WEBVTT - Private Space Stations 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:07.160 Brought to you by Toyota. Let's go places. Welcome to 0:00:07.360 --> 0:00:15.120 Forward Thinking. Hey there, and welcome to Forward Thinking, the 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:18.480 podcast that looks in the future and says I'll probably 0:00:18.560 --> 0:00:22.200 be some kind of scientist building inventions in my space 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:27.600 lab in space. I'm Jonathan Strickland and I'm Joe McCormick. 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:30.640 And you know, if you listen to this podcast, you're 0:00:30.720 --> 0:00:33.000 well aware that we love space. Yeah, if you don't 0:00:33.000 --> 0:00:35.320 listen to this podcast, how are you hearing us? Now? 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:39.519 Some people might watch this podcast and not know why 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:42.960 it has no contact. Maybe the absorb it as as 0:00:43.000 --> 0:00:48.280 a vibrations. It's like some sort of osmotic process. Uh. So, 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:50.960 in recent episodes, we've talked about all kinds of space 0:00:51.000 --> 0:00:54.920 exploration projects. We've talked about Mars, We've talked about terraforming, 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:57.760 we've talked about the Moon. We've talked in the past 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:02.320 about space tourism, asteroid mine, asteroid mining, certainly. But today 0:01:02.360 --> 0:01:05.559 we wanted to talk about space stations, and specifically because 0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:08.319 we have talked about the I S S before, uh 0:01:08.360 --> 0:01:11.119 and about public space stations, but we wanted to ask 0:01:11.160 --> 0:01:14.240 the question today what about private space station? Yeah, well, 0:01:14.319 --> 0:01:17.920 will we get to a future where you can find, uh, 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:20.560 you know, a space station brought to you by Home Depot, 0:01:20.959 --> 0:01:23.600 the Home Depot station. Yeah, right up until it gets 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:25.400 bought by Smoothie King, and it will be the Smoothie 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:28.480 King station made out a particle board. I'm wondering how 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:32.040 hard it would be to find specific types of nails 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:36.840 floating in microgravity. Seems like that might be a poor choice. 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:39.440 But no, seriously, though, we really wanted to talk about 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:43.200 we're entering this era. We're in the era of private 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:48.120 space industry. We've got companies that are private companies that 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:52.200 are launching stuff into space. It is not going to 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:55.680 be that long from now when we start seeing private 0:01:55.880 --> 0:02:00.200 space stations hypothetically maybe hypothetically because of course there aren't 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:02.240 any right now, but there are a lot of plans 0:02:03.240 --> 0:02:05.040 for such a thing. So we want to kind of 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:09.160 explore that and talk about why that might very well 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:13.280 be a necessity in the not too distant future. Yeah, 0:02:13.320 --> 0:02:17.560 because because the public space industry has been working pretty great, 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:22.240 little ish sometimes a little bit so far, but but yeah, 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:24.840 but there's so much promise in private companies getting to 0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:27.800 this kind of thing, and uh, and we're not sure 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:30.160 what's going to happen to the I S S. Yeah, 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:34.919 I mean, eventually it's going to plummet in through orbit 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:38.480 into the ocean. It will be de orbited, yes, hopefully 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:43.920 on purpose. Fingers always crossed. But but you know first 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:45.880 of all that the I S was not designed to 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:48.919 last forever, right, Yeah, So until a couple of years ago, 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:52.919 the I S S uh, it had a funding lifetime, right, 0:02:53.000 --> 0:02:55.320 So there's a certain amount of times people have committed 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:58.080 to funding missions and maintenance of the I S S. 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:00.640 And for a while that was set to expire in 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:04.960 the year twenty Then in January, NASA announced the Obama 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:08.639 administration had approved extension of the I S S that 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:12.160 would keep it running until at least so that's the 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:17.040 date as of now. Now. Ongoing research projects were cited 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:20.600 as a major reason for the extension, including research into 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:23.040 the effects of long term space flight on the human 0:03:23.080 --> 0:03:25.920 body and also the role I the I S S 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:28.480 is going to play in helping advance the next phases 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:32.720 of NASA space exploration, like missions to Mars or asteroids, 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:35.320 and and the Twin study was kind of part of that, right. 