Wednesday, May 10, 2023

The Private Space Station Sector Adds Another

In a press release today, a California startup called Vast announced plans to launch the first private space station No Earlier Than August of 2025.   

LONG BEACH, Calif. — May 10, 2023 — Vast, a pioneer in space habitation technologies, announced today their plans to launch the world’s first commercial space station, called Haven-1. Scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to low-Earth orbit no earlier than August 2025, Haven-1 will initially act as an independent crewed space station prior to being connected as a module to a larger Vast space station currently in development. The mission will be quickly followed by Vast-1, the first human spaceflight mission to Haven-1 on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The vehicle and its four-person crew will dock with Haven-1 for up to 30 days while orbiting Earth. Vast also secured an option with SpaceX for an additional human spaceflight mission to Haven-1.

Vast is apparently a new company,  Space.com refers to them as being founded two years ago, and they sure seem to be dreaming big.  The press release included that they aim to operate a "100-meter-long [330 feet] multi-module spinning artificial gravity space station launched by SpaceX's Starship transportation system."  They also list the possibility of tourist trips to Haven-1 - no price given, yet.  "If you have to ask..."  The press release include these highlights of the Haven-1 and Vast-1 missions. 

HAVEN-1 FEATURES:

  • Compatible docking with the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft
  • Extend the on-orbit duration of commercial Dragon spacecraft human spaceflight missions for up to 30 days for four astronauts
  • Science, research, and in-space manufacturing opportunities - 1000 W of power, 24/7 communications, and up to 150 kg of pre-loaded cargo mass in Haven-1. Opportunities for lunar artificial gravity by spinning.
  • Fully independent space station providing life support functions and consumables for the full mission’s duration.
  • Privacy and control of your crew schedule
  • Large window dome for viewing and photography
  • Always-on internet via onboard Wi-Fi
  • Room to stretch and rest

VAST-1 - OUR FIRST EXPEDITION TO HAVEN-1

  • Fly to Haven-1 in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launched by the Falcon 9 rocket
  • For space agencies and private individuals
  • Fly four crew members to Haven-1 for up to 30 days
  • Be the first crew to visit the world’s first commercial space station
  • Available per seat or as a full, four-person crew mission
  • Advanced science, research, and in-space manufacturing opportunities

You'll note that the station's features say, "Opportunities for lunar artificial gravity by spinning."  This seems like an area just begging for some real experiments.  The effects of nearly zero gravity on the ISS have been well-documented and seem to be a real barrier to living and working in space.  It's hard to do a controlled experiment since we generally don't have identical people we can split between being in space and staying on the ground (with the exception of Mark Kelly and his twin brother Scott, both astronauts).  Without identical twins it's harder to say that the degradation that has been seen after a long period in space is from that and not just from being older.  

There have also been some not-as-well-documented reports that say spinning (centripetal force) is not going to be as helpful as generally thought.  Until now, the reason, the Soviet Mir space station and the ISS have not attempted to do rotation has been said to be the increases to the weight of the pieces that need to be lifted into space (to make those pieces stronger) and the general complexity of doing it.  

Still the one that jumps out at me is above that: "1000 W of power 24/7".  I have to assume that's per person simply because 1 kilowatt just isn't much power.  A typical suburban American house has around 20 kW.  I really shouldn't call that "typical" because houses vary so much in size, but that's a good estimate for small house. 

The company is selling up to four seats on Vast-1. (The ticket price has not been publicly released.) SpaceX will provide astronaut training, spacesuits and other such services for the mission, as it did for Ax-1, a private flight to the International Space Station (ISS) operated by Houston-based company Axiom Space in April 2022.

Ax-1, of course, was the first manned mission of Axiom Space to the ISS.  Axiom has been working toward a private space station for at least a couple of years so that makes them seem to be ahead of Vast.  Their current plans appear to be to launch several modules to the ISS in the next few years. This complex will then detach and become a free-flying outpost.  In addition, Sierra Space and Blue Origin appear to be working toward a private space station as well. 

The size of the Haven-1 habitat compared to the Falcon 9 fairing.  From the Vast press release



10 comments:

  1. That's nice, but I'm wondering how Sierra Nevada's inflatables are coming along. I mean, hard-walled stations are so... 20th Century, no?

    Still hoping someone comes along and picks up Bigelow's stuff and gets it all going again. Would be nice to have two competing inflatable space station companies.

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  2. I wonder if I contact Make A Wish Foundation and see if they would spot me for the cost of a ride on Vast-1 to Haven-1, doesn't hurt to ask, right? Only can say no...

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  3. "A typical suburban American house has around 20 kW."

    That's how much it *can* use, though, not how much it *does* use. Average kWh/day is only 29, not 480.

    ... but yeah, 1kW for 4 people is *really* tiny. The Dragon capsule by itself gets something like 4kW with solar panels extended. Hopefully this is not just "1kW per person", but "1kW per person's-experiments; thermal control and O2 electrolysis and any other support systems are in a separate budget"

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  4. SiG: no such thing as "centripetal force" (and its cohort in crime, centrifugal force)!! Now, If you'd said "centripetal acceleration", you'd be accurate.
    As far as Bigelow aerospace's inflatable habitats, the idea has been taken over by NASA - In December 2021, Bigelow transferred ownership of BEAM to NASA's Johnson Space Center. (BEAM = Bigelow Expandable Activity Module).

    Competition appears to be heating up for Earth Orbit space stations! This is the results of cheaper access to LEO and beyond.

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    1. The totally unrelated thing that sticks out in my mind was that study a couple of years ago that said the way to protect a space station from radiation in space was to coat it the waste that the crew flushes. Somehow, turd coating just doesn't seem an answer I'd like to be around. I hope I never see that used, but yeah, I can see that might be a better way to get rid of it on long flights. If you jettison it along the way, it just flies in formation with your ship to whatever planet you're going to.

      When I think about the geometry of this situation, I think the Haven-1 is too small to allow useful simulations of gravity. The picture they provided (in the article) has four people to scale with the ship and they look like they'll be about half the diameter of habitat. I have to wonder how the body will react to a gradient of gravitation from a weightless head to weight on the feet.

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    2. Water jacketing, and waste processing in units on the outer skin, would provide excellent protection vs radiation.

      Funny, Heinlein postulated the use of waste processors for producing both clean water and fertilizer for plants to be grown in during space travel. It's in "Space Cadets."

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  5. Diameter Vast Haven is 3.8 meters / 12.5 feet.

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    1. That's about what I guesstimated from the graphic. I figured a 6' tall person would have their head barely moving while their feet were moving as fast as the hull is rotating. I'll bet that gradient across their bodies would be a strange sensation.

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. I removed the above comment as I had posted an update in error. I mis read a release from Vast describing a future design and conflated the two versions. I agree spinning the Vast station would be a strange ride.

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