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I just saw an article linked from AIAA's "Daily Launch". Sierra Space has pushed back the launch date for its first Dreamchaser from late this year to May '25. No reason given. They have a second Dreamchaser under construction. And they are building and ground-testing big inflatable modules, to include hypervelocity gas gun tests for meteor impact effects.
The layers of material for the inflatable are thick, to provide insulation and meteor protection, plus they are said to provide good radiation protection. These modules have a core with walls and decks folded inside, very much like what I presumed for the habitat modules of my orbit-to-orbit transport concept in my 2016 version of a clean-sheet-of-paper Mars mission plan.
Bigelow may be gone, but inflatables are about to be here. Looks quite promising.
GW
GW Johnson
McGregor, Texas
"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew, especially one dead from a bad management decision"
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Sierra Nevada is led by a couple who appear to have come to the US from Turkey...
My interest in the company is their decision to pick up the mantle from Bigelow Aerospace, for manufacture of inflatable habitats, as described in Post #6 (GW Johnson).
GW Johnson is developing a design for a deep space human transport that I am gradually coming to recognize as superior to other proposals that are in play in early 2025. GW's design would consist of a (carefully arranged) stack of habitats.
Here is a bit of biographical information about the leadership at Sierra Nevada:
More information about the company and it's leadership would be welcome.
(th)
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