TransHab
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TransHab was a program pursued by
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
in the late 1990s to develop the technology for expandable habitats inflated by air in space. TransHab was intended as a replacement for the existing rigid
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
crew
Habitation Module The Habitation Module for the International Space Station was intended to be the Station's main living quarters designed with Galley (kitchen), galley, toilet, shower, sleep stations and medical facilities. About the size of a bus, the module wa ...
. When deflated, inflatable modules provide an 'easier to launch' compact form. When fully inflated, TransHab would expand to in diameter (compare to the diameter of the Columbus ISS Module).


History

The name of the project is a contraction of ''Transit Habitat'' reflecting the original intention to design an interplanetary vehicle to transfer humans to Mars. Considerable controversy arose during the TransHab development effort due to delays and increased costs of the ISS program. In 1999, the
National Space Society The National Space Society (NSS) is an American international nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and scientific organization specializing in space advocacy. It is a member of the Independent Charities of America and an annual participant in the Co ...
issued a policy statement recommending that NASA continue R&D of inflatable technologies while ceasing development of a TransHab ISS module. Finally in 2000, despite objections from the
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, House Resolution 1654 was signed into law banning
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
from conducting further research and development of TransHab. An option to lease an inflatable habitat module from private industry was included in the bill. Since that time, the private company Bigelow Aerospace has purchased the rights to the patents developed by NASA and is pursuing a similar scheme for a private space station design. The company has launched the ''
Genesis I ''Genesis I'' is an experimental space habitat designed and built by the private American firm Bigelow Aerospace and launched in 2006. It was the first module to be sent into orbit by the company, and tested various systems, materials and tec ...
'', ''Genesis II'', and BEAM pathfinder spacecraft, with plans for additional experimental craft culminating in their ''
BA 330 The B330 (previously known as the Nautilus space complex module and BA 330) was an inflatable space habitat privately developed by Bigelow Aerospace from 2010 until 2020. The design was evolved from NASA's TransHab habitat concept. B330 was t ...
'' production model and the Bigelow Commercial Space Station.Bigelow Aerospace Shows Off Bigger, Badder Space Real Estate
''
Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (often abbreviated as ''PM'' or ''PopMech'') is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do it yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation an ...
'', 2010-10-28, accessed 2010-10-30.


Technology

The TransHab design called for a hybrid structure that combines the packaging and mass efficiencies of an inflatable structure with the advantages of a load-bearing hard structure.


Multi-Layer Inflatable Shell

TransHab's inflatable shell consisted of multiple layers of blanket insulation,
protection Protection is any measure taken to guard something against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although ...
from orbital and
meteoroid A meteoroid ( ) is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are distinguished as objects significantly smaller than ''asteroids'', ranging in size from grains to objects up to wide. Objects smaller than meteoroids are classifie ...
debris, an optimized restraint layer and a redundant
bladder The bladder () is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys. In placental mammals, urine enters the bladder via the ureters and exits via the urethra during urination. In humans, the bladder is a distens ...
with a protective layer. TransHab's foot-thick inflatable shell design had almost two dozen layers. The layers were fashioned to break up particles of space debris and tiny meteorites that might hit the shell with a speed seven times as fast as a bullet. The outer layers protect multiple inner bladders, made of a material that holds in the module's air. The shell also provides insulation from
temperatures Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making up a subst ...
in
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that can range from plus 121 degrees Celsius (plus 250 degrees Fahrenheit) in sunlight to minus 128 degrees Celsius (minus 200 degrees Fahrenheit) in the shade. The key to the debris protection in the design and prototype units was successive layers of
Nextel Nextel Communications, Inc. was an American wireless service operator that merged with and ceased to exist as a subsidiary of Sprint Corporation, which would later be bought by T-Mobile US and folded into that company. Nextel in Brazil, and form ...
, a material commonly used as insulation under the hoods of many cars, spaced between several-inches-thick layers of open cell foam, similar to foam used for chair cushions on Earth. The Nextel and foam layers cause a particle to shatter as it hits, losing more and more of its energy as it penetrates deeper. Many layers deep in the shell was a layer of superstrong woven
Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s as ...
to hold the module's shape. The air was held inside by three bladders of Combitherm,DuPont, Surlyn-resin, Combitherm-film case study
/ref> a material commonly used in the food-packing industry. The innermost layer, forming the inside wall of the module, was
Nomex Nomex is a trademarked term for an inherently flame-resistant fabric with meta-aramid chemistry widely used for industrial applications and fire protection equipment. It was developed in the early 1960s by DuPont and first marketed in 1967. ...
cloth, a
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material that also protected the bladder from scuffs and scratches.


TransHab layout

TransHab was intended to be composed of four levels/floors. ; Level 4 :The Pressurized Tunnel Area was intended to provide a passageway between TransHab and any vehicle to which it is attached. The original tunnel design had two standard International Space Station hatches and housed critical equipment required during module expansion, such as avionics and power equipment. ; Level 3 :Level Three was to house an exercise area with a treadmill and stationary bicycle. The design also contained a complete health care system with all types of medical and emergency equipment and a type of "space bath" area provided for body cleansing. In addition, this level contained a soft stowage area identical to level one. :Crew Health Care Area – The design for the crew health care area incorporated two ISS Crew Health Care System racks, a Full Body Cleansing Compartment, changing area, exercise equipment (treadmill and ergometer), a partitionable area for private medical exams and conferencing, as well as an Earth-viewing window. The Earth-viewing window was to have been in diameter and was located near the exercise area. The window design had four panes totaling thick and a hard frame around each window that attaches to all layers of the shell. :Stowage – Soft-sided cabinets was to have provided stowage for spare parts, supplies, clothing and other equipment. If built, TransHab would have doubled the stowage room available on the International Space Station. ; Level 2 :Crew Quarters – The crew quarters area design had six individual crew quarters, sized at of volume per crew quarter, and a central passageway located within the second level central core structure and water tanks. Each compartment contains a sleeping bag/sleep restraint, an area for stowing personal items, and a computer entertainment center for recreation and personal work. :Mechanical – The mechanical room is external to the core structure and uses only half the floor space. It is acoustically and visually isolated. The other half of this area is a
clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...
above the wardroom area. The mechanical room consists of an environmental control and life support system, power equipment and avionics equipment and provides return airflow from Level One and Level Three through openings. ; Level 1 :The first level was to house a kitchen with a refrigerator-freezer, microwave oven, water dispenser, and food preparation equipment as well as a table that seats 12, enough to allow an entire Station resident crew and replacement crew to sit together for meetings or meals. There were to be three galley racks, a large wardroom table, a soft stowage array and an Earth-viewing window identical to the window on Level 3.


See also

*
Bigelow Expandable Activity Module The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) is an experimental inflatable space habitat, expandable International Space Station#Pressurised modules, space station module developed by Bigelow Aerospace, under contract to NASA, for testing as a ...


References


External links


An Interview with Constance Adams
one of the architects for TransHab
Computer Animation and Inflation Test of the Original Transhab

Bigelow Aerospace's official site

Bigelow's inflatable spacecraft

Inflatable Structures Technology Handbook—Chapter 21: Inflatable Habitats
Draft 2000-07-05, NASA archive document. {{Space stations Bigelow Aerospace Cancelled space stations