Sierra Space successfully completes 2nd test-to-failure of a full scale LIFE inflatable module
Sierra Space’s family of planned LIFE modules. Click for original
Sierra Space today announced it has completed a second successful test-to-failure of a full scale version of its LIFE inflatable module, intended for use not only on Blue Origin’s proposed Orbital Reef space station, but also available for purchase by other space station.
The latest test by the numbers:
- Company’s second Ultimate Burst Pressure test of a full-size, inflatable space station structure occurred on June 18
- Test unit stood over 20’ tall and was comparable in size to an average family home
- The article was 300 m³ in volume, or 1/3rd the volume of the International Space Station
- Test results exceeded NASA’s recommended x4 safety levels by 22%
- Two 4-ft x 4-ft steel blanking plates were integrated into the highest loaded cylinder section of the article; both were 50 lbs. lighter than the ones used in the first full-scale test and accommodate larger windows
The test article in the company’s historic first full-scale burst test last December peaked at 77 psi, which well exceeded (+27%) NASA’s recommended level of 60.8 psi (maximum operating pressure of 15.2 psi multiplied by a safety factor of four). This most recent test in June showed similar results – within five percent of the pressure loading of December’s test article – with this one reaching 74 psi, exceeding NASA’s 4x safety factor by 22 percent. These back-to-back test results accelerate Sierra Space’s path to flight certification, verifying scalability for 10 cubic-meter and up to 1,400 cubic-meter structures based on the company’s current softgoods inflatable architecture. Sierra Space is currently gearing up for a first test of its 500 cubic-meter space station technology next year.
Video of this test, dramatically edited with its own music soundtrack, can be seen at the link.
It is intriguing that the only developments related to Orbital Reef appear to come from Sierra Space. From Blue Origin — supposedly the lead company in that project — we hear almost nothing. Though Sierra Space has said the partnership is still solid, it has also made it clear it is building the LIFE module not just for Orbital Reef. I think it is hedging its bets, anticipating that Orbital Reef will be another Blue Origin dud, and wants to market itself to others.
Hat tip to stringer Jay for this story.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in the past two weeks has the mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuses to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation:
5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
Sierra Space’s family of planned LIFE modules. Click for original
Sierra Space today announced it has completed a second successful test-to-failure of a full scale version of its LIFE inflatable module, intended for use not only on Blue Origin’s proposed Orbital Reef space station, but also available for purchase by other space station.
The latest test by the numbers:
- Company’s second Ultimate Burst Pressure test of a full-size, inflatable space station structure occurred on June 18
- Test unit stood over 20’ tall and was comparable in size to an average family home
- The article was 300 m³ in volume, or 1/3rd the volume of the International Space Station
- Test results exceeded NASA’s recommended x4 safety levels by 22%
- Two 4-ft x 4-ft steel blanking plates were integrated into the highest loaded cylinder section of the article; both were 50 lbs. lighter than the ones used in the first full-scale test and accommodate larger windows
The test article in the company’s historic first full-scale burst test last December peaked at 77 psi, which well exceeded (+27%) NASA’s recommended level of 60.8 psi (maximum operating pressure of 15.2 psi multiplied by a safety factor of four). This most recent test in June showed similar results – within five percent of the pressure loading of December’s test article – with this one reaching 74 psi, exceeding NASA’s 4x safety factor by 22 percent. These back-to-back test results accelerate Sierra Space’s path to flight certification, verifying scalability for 10 cubic-meter and up to 1,400 cubic-meter structures based on the company’s current softgoods inflatable architecture. Sierra Space is currently gearing up for a first test of its 500 cubic-meter space station technology next year.
Video of this test, dramatically edited with its own music soundtrack, can be seen at the link.
It is intriguing that the only developments related to Orbital Reef appear to come from Sierra Space. From Blue Origin — supposedly the lead company in that project — we hear almost nothing. Though Sierra Space has said the partnership is still solid, it has also made it clear it is building the LIFE module not just for Orbital Reef. I think it is hedging its bets, anticipating that Orbital Reef will be another Blue Origin dud, and wants to market itself to others.
Hat tip to stringer Jay for this story.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in the past two weeks has the mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuses to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation:
5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
Re: Test-to-failure. I have tried to explain this to people. During some of the SpaceX development, they would fill fuel tanks until they failed. Sometimes, rather spectacularly. The Drive-By Media would only announce the failure, the ‘problem.’ SpaceX had found, determined the present (at the time) limits of the fuel tank. Every time SpaceX tested something, they learned more and more. The SuperHeavy booster is now operational as a one time use vehicle. It is well on the way to reusability.
Ronaldus Magnus wrote: “Re: Test-to-failure. I have tried to explain this to people.”
Test to failure can provide important information. When designing something, possible failures must be considered so that a failure can occur in a safe way. “Safe” in quotes, because a failure can be catastrophic. In the case of Orbital Reef, it would be nice if a bursting Life module didn’t throw shrapnel into the other modules. In an airliner, it would be best if failing fan, compressor, or turbine blades didn’t fly into the fuselage, so a containment ring is designed into the engine to try to stop a blade from going in that direction. In the case of a manned launch vehicle, it would be best if a propellant tank burst sideways and not forward into the manned spacecraft on top. You may remember that SLS was tested to failure, and it split a seam along the length of the tank, not forward toward the upper stage. It may seem counterintuitive to design-in a weak point, but it is merely that the rest of the design is stronger.
Sierra Space’s Life module is made in a new and largely untested method with materials used in new ways. Their two most recent tests have had panels built into the side of their module so that they can find how the construction behaves with windows put into the assembly. They are learning things that will enable them to build their modules in ways that are currently hypothetical.
Starship uses a new steel alloy. Their tests to failure gave them similar information on their new material and their welding methods as used in practical application. It is one thing to test a sample in the lab, but it is something more important to test the designed assembly.
I noticed that SpaceX didn’t announce in advance that a few tests were tests to failure, at least not in the early years. This may have been why so many in the media would announce the test as a failure. My experience is that it is important to announce in advance that a test would be to failure, otherwise bosses and customers get excited in a bad way.
Failures during development testing tell the engineers much about their design. They give knowledge about weaknesses and suggest ways to improve the design. Little was learned from the Apollo 4 test launch, which worked almost perfectly, but many lessons were learned from the Apollo 6 test launch, which was full of problems. The designers and the flight controllers learned more than they expected.
Qualification testing and acceptance testing should not have failures or other problems. By this time, the design must be well understood, otherwise you get problems like we saw with Starliner. Acceptance testing should find assembly problems, such as the one with the recent RUD of a Falcon upper stage engine. Why was the insufficiently tight clamp not found during the engine’s ground testing? Perhaps the vibrations on the test stand are different than those experienced during flight.