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https://www.space.com/sierra-space-life-habitat-explosion-test

Boom! Watch an inflatable space station module explode on video
By Elizabeth Howell published about 23 hours ago
Sierra Space completed this test to prepare for Orbital Reef, a private
space complex to replace the International Space Station.

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Sierra Space deliberately exploded a small prototype for an inflatable
astronaut habitat to get ready for spaceflight.

The company conducted what it calls the "ultimate burst pressure test"
(UBP) as it progresses along the long road to helping develop a private
replacement to the International Space Station (ISS). The inflatable
module, called Large Integrated Flexible Environment, or LIFE, will form
part of the larger Orbital Reef space station led by Blue Origin. NASA
seeks to replace the aging ISS in the 2030s with industry-led private
stations, and Orbital Reef is among them.

The recent test was the second in 2022 to explode a Sierra Space module
prototype for Orbital Reef, following a similar procedure in July.
Simply put, by testing a smaller prototype of the module to its literal
limit, engineers can make spaceflight safer for future astronauts.

"This second successful UBP test proves we can demonstrate design,
manufacturing and assembly repeatability, all of which are keys areas
for certification," Shawn Buckley, Sierra Space's LIFE chief engineer
and senior director of engineering, said in an e-mailed statement.

Related: NASA looks to private outposts to build on International Space
Station's legacy

space station rendering

Artist's illustration of Orbital Reef, a private space station project
involving Blue Origin, Sierra Space and a number of other partners.
(Image credit: Sierra Space/Blue Origin)
The Sierra Space team blew up the module on Nov. 15 inside the flame
trench of a Saturn 1 and 1B test stand at the NASA Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, Alabama, performing the burst test in the same
area where NASA tested rockets for the Apollo moon program of the 1960s
and 1970s.

NASA, past spacesuit maker ILC Dover and Sierra Space all worked
together on the test. Analysis is ongoing, but early work shows that
Sierra Space met its obligations for the test, according to the company.

NASA tasked Sierra Space to blow up two prototype modules, which are
smaller than those that will be used on Orbital Reef and had maximum
burst pressures of 192 and 204 pounds per square inch (psi),
respectively. Both modules easily held up past the safety requirement of
182.4 psi set by NASA in designing Orbital Reef.

In photos: Inside Sierra Nevada's inflatable space habitat for
astronauts in lunar orbit

A look at the crew living area and galley table on the third floor of
Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Large Inflatable Fabric Environment, or LIFE,
habitat, part of its Lunar Gateway ground prototype, at NASA's Johnson
Space Center in Houston on Aug. 21, 2019.

A look at the crew living area and galley table on the third floor of
Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Large Inflatable Fabric Environment, or LIFE,
habitat, part of its Lunar Gateway ground prototype, at NASA's Johnson
Space Center in Houston on Aug. 21, 2019. (Image credit: Robert Z.
Pearlman/Space.com)
RELATED STORIES:
 —  Bigelow Aerospace: Inflatable Modules for ISS

 —  NASA Puts Bigelow Aerospace's Giant Inflatable Space Habitat
Prototype to the Test (Photos)

 —  Inflatable Habitats: From the Space Station to the Moon and Mars?

A year ago, NASA awarded $415 million split across three concepts for
early private space station development. The money was split almost
evenly among the three teams: the Orbital Reef team led by Blue Origin
that includes Sierra Space received $130 million, Nanoracks LLC's team
$160 million and Northrop Grumman Systems Corp.'s team $125.6 million.

Sierra Space plans to push forward on Orbital Reef development with Blue
Origin in 2023 by doing burst tests on full-size prototypes. Sierra
Space intends to use its Dream Chaser cargo plane and a future crewed
version to bring astronauts and supplies to the private complex.

Inflatable modules are already being tested on the ISS by Bigelow Space.
The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, shipped to orbit in
2019; ISS astronauts periodically assess its performance in orbit
against solar radiation and the vacuum of space.

Elizabeth Howell is the co-author of "Why Am I Taller(opens in new
tab)?" (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a book
about space medicine. Follow her on Twitter @howellspace(opens in new
tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom(opens in new tab) or
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Elizabeth Howell
Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight
Elizabeth Howell, Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel
since 2022. She was contributing writer for Space.com(opens in new tab)
for 10 years before that, since 2012. Elizabeth's reporting includes an
exclusive with Office of the Vice-President of the United States,
speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing
five human spaceflight launches on two continents, working inside a
spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest
book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams.
Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University
of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton
University and (soon) a Bachelor of History from Athabasca University.
Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and
science since 2015. Elizabeth first got interested in space after
watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut
someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace