Sierra Space is conducting Microgravity Research and Manufacturing with Second Test of Expandable Space Station Technology
The space technology company’s expandable space station technology has successfully passed a seventh key validation test, and second full-scale structural test, at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre in Huntsville, Alabama.
The results herald another milestone towards building the world’s first end-to-end business and technology platform in Low Earth Orbit, enabling answers to be found to some of the toughest problems faced on Earth.
Completion of the successful Ultimate Burst Pressure test, which occurred on June 18th accelerates the technology further towards on-orbit operations. Planned for an initial stand-alone pathfinder mission before the end of the decade, the technology will also feature as a key element of the Orbital Reef commercial space station. The test will close out Milestone #8 for Orbital Reef with Blue Origin under NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Programme.
“Sierra Space is [doing well] with the first commercial space station to replace the International Space Station when it is decommissioned and ensure there is no gap in LEO,” said Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice. “Our technology, for the first time, will enable the right unit economics that will usher in the full commercialisation of space. Our biotech and industrial partners will make use of our factories of the future to innovate new products that will change terrestrial markets and benefit life on Earth.”
The test article once again included two four-foot by four-foot blanking plates – metallic structures inserted into the softgoods shell to emulate a future design component, such as a window, robotic arm or antenna attachment point. They were 50 pounds lighter than the ones used in the first full-scale test and designed to accommodate larger windows.
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