Inflatable space habitat

Inflatable habitats or expandable habitats are pressurized tent-like structures capable of supporting life in outer space whose internal volume increases after launch. They have frequently been proposed for use in space applications to provide a greater volume of living space for a given mass.

The first formal design and manufacture of an inflatable space habitat was in 1961 with a space station design produced by Goodyear (although this design was never flown).

An inflatable module called TransHab (a portmanteau of Trans Habitation) was proposed for the International Space Station,

Construction

The construction of an inflatable space habitat is determined by its design objectives. However common elements include interwoven layers of highly durable materials such as Kevlar and mylar around a flexible air bladder which is used to retain an atmosphere. The shape of the module is maintained by the pressure difference between the internal atmosphere and the outside vacuum. The inflatable Bigelow Aerospace modules have an internal core which provides structural support during its launch into orbit.

Ongoing research

Currently the main areas of research are being undertaken by Sierra Space and NASA. NASA is currently studying inflatable lunar bases with the planetary surface habitat and airlock unit

Bigelow Aerospace development work

From its founding in 1998 until its closing in 2020, Bigelow Aerospace performed pioneering research and development work in coordination with NASA on inflatable space habitats. In 2021 Sierra Space was founded, which continued the development of inflatable space habitats in partnership with NASA.

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) was an experimental expandable space station module developed by the now defunct Bigelow Aerospace, under contract to NASA, for testing as a temporary module on the International Space Station (ISS) from 2016 to at least 2020. It arrived at the ISS on April 10, 2016,

The Bigelow Next-Generation Commercial Space Station, composed of two types of expandable space habitat modules, was announced in mid-2010.

In March 2020, Bigelow laid off all 88 of its employees. As of January 2024

NASA Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle

In early 2011, NASA put forward a conceptual proposal for a long-duration crewed space transport vehicle which includes an artificial gravity space habitat intended to promote crew-health for a crew of up to six persons on missions of up to two years duration. Called the Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV), the partial-G torus-ring centrifuge would utilize both standard metal-frame and inflatable spacecraft structures and would provide 0.11 to 0.69 G (1.0791–6.7689 m/s2 or 3.540–22.208 ft/s2).

Related to MMSEV is the ISS Centrifuge Demo, proposed in 2011 as a demonstration project preparatory to the final design of the larger torus centrifuge space habitat for the Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle. The structure would have an outside diameter of 30 feet (9.1 m) with a 30 inches (760 mm) ring interior cross-section diameter and would provide 0.08 to 0.51 G (0.7848–5.0031 m/s2 or 2.575–16.414 ft/s2). This test and evaluation centrifuge would have the capability to become a sleep module for ISS crew.

Sierra Space- LIFE Habitat

LIFE (Large Integrated Flexible Environment or Large Inflatable Fabric Environment) is an inflatable space habitat currently being developed by Sierra Space.

Lunar Surface Habitat

Lunar Surface Habitat is an inflatable habitat proposed by NASA for Artemis program.

Advantages

Flight experience

The 1965 Voskhod 2 mission employed an inflatable airlock for the first ever EVA.