The Big Deal: Bigelow and SpaceX Join Forces on Inflatable Space Stations - MyMoon
NASA and MyMoon have teamed up to blog about everything lunar. Art, literature, music, movies, science, and everything in between!
All quiet on the twitter front.
THE BIG DEAL: BIGELOW AND SPACEX JOIN FORCES ON INFLATABLE SPACE STATIONS
Looks like inflatable space stations are for real.
Bigelow Aerospace, famous for their inflatable space stations concept, has formed an alliance with private launch pioneers SpaceX to bring passengers to Bigelow’s private stations.
Yes, privately owned space stations. Welcome to the future.
Their owner will be Robert Bigelow---hotel magnate---and while inflating space stations might sound goofy, it’s actually a cost-effective and serious approach.
As seen in the image below, Mr. Bigelow (who I think gets bonus points for a strong resemblance to Tony Stark) plans not just to have inflatable bases in Earth orbit, but also to land them on the Moon:
Bigelow Aerospace image (via Space.com) of Robert and a lunar base model.
With this new partnership with SpaceX (who are currently launching for the International Space Station), Bigelow’s efforts get an extra leg of legitimacy.
So, yes, inflatable space stations on the Moon are basically going to happen. And a lot of us could be vacationing in them before we retire.
With this and billionaire asteroid mining, private space has been getting rather awesome all of a sudden! So---would you vacation on an inflatable space station? Would you go to an orbital one, or wait for one to land on the Moon? Would you need a little luxury?
Sunday May-20-2012
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Nick A.
Tuesday May-29-2012
Indeed! Funny thing is, once on the Moon, the inflatable bases will actually be like a bouncy house---because of the low grav ;)
Abhimat G.
Wednesday May-30-2012
At first, I thought it probably wouldn't hold up against meteorites, but they are saying that it is stronger than the current outer panels in ISS. Wow!
Dennis M J M.
Friday Jun-01-2012
from what I understand the biggelow modules are like a kevlar material which allows some flex and actually can safely absorb a larger or faster impact than traditional metal shells - plus you can pack more station in a tube than a rigid shell design. Neat all around.
COMMUNITY COMMENTS:
Dennis M J M.
Monday May-21-2012
AMAZING !!!!!!