If you build a spacecraft on the ground it has to be able to withstand not only the full force of the Earth's gravity but also at least two more gravities on take-off. There is a huge weight penalty when you design any large structure to be lifted that way. This translates to a hell of a lot of money and very sharp limits on the size of the spacecraft.
I've seen inflatable technology laughed at affectionately in comics online. Still, it has a lot going for it. Not only are inflatable structures easy to carry, they are cheap to make. Even cheap aluminum panels are a lot more expensive per square foot than inflatable materials like neoprene that can hold air for long periods of time. We even have materials like mylar that can withstand vacuum quite well and have become commodities, and these aren't so hugely expensive.
There are all sorts of ways that inflatable enclosures could be useful in space. They could be parking garages for space shuttles. Imagine being able to replace tiles and otherwise service the vehicle in shirtsleeves. Repairs would go a lot faster and cause a lot less stress. There could be huge supply depots and refuges where astronauts could go if their ship malfunctioned but they could still somehow reach the emergency shelters, if necessary using improvised sleds, or even sleds that they could take out of storage that had the capacity to move them from orbit to orbit, sort of broomsticks with rockets, batteries, and oxygen.
The thing I have on my mind is the idea of sending up a gas bag for the outside, then building the framework for it from the inside, that framework arriving folded up. This is actually something that a bright person can build under Earth's gravity from scratch, a lot like building a geodesic dome from a kit, maybe with someone to help with the lifting. Anyway, design the beginnings of the internal structure to unfold inside the gas bag and become the rigging that workers can run around inside. Then build it up a lot like a zeppelin. Figure out a way to get the internal structure to fit snugly inside the gasbag, like telescoping poles. I'm thinking inflatable balls at the ends of the poles to press against the inside of the big bag, or inflatable inner-tube like structures. Or, the gas bag could be laminated from the inside to make it rigid, the original envelope being the mold for the final form of the hull. Double-bag the thing for safety. Divide it up into airtight compartments for the same reason.
Use this as the model for the first interplanetary ships. When you have millions of cubic feet to work with for a penny or less per cubic foot, all sorts of things become possible. You've saved the expense of building and lifting a million tons of hardware. Then think what you can do with those savings. Extra atmosphere and supplies goes without saying. Use more gasbags as storerooms. Pack them with electronics components, oxygen generators, batteries, lights, tools, nuts, bolts, and other fasteners, food, medical supplies, everything. The scheme does include a sturdy endoskeleton to hold everything in place during acceleration.
There could be a huge volume devoted to a fleet of surface-to-orbit craft that could land on and take off from most planetary bodies that are not Earth, Venus, or gas giants. I can see sending up a whole stack of them on a heavy lifter. Carefully pack a couple of dozen of them, send them up, put the whole upper stage inside the balloon and unwrap them there.
This could save a billion dollars on space suits alone, space suits only being able to be worn a dozen times and costing more than a million dollars each.
I've seen inflatable technology laughed at affectionately in comics online. Still, it has a lot going for it. Not only are inflatable structures easy to carry, they are cheap to make. Even cheap aluminum panels are a lot more expensive per square foot than inflatable materials like neoprene that can hold air for long periods of time. We even have materials like mylar that can withstand vacuum quite well and have become commodities, and these aren't so hugely expensive.
There are all sorts of ways that inflatable enclosures could be useful in space. They could be parking garages for space shuttles. Imagine being able to replace tiles and otherwise service the vehicle in shirtsleeves. Repairs would go a lot faster and cause a lot less stress. There could be huge supply depots and refuges where astronauts could go if their ship malfunctioned but they could still somehow reach the emergency shelters, if necessary using improvised sleds, or even sleds that they could take out of storage that had the capacity to move them from orbit to orbit, sort of broomsticks with rockets, batteries, and oxygen.
The thing I have on my mind is the idea of sending up a gas bag for the outside, then building the framework for it from the inside, that framework arriving folded up. This is actually something that a bright person can build under Earth's gravity from scratch, a lot like building a geodesic dome from a kit, maybe with someone to help with the lifting. Anyway, design the beginnings of the internal structure to unfold inside the gas bag and become the rigging that workers can run around inside. Then build it up a lot like a zeppelin. Figure out a way to get the internal structure to fit snugly inside the gasbag, like telescoping poles. I'm thinking inflatable balls at the ends of the poles to press against the inside of the big bag, or inflatable inner-tube like structures. Or, the gas bag could be laminated from the inside to make it rigid, the original envelope being the mold for the final form of the hull. Double-bag the thing for safety. Divide it up into airtight compartments for the same reason.
Use this as the model for the first interplanetary ships. When you have millions of cubic feet to work with for a penny or less per cubic foot, all sorts of things become possible. You've saved the expense of building and lifting a million tons of hardware. Then think what you can do with those savings. Extra atmosphere and supplies goes without saying. Use more gasbags as storerooms. Pack them with electronics components, oxygen generators, batteries, lights, tools, nuts, bolts, and other fasteners, food, medical supplies, everything. The scheme does include a sturdy endoskeleton to hold everything in place during acceleration.
There could be a huge volume devoted to a fleet of surface-to-orbit craft that could land on and take off from most planetary bodies that are not Earth, Venus, or gas giants. I can see sending up a whole stack of them on a heavy lifter. Carefully pack a couple of dozen of them, send them up, put the whole upper stage inside the balloon and unwrap them there.
This could save a billion dollars on space suits alone, space suits only being able to be worn a dozen times and costing more than a million dollars each.
