Sierra Space has completed a key test of its inflatable space habitat, as the company progresses toward launching and operating a private space station with Blue Origin before the end of the decade. The “ultimate burst pressure” test of the inflatable module was conducted at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. In this instance, engineers inflated the module to 77 psi before it burst, proving that it exceeded NASA’s recommended safety level of 60.8 psi by 27%.
Sierra Space s latest deliberate explosion saw a futuristic space module prototype blow to pieces. The burst test is meant to assure safety for a space station that may fly in 2030.
Private space company Sierra Space has blown up its first full-scale inflatable space habitat dubbed Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) — and it was all part of the plan. The ballon-like contraption, which measured just over 20 feet tall, held the third of the volume of the International Space Station once fully inflated. Engineers […]