After A Year In Space, The Air Hasn’t Gone Out Of NASA’s Inflated Module
A prototype of what could be the next generation of space stations is currently in orbit around the Earth.
The prototype is unusual. Instead of arriving in space fully assembled, it arrived folded up and was only expanded to its full size once on orbit.
The module is called BEAM, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module. It’s been attached to the International Space Station since April last year.
Expandable modules allow you to pack a large volume into a smaller space for launch. They’re not made of metal, but instead, use tough materials like the Kevlar found in bullet-proof vests.
The station crew used air pressure to unfold and expand the BEAM, but it’s wrong to think about BEAM as expanding like a balloon that could go POP if something punctured it.
NASA’s Jason Crusan says there’s a better analogy: “It’s much like the tire of your car.”
Even with no air in it, a tire retains its tire-like shape.
When BEAM unfolded on orbit, it adopted its more natural shape, something resembling a stumpy watermelon. Even if it were to lose all its internal air, “It still has a structure to it,” says Crusan.
Of course, NASA would prefer BEAM not lose all its air, so there are many layers of shielding to prevent things like meteorites or other space debris from poking a hole in BEAM.
“We do believe we’ve taken at least one hit,” says Crusan. “Very small in nature, and actually we can’t even visually see where it’s at.”
Crusan says there was no loss of pressure from the hit.
NASA isn’t actually using BEAM for anything. It’s there just to see how it behaves in space. But Crusan says the space station crew does go inside every once in a while, to check sensors inside the module. He says crew members seem to like visiting BEAM.
Read more at NPR