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:39.000 It was that idea of studying the effects of space 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:43.400 on a human and then comparing that person to uh, 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:46.800 you know, their twin who had stayed here on Earth 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:49.680 for that duration, and to say like, well, this, this 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:52.119 is a way for us to better understand those effects 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:55.960 so that we can take that into account for missions 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:59.000 that would take people into space further and longer than 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:02.280 ever before. Right, But the station is kind of getting 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:05.200 up there in an age. It's going to be thirty 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:07.320 and are well, so it's starting to get up there. 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:10.880 It will have gotten up there in the future grammatically speaking, 0:04:11.200 --> 0:04:13.800 And uh, and that's thirty years. It's about as long 0:04:13.880 --> 0:04:16.280 as most of its structures were intended to last. And and 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:18.279 and sure the station is modular, but some of the 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:21.400 really important bits that are a little bit personickety, like 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:24.040 say the solar panels, might start blowing out a little 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:26.960 bit earlier than that. So so as it gets older, 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:29.800 it's going to be more expensive and more difficult to 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:35.240 keep it in orbit. Uh. And and yeah, ultimately its 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:37.840 fate is known, right right, And I mean there's no 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:45.000 surprise here, right. We cannot perpetually maintain and replace parts 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:47.279 on the space station eventually gets to a point where 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:51.240 it no longer makes financial sense, let alone a sense 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:54.159 on a technological or scientific level. Yeah, at some point 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:56.560 it's like you know, when you were in college and 0:04:56.600 --> 0:04:59.159 you realize, like it would just be simpler to throw 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:02.159 my clothes away and go buy new clothes than to 0:05:02.279 --> 0:05:05.120 try and do laundry at this point, yeah, like new 0:05:05.160 --> 0:05:08.359 socks are cheaper than washing my socks. So so I 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:10.760 was thinking more along the lines of I'm spending more 0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:14.880 per year trying to maintain this this limit of a 0:05:15.040 --> 0:05:17.680 vehicle then it would cost me to go out and 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:22.119 buy even just a used car. Yeah. So ultimately, if 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:24.880 if all goes as planned, the I S S when 0:05:24.880 --> 0:05:27.320 it reaches his expiration t it is going to come 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:29.920 down into Earth's atmosphere in a flaming ball of death, 0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:32.760 but hopefully no real death because in the case of 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:34.760 the I S S, this will be a controlled re 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:37.679 entry exactly that takes place in the Southern Pacific Ocean 0:05:37.720 --> 0:05:41.400 to a place known it is delightful. It's known as 0:05:41.440 --> 0:05:44.680 the Spacecraft Cemetery. It's where we send all of our 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:47.920 dead space craft. Right well, and I mean it makes sense, right, 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:50.599 you want to be able to have a controlled de orbiting, 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:55.040 You want it to go to a place that is uninhabited, 0:05:55.560 --> 0:05:58.839 to have the least impact for the you know, at 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:01.599 least impact on on the environment as you possibly can. 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:03.560 And the reason why you want to de orbit in 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:05.640 the first place is that you don't want to leave 0:06:05.720 --> 0:06:07.880 stuff just in space. First of all, it's going to 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:11.719 de orbit eventually anyway, it'll it'll lose speed and it 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:15.280 will end up crashing to Earth, possibly over a populated 0:06:15.320 --> 0:06:17.120 area if you haven't done it, you know, in a 0:06:17.160 --> 0:06:20.520 controlled manner. Plus, you don't want to leave space junk 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:22.880 out there. It just means that it's going to be 0:06:22.960 --> 0:06:27.360 another thing to avoid with future space missions. So this 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:32.640 is not something that is necessarily like a sad thing. 0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:34.719 I mean, it's sad in the sense of seeing like 0:06:34.760 --> 0:06:38.960 an era past, but it's it's something that we we 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:43.520 knew what we were getting into when we built the thing. Yeah, 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:46.040 and we've kind of been talking about it in terms 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:49.440 of of the United States funding. But of course a 0:06:49.560 --> 0:06:52.159 large part of the three words in the title of 0:06:52.200 --> 0:06:55.120 the space station is international. This this is a collaboration 0:06:55.160 --> 0:06:58.760 between I believe sixteen countries right now, um, a bunch 0:06:58.760 --> 0:07:01.839 of them at any rate. And uh and and it's 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:04.840 and it is a huge undertaking. I mean, it is 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:09.200 like nine hundred thousand pounds moving five miles a second, 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:13.640 enduring temperature swings of like five hundred degrees fahrenheit between 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:18.000 sunlight and shade. Uh. It's it takes a lot to 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:21.640 keep this thing in the air, including this wonderful international collaboration. 