Hot Air

I think I missed the boat on the story I wrote last week about a test the last shuttle crew ran to inflate some prototype tubes in space. The point of the experiment, which was sponsored by the Defense Department, was to see how structurally sound this alternative space assembly process could be. The idea is that instead of launching satellites with big, heavy antennas, mirrors, and other assorted parts, to design the spacecraft with pieces that can be launched flat and then inflated and stiffened in orbit.

With launching costs running in the neighborhood of $10,000 per pound, it’s pretty obvious what the advantages are. But here’s the point: While NASA and the military are running around inflating little tubes in the shuttle’s cargo bay, a private industry already has launched and is testing two prototype habitats, called Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, in orbit. And in two years, the company, Bigelow Aerospace, plans to launch another inflatable that can house researchers, tourists or anyone else with a penchant and purse to fly in space.

Considering how few shuttle flights are left before the fleet is retired and how much NASA still needs to do on the International Space Station, it seems like the experiment aboard the shuttle was superceded by the passage of time and developments in the commercial world. It probably should have been dropped. Government entities are not really suited to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and they certainly should not be in competition to what private industry can do better.

Left: Experiment on shuttle; Right: Genesis 2 in orbit