** The Official Space Flight Thread - The Space Station and Beyond **

Nazbit

Nazbit

Nazbit

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11 Dec 2004
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Hi Space People,

I have a question.

Without the shuttle and it's payload bay and robotic arms, how are future space stations going to be built?

I know about Russia's plan to repurpose existing modules, but how would we start from scratch on a new station if we've only got rockets?

Isn't there another ISS module pending as well?
 

Glaucus

Glaucus

Glaucus

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11 Mar 2004
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76,634
You don't need shuttle. You can just dock them together or send something up with a robotic arm. Like Lockheed martins purposed explainer which has a robotic arm. Which is how the Chinese space station will be built, modules will just be docked then if needed moved between ports with robotic arm.
11gjbpx.jpg


There's at least one in storage and I got a feeling several. Chance if them flying are low. However there is Bigelow BEAM flying on the next SpaceX flight, which is a test of an inflatable module.

http://bigelowaerospace.com/beam/
 
Last edited:

JRS

JRS

JRS

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Combat squirrel said:
Random space question - I have had a Google and cannot find any solid info.

How long was the life support capacity of the Lunar Lander on Apollo 11 ?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Interesting question.

The first landing missions (11 through to 14) weren't set up for especially long duration missions on the lunar surface. I know 13 was carrying oxygen to support two men for 45 hours - 13's mission (before it all turned to worms) was going to involve two excursions onto the surface so would require more oxygen than 11, with having to depressurise and repressurise the cabin twice. That might still have been achievable with the previous missions though.

If you assume that 11's LM was carrying the same amount of oxygen as 13, then you've got a 45 hour supply. But there's also battery life and water - not only for drinking, but for cooling the spacecraft systems - to consider. You can have all the oxygen in the world, but if the spacecraft systems no longer function because the batteries are dead or the systems have overheated then you aren't going to be alive for very much longer! Also there's the carbon dioxide to get rid of - Apollo used lithium hydroxide canisters to remove it from the atmosphere inside the spacecraft, but they become saturated after a while and no longer usable. 13 ended up stretching their LM supplies to keep three men alive for about 90 hours, using minimal power draw (which also kept water usage down since there were fewer systems to cool) and adapting command module lithium hydroxide canisters for use on the LM. I'd figure on 11's supplies probably not making it quite that far, even with only two men inside.
 
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