That would involve carrying about 5 tons of equipment into orbit with a volume equivalent to a small van NASA estimates it could need between 3,000 and 4,000 man-hours annually, to carry out, at most, about 230 experiments. The agency would cover the costs, but the responsibility for operations would be that of the station owner with supervision by NASA technicians. That would involve carrying about 5 tons of equipment into orbit with a volume equivalent to a small van and returning the processed materials to the ground. In its role as client, NASA estimates it could need between 3,000 and 4,000 man-hours annually, to carry out, at most, about 230 experiments. They would also include management of what NASA euphemistically refers to as “mishaps,” such as responding to unforeseen failures during launches or operations in space, including NASA personnel in rescue efforts. NASA’s current proposal is directed at the owners of future space stations who would offer complete services, from astronaut training to their transport to orbit – both their stay and their return to Earth.
Currently, they are attached to the ISS, but in the future, once equipped with power generation systems, they could fly independently. There are plans to use them to build small hotels for space tourists. They are constructed of a fabric similar to the Kevlar material used in bulletproof vests, and their multiple layers offer a good degree of radiation protection. The inflatable structures are not as fragile as they might seem. Former NASA Deputy Administrator, Lori Garver, tours the inflatable module at Bigelow Aerospace, Friday, Feb. Bigelow ceased operations in March 2020, a victim of pandemic restrictions, and ownership of the module passed to NASA, which continues to fund maintenance. In 2016, another company, known as Bigelow Aerospace, sent an inflatable module to the space station, in the shape of a three-meter diameter sphere attachable to the “Harmony” section of the ISS, the one that always faces Earth.
NASA hopes that private initiatives will establish small – or not so small – orbital laboratories, ranging from industrial facilities for the manufacturing and processing of materials to the long dreamed of “space hotels.”
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