The
presence of gravity means that many issues experienced by astronauts on the ISS
will not affect the Von Braun Space Station. Visitors will be able to go to the
toilet in the normal way, showers will use recycled water, while food will be
served in standard restaurants.
"We
are planning on full-service kitchens with all of the dishes you would expect
on a luxury cruise ship or in a major hotel," said Alatorre. "A lot
of the logistical issues for food service have been worked out years ago by the
cruise ship industry.
After the Von Braun Space Station has been
built, the Gateway foundation intend on building an even larger space station
to accommodate the growing demand for visits that they anticipate.
"Looking
beyond 2030, the Von Braun Station is a proof of concept for the Gateway
Foundation's next project which are a class of station called The Gateway,
which will house over 1,400 people," explained Alatorre.
"These will be true cities in space
that will be ports of call for those coming and going from the moon and Mars."
Read
the full interview with Tim Alatorre below:
Tom
Ravenscroft: What are the
core principles behind the design of the Von Braun Space Station?
Tim Alatorre: As a species we have had a transient and limited
presence in space by a small number of specialists for over 58 years. We want
to change that and open up space to anyone who wishes to work or live in space.
At the core of this project is the goal of forming a space construction
industry to accelerate the permanent habitation of space and throughout the
solar system. To that end the team behind The Gateway Foundation first
incorporated a space construction company called Orbital Assembly.
The
main objective for the Von Braun Station is to be the first space station to
have artificial gravity. Astronaut Scott Kelly's recent year-long stay on the
International Space Station made clear that long term habitation of space in
micro-gravity is not sustainable. The dream of the Gateway Foundation is to
create starship culture, where there is a permanent community of space-faring
people living and working in Earth's orbit and beyond.
The
station is designed to address the medical challenges of micro-gravity by
simulating lunar gravity, and provide for all the comforts of life including
recreation areas, restaurants, bars, and water, air and waste processing.
Tom
Ravenscroft: What is the
main inspiration for your space station?
Tim Alatorre: The main design inspiration for the space
station are the station concepts developed by Wernher von Braun in the 1950s.
He envisioned a rotating wheel with a diameter of 76 meters with three decks
and revolving at three rpm and a crew of 80.
The
Gateway Foundation put the name of the station up to a vote of its members
earlier this year and it was overwhelmingly voted to be named after Von Braun.
Our station also has three decks but a diameter of 190 meters allowing for a
slower rotation rate that research shows is important for human comfort. Our
new station is also planned to have a total population of 350 to 450 people,
including over 100 crew.
Tom
Ravenscroft: How does the
design build on the design of the ISS?
Tim Alatorre: None of what we are proposing would be possible
without the development and research done for the ISS. We are using current
technology in all subsystems to minimise both cost and development schedule
impacts.
The
shielding technology, module designs, energy-management systems, water and air
processing systems, as well as overall architecture are heavily influenced by
the ISS.
Tom
Ravenscroft: What are the
main differences?
Tim Alatorre: One major difference between the Von Braun
Station and the ISS is the way it will be constructed. The ISS was assembled in
orbit using the manual labour of astronauts performing risky extra vehicular
space walks. Although some large components of the Von Braun Station, such as
the habitation modules, will be fabricated on Earth, the main structure will be
primarily fabricated in space by automated and semi-autonomous systems.
Materials
will be sent to orbit in much smaller component parts and then positioned,
welded, and assembled using drones, robots, single-person pods, and a space
construction machine being developed by Orbital Construction called the GSAL.
This is actually the most important part, because we will learn how to build
massive structures in space from what we learn building the Von Braun Station.
Tom
Ravenscroft: How does your
space station combine scientific and hotel functions?
Tim Alatorre: The Von Braun Station is designed with 24
modules, each with up to 500 square metres of floor area. Each of these modules
will have a different dedicated function.
Several
are dedicated to common areas such as the bars, restaurants, recreation areas,
and mechanical systems. A few modules will be for the hotel functions and
private residences. Other modules will be sold or rented to governments and
scientific bodies for research and development.
Because
each module is independent the station functions like a small community or
business park, drawing on common resources while maintaining privacy and
security. There has never been a low-gravity research facility in space so we
feel the research component is critical. Likewise, allowing for true space
tourism will make the station financially self-sufficient and drive innovation
and public policy in ways never before seen. Both research and tourism are key
to making long-term space habitation a reality.
Tom
Ravenscroft: How do you
intend on creating a home-like atmosphere at the space station hotel?
Tim Alatorre: In the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley
Kubrick's Space Station 5 is a sterile, white, museum-like hotel. While it made
for a clearly futuristic feeling in the movie, in reality, it wasn't a very
inviting space. As humans, we innately connect to natural materials and
colours.
Developments
in material science now allow for lightweight, easily cleanable natural
material substitutes for stone and wood that would normally not be feasible to
bring into orbit. The use of fabrics, warm-coloured lighting and paints, and
materials with texture, all help us to connect and feel at home. Because the
station will have gravity there will be sense of direction and orientation that
isn't present in the ISS. Additional cues using lighting and materials will
help to "ground" the occupants.
Tom
Ravenscroft: What would
people spend their time doing in the hotel?
Tim Alatorre: The majority of the station will initially have
approximately a sixth of Earth's gravity and other parts will have near zero
gravity. The opportunities for what can be done on the station are really
exciting. We've thought of a number of things but we are sure that new sports,
products and companies will be developed to allow for things we haven't dreamed
of.
Some
of the planned-for activities are playing in the zero-gravity central hub,
low-gravity basketball, low-gravity trampolining and rock climbing.
Tom
Spilker, the station's lead engineer, came up with a game that involves running
all the way around the curved walls and ceiling of the gym. Also, there is
potential for playing fictional games such as Quidditch from the Harry Potter
series and the battle games from the Ender's Game series.
There
will also be many of the things you see on cruise ships: restaurants, bars,
musical concerts, movie screenings, and educational seminars. Eventually, we
plan on offering excursions in true space ships (not designed to return to
Earth) out to other stations or the moon.
Tom
Ravenscroft: How would you
serve food in the hotel? What about going to the toilet?
Tim Alatorre: The majority of food will be served in one of
the two restaurants on the station. We are planning on full service kitchens
with all of the dishes you would expect on a luxury cruise ship or in a major
hotel. A lot of the logistical issues for food service have been worked out
years ago by the cruise ship industry.
The
primary challenge we have is dealing with the exhaust for cooking odours and
smoke since we just can't vent them to the exterior like you would on Earth.
Since we will have artificial gravity the toilets and restroom facilities will
function almost identically to what people are used to on Earth.
Hotel
visitors won't have to struggle with micro-gravity toilets and shower
facilities like the astronauts use on the ISS. All drinking water will be
brought directly from Earth, and non-potable uses like showers and toilets will
use recycled water. There is no technical limitation to using recycled water
for drinking, but it's a decision we made based on human psychology, the same
approach used on the ISS.
Tom
Ravenscroft: What is the
future of space tourism?
Tim Alatorre: Space tourism and space habitation for the
average person is on the brink of a major breakthrough. With the dramatic
increase in private companies providing low-cost launch services to orbit and
the overall commercialisation of space that is being pushed by NASA, there has
never been a time in history where it has been more financially feasible to
travel in space.
Because
the overall costs are still so high most people assume that space tourism will
only be available to the super rich, and while I think this will be true for
the next several years, the Gateway Foundation has a goal of making space
travel open to everyone.
They
are developing programs that will give people with average incomes the ability
to win or buy discounted tickets and spend a week in space. Eventually, going
to space will just be another option people will pick for their vacation, just
like going on a cruise, or going to Disney World.
Tom
Ravenscroft: When will it
become normal? How many people will be travelling to space for tourism in 2025?
Or 2030?
Tim Alatorre: The next breakthrough needed to make space
tourism normal is going to be a high capacity Earth-to-orbit launch vehicle.
The
most likely vehicle to be operational in the near future is Space X's Starship
and Super Heavy booster. It has a planned capacity of 100 people for journeys
to Mars and up to 1,000 people for suborbital flights, although the final
specifications are still to be released.
Elon
Musk is hoping to get the Starship to orbit by the end of 2020 with crewed
launches hopefully happening a couple of years after. Blue Origin is also
making progress on their New Glenn heavy launch vehicle. These large capacity,
reusable craft are important to keeping costs low. Virgin Galactic should be
starting suborbital flights for a limited number of people within the year,
being the first to market with commercial space tourism.
Their
price per seat is still out of reach for most people but I'm fairly certain
they have bigger plans in the works. Sierra Nevada corporation is also making
significant progress with their Dream Chaser vehicle, which we are hoping to
use as our "lifeboats".
The
goal of the Gateway Foundation is to have the Von Braun operational by 2025
with 100 tourists visiting the station per week. By 2030 the goal is to have
two stations in orbit with a population of at least 500 permanently living in
orbit and 200 tourists per week, for a total of 10,000-plus people per year.
In
addition to this, groups like the National Space Society and NASA have goals of
their own. By 2030 we could have upwards of 1,000 people per month travelling
into orbit, the moon and beyond. Predictions like these have been made in the
past but all the pieces are finally coming together which are going to make
this finally possible.
Looking
beyond 2030, the Von Braun Station is a proof of concept for the Gateway
Foundation's next project which are a class of station called The Gateway,
which will house over 1,400 people. These will be true cities in space that
will be ports of call for those coming and going from the moon and Mars.
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