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:25.600 Takes a village to maintain a international space station, pretty 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:28.200 sure obtaining it well. It's often cited as the is 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:31.800 the most challenging engineering project in the history of humankind. 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:34.160 And and I think it would be challenging, not just 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:37.000 because of the technological aspect, but because you're talking about 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:41.119 international collaboration, which at times can be a little tricky. Yeah, 0:07:41.360 --> 0:07:43.800 and even the different modules might end up going their 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:47.080 own way. There are reports that once the project comes 0:07:47.120 --> 0:07:49.640 to an end, the Russian modules are going to be 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:53.000 removed and used to form an independent space station known 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:57.840 as the Russian Orbital Station or ross UH and the 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:00.640 it's so that this comes from the Russian Space contractor 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:03.880 r KK energy A. So they plan to detach the 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:07.680 forthcoming now CO module from the I S S and 0:08:07.760 --> 0:08:10.480 use it as a basis to attach other modules and 0:08:10.520 --> 0:08:13.880 build a fully functional Russian space station. Once the I 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:17.600 S S is decommissioned. Yeah, I like how how space 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:19.720 stations to me are are kind of like a real 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:23.160 world vultron where you know, other parts just kind of 0:08:23.360 --> 0:08:25.840 dock on and you you do get these modules that 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:28.760 when you put them together, create something greater than than 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:32.120 the some of its parts. Right, So we we've got 0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:38.360 this complicated um relationship between various nations that are collaborating 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:40.880 on the International Space Station. But that's not the only 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:43.320 player in the game. Like we were saying at the 0:08:43.320 --> 0:08:46.600 beginning of the episode, private space industry is now a 0:08:46.679 --> 0:08:49.720 real player too, who is delivering things to the space 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:53.560 station right now? Right? Yeah, that's a big one. Yeah. 0:08:53.760 --> 0:08:58.920 Uh And and NASA is definitely increasingly interested in partnering 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:01.760 with private industry in order to get stuff done that 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:04.720 it can't afford to get done itself. Um and and 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:07.200 ostensibly to also grow the private space industry. But I 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:09.199 think it's kind of more the former. I could be wrong. 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:12.680 Um Boeing, for example, has been a really huge partner 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:15.360 in the I S S over over many many years, 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:19.400 providing hardware and software and docking systems and communications and 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:22.360 and all kinds of stuff. And uh, I haven't personally 0:09:22.360 --> 0:09:24.480 heard about Boeing looking to get into the space and 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:29.839 space station industry itself. But uh, but this next company 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:33.240 that we're going to talk about definitely has Yeah. One 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:35.839 thing we should mention is that in most cases, I 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:39.200 would argue, in pretty much every case, the companies we're 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:42.080 talking about, just like the nations we've talked about, weren't 0:09:42.120 --> 0:09:47.160 necessarily in charge of a big manufacturing system that just 0:09:47.679 --> 0:09:51.640 created space stations all you know, in parts that then 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:54.880 could be assembled in space. Usually you're talking about entities 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:59.240 that are contracting with other companies to create various elements, right. 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:02.880 So I'm that's the way NASA has been forever. Every 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:08.640 NASA spacecraft has been the product of NASA partnering with 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:12.040 private industry to create those things. But in this case, 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:15.400 we're talking about actual private companies overseeing that process from 0:10:15.400 --> 0:10:19.800 beginning to end, not trying to submit a proposal to 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:23.800 a government agency, get rewarded a contract, and then do it. 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:27.360 So now we're looking at a whole new world of 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:31.840 space stations, and we've even got a an example we 0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:35.120 can look at is sort of a test run of 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:41.480 a private a privately built module or habitat if you prefer, 0:10:42.040 --> 0:10:45.200 that is being tested right now as part of the 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:49.080 International Space Station. Yeah. In fact, we talked about inflatable 0:10:49.120 --> 0:10:51.880 modules a little bit when we talked to a long 0:10:51.920 --> 0:10:55.040 time ago about space tourism. Yeah, because we were trying 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:58.360 to say, Okay, so imagine you're you're trying to create 0:10:58.480 --> 0:11:00.880 environments that can be inhabited it on the surface of 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:03.960 the Moon or in space at the lowest cost possible. 0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:07.080 Getting all these materials into orbit that you would need 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:10.120 to assemble in order to make your rigid aluminum model 0:11:10.559 --> 0:11:14.520 modules like in the I S is expensive. Yeah, so 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:16.800 what instead if you could just go blow up a 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:20.400 big balloon in space, right and then live in it. Yeah, 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:23.440 but now there actually is such a balloon. Yeah, that 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:25.440 was a hypothetical the last time we talked about it. 0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:30.520 But Beam, the Bigelow expandable Activity module, has has been 0:11:30.559 --> 0:11:33.320 sent up and inflated and people have hung out in it. Um. 0:11:33.400 --> 0:11:34.839 I mean they haven't like thrown a party like that 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:37.000 I'm aware of now they have. The most they've done 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:41.000 has had people in space suits test the air inside 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:44.320 and then very coil like quietly go back into the 0:11:44.360 --> 0:11:48.040 regular module the space station right less they upset the 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:53.240 balloon ghosts, No so so beam um. Okay, So it's 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:56.360 it's as we have been saying, this prototype inflatable space 0:11:56.400 --> 0:12:00.840 habitat because traditional space habitats are a dragged cre eight honestly, 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:04.280 they require these heavy, rigid materials that are expensive to 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:07.040 send into space and difficult to maneuver once you get 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:11.040 them up there. So Bigelow Air Space designed Beam and 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:14.520 this this unit went up on a SpaceX Dragon resupply 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:18.199 mission in April and and packed in there it was 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:21.000 a cylinder that was like five point seven ft long 0:12:21.679 --> 0:12:25.080 like that, very much like that, and and in about 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:28.400 seven point seven feet in diameter, which is a like 0:12:28.440 --> 0:12:30.760 a like a smart car. Okay if you need a 0:12:30.840 --> 0:12:33.160 visual and uh. It was installed on the aft part 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:35.720 of the Tranquility node by a robotic arm which was 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:38.480 controlled by an is S crew member, and it contains 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:42.920 a pressurization system with stored air. So in May, after 0:12:43.120 --> 0:12:46.400 a failed attempt, um teams worked to expand the beam 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:49.320 to its full size over the course of seven hours. 0:12:49.400 --> 0:12:52.199 So it is now a bubble that is thirteen feet 0:12:52.240 --> 0:12:54.640 long and like ten and a half feet in diameter, 0:12:54.880 --> 0:12:57.880 which is like a small room, which is what it is, 0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:01.160 just a small room. You know may with teflon coated 0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:04.840 glass fabric. When it comes to space stations, you don't 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:07.840 turn your nose up at any extra room. That's true, Yeah, 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:12.280 I mean rooms space and space oddly enough hard to 0:13:12.320 --> 0:13:16.720 come by. You think it being like hypothetically infinite, but 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:19.959 it is. It is interesting now like as you were 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:21.760 as you were just about to say, Lauren, that the 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:24.480 size of the room itself is larger than the spacecraft 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:26.800 that was sent to carry it up there are larger 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:30.320 than the cargo larger than the cargo capacity because it 0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:33.200 has expanded to its full size. Now it's beyond what 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:36.480 if it had been made out of rigid material it 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:38.800 would have had to take a couple of trips up 0:13:38.800 --> 0:13:41.680 in a spacecraft of that size. Uh And and that's 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:44.640 one of the biggest advantages of this approach is the 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:48.000 idea that you can compress the full size of the 0:13:48.000 --> 0:13:52.640 habitat down to its packed size, which is significantly smaller 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:56.640 than what it's unfurled sizes. And if you're talking about 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:59.400 rigid materials, it may not even be the a weight issue. 0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:02.760 It may just that you can't pack them in snugly 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:05.600 enough for it to really make sense, which means you 0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:07.720 have to send more missions up, which means it makes 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:10.520 it more expensive. If you've ever been embarrassed while trying 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:12.920 to move furniture and had to explain to somebody, no, 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:14.880 it's not that it's too heavy for me, it's just 0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:17.000 awkward sized. I can't write a good grip on it, 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:19.720 or your or your you've ever had to move and 0:14:19.760 --> 0:14:22.360 you are having your surprise at how many trips it 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:25.400 takes from your old place to your new place. Because 0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:27.360 