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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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