo spacesuits had cooling systems that worked by evaporating water. The water evaporated so quickly that they had to keep the coolers turned all the way down, or the astronauts got far too cold...)

"Brilliant Condoms" redux

[IAN]

The inflatable spacecraft idea has been floated (heh) in the 80s by a scientist at LLNL who previously came up with the idea of using gobs of small interceptors for strategic missile defense -- the concept known as Brilliant Pebbles. His rather aggressive promotion of inflatables attracted a lot of criticism, and someone called the scheme "Brilliant Condoms". With a moniker like that, it's no wonder that support and funds have been scarce.

The idea has its merits, as mentioned elsewhere in the comments... Volume to mass ratio is much better than that of a solid structure, and micrometeorite shielding can be provided adequately.