while your vehicle might be able to fit a lot 0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:30.720 of stuff in it, your stuff does not magically conformed 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:33.560 to the inside of the vehicle. Yeah. Yeah, your Tetris 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:36.480 game is not strong enough. Uh so so yeah, so 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:40.160 they did open it up, check out the inside, collected 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:42.760 an air sample, uh and data from some of their 0:14:42.760 --> 0:14:45.320 inflation sensors. They said it was cold, but you know, 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:51.600 otherwise pretty pretty cool. Yeah that was accidental. Uh and 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:53.960 and okay, it's it's not meant to stay up there forever, 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:56.520 and it's not meant to have people live in there 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:58.880 or do science in there. It's really a two year 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:02.960 um proof of concept of the technology. So so astronauts 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:05.840 that are aboard the station and engineer's Earth side, and 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:08.720 instruments in the module itself are going to be studying 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:11.600 just how it's doing, like from the structural integrity of 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:15.040 the thing to the leak rate of air to radiation 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:18.240 and temperature levels. Also that we can kind of compare 0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:21.040 it back to the traditional rigid pain in the butt 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:24.720 modules and uh and and and see see see if 0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:27.400 it stacks up right. Make sure that the claims that 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:32.920 Bigelow makes about their design hold up to reality, because 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:36.120 when you put real life people into that thing, you 0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:38.400 want to make sure that it is in fact as 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:42.080 safe as the manufacturer believes it to be. You know, 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:45.560 when you introduce a sort of a skepticism there that 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:47.840 I think is going to be an important factor when 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:52.160 we start considering private companies getting into the space race. 0:15:52.360 --> 0:15:56.920 We need to make sure that the advertising isn't leading 0:15:57.000 --> 0:15:59.880 us astray. Like you can't always necessarily trust that some 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:03.760 one who's selling a product is telling you everything that 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:06.440 is true about it, particularly when you talk about companies 0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:09.960 that are looking for funding. Right like then then it's like, well, 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:13.120 do we tell them we think it's going to work 0:16:13.200 --> 0:16:14.920 and if it, if it does, it's going to be 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:16.520 or do you say no, this is gonna be the 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:18.520 most amazing thing ever you want to get in on 0:16:18.560 --> 0:16:21.840 the ground floor. I mean yeah, And I don't think 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:23.440 it's going to be any kind of cases of of 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:26.720 you know, like like low radiation levels asterix like the 0:16:26.800 --> 0:16:29.200 bottom of the page, like low compared to holding a 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:32.560 uranium core like that thing, not a fall out kind 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:34.840 of share. Like. I don't think anyone's gonna be trying 0:16:34.880 --> 0:16:37.880 to to purposefully trick anyone, but there might be optimism 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:40.480 and uh and certainly regulation is going to be an 0:16:40.480 --> 0:16:44.080 important part of all of this because traditionally speaking, we've 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:47.400 never had private industry doing this kind of stuff and 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:51.440 uh and governments have been picky about what they subject 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:55.840 to their most prized military flight personnel to right. So, 0:16:55.840 --> 0:16:59.160 so at the end of this grand experiment, after they 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:02.200 have run these two tests and determined whether or not 0:17:02.400 --> 0:17:06.840 in fact it is as safe as traditional uh spacecraft 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:10.480 material or space station material, what happens then it will 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:14.880 be destroyed and re entry. Man, we just can't make 0:17:14.920 --> 0:17:20.280 stuff without breaking stuff. That no, but that's still I mean, 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:24.440 how would you get at home? I mean the engineers 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:26.640 that they just want to watch it all burn. That's 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:30.000 the whole reason they make these things just a bunch 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:33.600 of jokers coming back from space. Alright, But yeah, so 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:37.159 the whole pro the whole program is co sponsored by 0:17:37.240 --> 0:17:41.199 NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems Program, which is which is the 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:44.800 part of NASA that it's particularly excited about fast tracking 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:49.600 affordable technology for human exploration of space. And uh so 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:53.120 the BEAM project is hoping, ultimately, I think, to develop 0:17:53.359 --> 0:17:58.320 beyond Earth space habitats, not necessarily just an orbit um. 