 |
Bigelow To Offer Inflatable Lunar Bases
After their success in installing and inflating their BEAM (Bigelow Expandable Activity Module) on the ISS, Robert Bigelow has set his sights beyond LEO (low Earth orbit):
The ambitious model shows just how far down the road Bigelow's thinking. The idea is to launch a few of his inflatable habitats into low earth orbit; attach them to each other and a massive array of solar screens; tug the entire contraption to the moon and then the space station would lower itself to the lunar surface and create a permanent base. It's all technologically do-able.
"This space game is not just a technological game by any means," Bigelow said. "It is first and foremost a political challenge and game; it's a financial challenge as well."
SF fans know all about the Igloo inflatable moon habitat from Arthur C. Clarke's 1961 novel A Fall of Moondust.
Via Las Vegas News; thanks to Jon Jeckell for the Twitter tip on this story.
It's a space station that becomes a base on the surface of the moon," according to Bigelow.
This was one of the latest models - a Goodyear Mark XX - and it could sustain six men for an indefinite period, as long as they were supplied with power, water, food and oxygen. The igloo could provide everything else - even entertainment, for it had a built-in microlibrary of books, music and video... In space, boredom could be a killer...
(Read more about Clarke's inflatable lunar habitat)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/27/2016)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
Mercury Capsule Ablative Shielding
'...a synthetic which air-friction would erode away.' - Doc Smith, 1934.
Heinlein And Russian Quail In Orbit
'No earth-hatched bird can learn to fly in that fashion...' - Robert Heinlein, 1942.
Space Construction Tools For Large Structures By OAC
'Mass-produced in the orbiting factories...'
Comercial Airlock 'Bishop' Now On ISS
'They put the bones and the glass can that had contained the soup into the double-doored partition or vestibule...' - John Jacob Astor IV, 1894.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
Nuclear Batteries May Pack Inner Punch
'... the most super-valuable substance in the solar system.'
Elon Musk STILL Wants To Make Heinlein's 1940's Speedster
'As she neared the barrier the car surged and lifted...'
Mercury Capsule Ablative Shielding
'...a synthetic which air-friction would erode away.'
Heinlein And Russian Quail In Orbit
'No earth-hatched bird can learn to fly in that fashion...'
Listen Up, Coppertop - Wearable Device Turns You Into A Battery
'It's our way or the highway.'
Solar Powered Robot Cleans Up Solar Panels For Free
'... with large padded feet, who were apparently polishing their way the whole length of Rama's six artificial suns.'
Spot Arm From Boston Dynamics Picks Up Like Heinlein's Hired Girl Robot
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray on its upper surface...'
Electric Vehicle Prices Will Drop To $2,890
'the human seats took up two-thirds of the room in each'
TIGER Ultimate Mobility Vehicle From Hyundai
'He admired the fast-plodding, articulated legs...'
Drones Communicate With Each Other Using Quantum Encryption
'the curious absent look of a robot talking on the TBR circuits...'
Space Construction Tools For Large Structures By OAC
'Mass-produced in the orbiting factories...'
SpinCare Electrospins And Shoots Wound Dressing
'Over her lacerated right shoulder he sprayed art-derm...'
Tesla Model S And X Moves Toward KITT Knight Rider Styling
Now, that was a Pontiac Trans Am with some real style.
Sophia Robots By The Thousands
'There is a built-in microphone that hears everything you say, and an electric brain that selects a suitable answer.'
Scaly-Foot Snail Works With Iron
'Micro-Scale suit tiles fabricated by genetically engineered metal affinity bacteria...'
Updated Piaggio Gita Personal Robot Porter
'Carry his bag... and follow him faithfully...'
