Sierra Space set its sights on blowing up a space module on video and has delivered on that promise with flying colors.
The company has completed its third round of module testing to qualify the module design for eventual space flight and to support the development of a civilian space complex. international space station (ISS). A systematic accelerated creep test, which the company called his December test, exceeded NASA’s certification requirements.
“These results will drive us in 2023 as we mature the technology through full-scale development and continue towards full NASA certification,” a Sierra Space official wrote. statement (opens in new tab) Tuesday (January 31st).
Sierra Space’s Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) blue originOrbital Reef represents part of an industry-led space station that NASA has provided early-stage funding for in December 2021 as part of a plan to replace the aging ISS around the 2030s.
Related: NASA looks to private outposts to build on International Space Station legacy
Sierra Space is Explosion test trio So far, for safety reasons, NASA certification requires extensive ground testing to ensure the design is safe for spaceflight. The December 2022 effort required that the subscale test module be loaded with air pressure and the module maintained pressure for at least 100 hours. The explosion occurred after he had 150 hours, exceeding the requirement by 150% for him.
Previously in July and November, Sierra Space performed two final burst pressure tests. In this test, the test modules were subjected to increasing air pressure until they broke apart. Once the December test results are complete, Sierra is planning a second subscale systematic accelerated creep test in “early 2023,” followed by full-scale testing later in the year, officials said. said in a release.
In the photo: Inside Sierra Nevada’s inflatable space habitat for astronauts in lunar orbit
all tests are NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center The same zone where NASA tested the rocket, adjacent to the frame trench of the Saturn 1/1B test stand in Huntsville, Alabama Apollo Moon Program of the 1960s and 1970s. The tests included Sierra Space, former spacesuit maker his ILC Dover, and NASA officials.
Sierra Space isn’t the only space station module maker to deliberately blow things up for NASA.For example, in December, an engineer at Lockheed’s Martin Space Waterton facility in Colorado The test module also explodes As NASA seeks to extend its influence into space, this modular design is aimed at deeper space destinations, but for its own ultimate burst pressure test. Moon from.
In 2021, NASA will $415 million Funds have been split among three teams tasked with creating the ISS’ successor space station. His Orbital Reef team, which includes Sierra Space led by Blue Origin, earned his $130 million, Nanoracks LLC’s team earned his $160 million, and Northrop Grumman’s team earned $125.6 million.
An inflatable module is also currently in use on the ISS and is being tested by Bigelow Space. The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) will arrive at the docking port in 2019 and undergo regular inspections by ISS astronauts to make sure it’s strong enough to withstand the vacuum of space and solar radiation. .
Elizabeth Howell is co-author ofwhy am i tall (opens in new tab)?” (ECW Press, 2022, co-authored with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a book on space medicine. Follow her on Twitter. @Howell Space (opens in new tab)Follow us on Twitter @space.com (opens in new tab) again Facebook (opens in new tab).
