Inflatable Sierra Space Station At A NASA Facility Violently Explodes On Video
LIFE is a large, three-story structure that is 27-feet in diameter. The company touts that it can comfortably sleep four astronauts, with additional room for things such as science experiments, exercise equipment, a medical center, and an Astro Garden that can grow fresh produce for those onboard during long space missions. Sierra Space recently found itself under an extreme amount of pressure, as it tested its LIFE habitat’s pressure shell.
During the Ultimate Burst Pressure (UBP) test, the team inflated the test habitat until it failed. This helps to determine just how strong its softgoods materials would hold up under extreme stresses in a space environment. The full-scale unit in the test was able to reach 77 psi before it burst, which Sierra Space says “well exceeds (+27%) NASA’s recommended level of 60.8 psi (maximum operating pressure of 15.2 psi multiplied by a safety factor of four).
“We are driving the reinvention of the space station that will shape a new era of humanity’s exploration and discovery in Low Earth Orbit and beyond.” remarked Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice. “Sierra Space’s inflatable space station technology offers the absolute largest in-space pressured volume, the best unit economics per on-orbit volume and lowest launch and total operating costs.”
The company’s LIFE habitat can be packaged inside a standard five-meter rocket fairing, and once in orbit, inflate to the size of a three-story apartment building. Sierra Space says that in only three launches, the modular LIFE units can create a living and working environment in space that is bigger than the entire International Space Station (ISS). The company is also working toward creating a larger 1,400-cubic-meter version that will be able to be packed into a seven-meter rocket fairing, and surpass the size of ISS in a single launch.
According to the company, the pressure shell, also known as the restraint layer, comprises Vectran straps along with a series of other high-strength fabric materials. Vectran is said to be stronger than steel when inflated on-orbit and to provide high margins of safety under pressure.
“The successful full-scale burst test is an undeniable leap toward a new reality of how humans live and operate in space, and we are proud to celebrate this milestone as we work to expand humanity’s capabilities in Low Earth Orbit,” remarked Rob Reed, President of Space & Engineered Solutions at ILC Dover.
