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IGLOO

The Case for an Inflatable Community Module

on Gateway

Ben Halley

red.halley@gmail.com

Astronautical Engineering Department

12/14/2021

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NASA Strategic Objective 2: “Extend human presence deeper into space and to the moon for sustainable long-term exploration and utilization”

Exploration missions will be characterized by:

  • Decreased habitable volume
  • Decreased Privacy
  • Lack of resupply and care packages
  • Expected increase in monotony and routines
  • Less social, physical, and sensory stimulation
  • Increased perception of isolation
  • Greater uncertainty

Crew Safety and Productivity

Crew Comfort

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The most effective way to improve the living space for an astronaut is to increase volume and sequester a module from the scientific endeavors for this purpose

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Social Engagement

Addresses a need for crew members to support one another to both increase morale and decrease the effects of long-term isolation

Behavioral issues, non-compatible crewmates, and a buildup of stress over a mission can make small problems huge, especially in a confined area in an inhospitable environment

A few characteristics can help, including a common dining area, space for varied recreational activities, and the ability for astronauts to manipulate their environment

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Comfort

  • Confined spaces, radiation, seeing multiple sunrises and sunsets in one day, and isolation are some of the factors affecting the crew.
  • After over 50 years of sending humans to space, and over 20 years of continuous space habitation, space is still transitioning from making space survivable to space being comfortable.
  • Solutions that NASA is studying and that a community module will need to support: Larger habitable volume, better shells, adaptive lighting to promote circadian rhythms, and social engagement with the crew and people back home.

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IGLOO

By opening a payload like a clamshell and inflating a half dome, the IGLOO creates a flat floor, plenty of headroom, and a significant volume underneath the floor for utilities and hidden storage.

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  • From Starship Fairing
    • 8 m diameter, up to 17 m long
    • With clamshell opening, max floorspace is around 1950 ft2 floor space
  • Use 7.04 m diameter, 13 m length
  • 177 m2 (1905 ft2) floor, 7.04 m (23 ft) head room
  • 963 m3 (34008 ft3) volume above floor
  • 481 m3 (16986 ft3) volume for hidden storage
  • 287 m2 (943 ft2) of material for the shell

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IGLOO vs. Core

CORE

IGLOO

  • Flat floor
  • Large open area
  • Hidden storage
  • Hybrid of hard and soft shell
  • Hard anchor points on the perimeter and middle of the floor
  • Design used by NASA in TransHab and Bigelow for B330
  • Hard anchor points more accessible through the volume
  • Potential for greater volume
  • Less connection points between soft and hard segments of the module

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Alternative Layouts for IGLOO Structure

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References

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/nasa_2018_strategic_plan.pdf

https://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov/evidence/reports/BMed.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEEiLSjRRNo

https://cmsw.mit.edu/angles/2019/headspace-how-space-travel-affects-astronaut-mental-health/

» Headspace: How Space Travel Affects Astronaut Mental Health Angles / 2019 (mit.edu)

Starship Users Guide (spacex.com)

NASA planning to keep BEAM module on ISS for the long haul - SpaceNews

20100042636.pdf (nasa.gov)

All about BEAM, the space station's new… | The Planetary Society

Bigelow Aerospace

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