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:01.760 But Bigelow is certainly using this as an initial step 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:05.879 towards creating its own space station. Right, And you might wonder, 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:08.240 all right, well, we've talked a little bit about the 0:18:08.280 --> 0:18:12.240 International Space Station and about a prototype approach to testing 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:16.760 a technology that could potentially be incorporated into a private 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:19.240 space station in the future. Why would any company be 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:21.880 interested in such a thing in the first place. Oh yeah, 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:25.199 it's such a huge undertaking. Subject yourself to that, and 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:28.600 it would cost millions of dollars in research and development 0:18:28.600 --> 0:18:32.360 and construction and launching. I mean, what's the payoff? Well, 0:18:32.760 --> 0:18:38.120 it's because there's money in space what not literally but 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:42.280 you know, figuratively speaking. So space stations one can serve 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:45.800 as a platform for satellite and spacecraft deployment and maintenance. 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:48.919 So with the privatization of space launches, more companies are 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:51.800 getting involved in creating and deploying satellites and other types 0:18:51.800 --> 0:18:54.680 of spacecraft. They need a place sometimes to act as 0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:58.960 kind of a launching ground, not like you would on Earth, 0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:03.520 but place to deploy that technology that is already in 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:07.120 lower th orbit. Space stations often provide such a platform, 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:09.640 So that's one thing. So you you could become like 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:13.640 the truck stop to your spacecraft going out into either 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:17.640 another lower th orbit or beyond the most expensive cramps 0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:20.120 truck stop you've ever experienced. Don't eat the egg scel 0:19:20.200 --> 0:19:23.760 and sandwiches, uh, shrimp cocktails where it's at. We've talked 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:27.040 about that numerous times. Not for me, I couldn't have. 0:19:27.160 --> 0:19:34.359 It would be very blended space. Probably that sounds to 0:19:34.400 --> 0:19:39.119 me like a great tagline for a terrible science fiction movie. Also, manufacturing, 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:42.240 this is one of those things that seemed counterintuitive to 0:19:42.240 --> 0:19:44.760 me at first, the idea of sending stuff out into 0:19:44.800 --> 0:19:49.119 space for manufacturing purposes, because you would think the cost 0:19:49.160 --> 0:19:52.680 of getting it into space would negate any advantage you 0:19:52.680 --> 0:19:55.560 would have, especially if you want it back on Earth 0:19:55.600 --> 0:19:58.960 for something right. I actually remember I watched a science 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:02.359 fiction film in which I criticized a bit of the 0:20:02.400 --> 0:20:06.000 film specifically for this in which uh androids were being 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:10.280 um built in a space station in orbit around Earth 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:12.400 and then sent back down to Earth to act as 0:20:12.880 --> 0:20:14.720 you know, workers and labors, and I thought, well, that 0:20:14.760 --> 0:20:19.040 seems unnecessary and ridiculously expensive. It's actually one of the 0:20:19.040 --> 0:20:21.240 production predictions that Elon Musk has for the future that 0:20:21.280 --> 0:20:24.719 will will will off base all of our heavy industry 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:27.440 into into orbits. Well for one thing, you know, heavy 0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:32.399 industry becomes practically weightless that way. Uh. It was a 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:35.040 terrible joke, but it's actually true. I mean, there's because 0:20:35.080 --> 0:20:37.640 because of the nature of space, because you can work 0:20:37.680 --> 0:20:40.280 in a vacuum, you can work in microgravity. It opens 0:20:40.359 --> 0:20:43.880 up opportunities and manufacturing that are impossible to replicate here 0:20:43.960 --> 0:20:46.640 on Earth. And in some cases it can be for 0:20:46.760 --> 0:20:51.239 like really precise chemical types of manufacturing, not just not 0:20:51.320 --> 0:20:53.359 just the sort of manufacturing we tend to think about, 0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:57.120 like building cars and stuff, but actually designer chemicals, things 0:20:57.119 --> 0:21:02.600 like medications or other chemical applications. So it's a very 0:21:02.680 --> 0:21:06.400 real possibility that as we see the price tag come 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:10.040 down for launching stuff into space. We could see more 0:21:10.080 --> 0:21:12.359 and more applications of manufacturing. I've seen a lot of 0:21:12.400 --> 0:21:15.119 stuff about three D printing in space where it takes 0:21:15.119 --> 0:21:17.399 on a much different dimension than it does here on Earth. 0:21:17.880 --> 0:21:19.919 Another area where it could come in handy to have 0:21:19.960 --> 0:21:22.480 a space station. We actually alluded to this a little 0:21:22.480 --> 0:21:26.359 bit earlier. Asteroid mining. Um, the whole idea of of 0:21:26.359 --> 0:21:29.600 of exploiting the asteroids that are in the Cellar system 0:21:29.640 --> 0:21:33.159 to get at resources that may be very plentiful on 0:21:33.200 --> 0:21:36.119 certain types of asteroids. It would be really helpful to 0:21:36.160 --> 0:21:38.600 have a place in space where you would have your 0:21:38.720 --> 0:21:41.800 your various uh whatever whatever units you have going out 0:21:41.880 --> 0:21:45.199 to asteroids to mind them to come back as a 0:21:45.240 --> 0:21:48.280 place to exchange stuff and go back out again. Um. 0:21:48.400 --> 0:21:51.840 We've talked about using asteroids to mine water, which you 0:21:51.880 --> 0:21:55.840 could then use to turn into rocket fuel. Uh. There's 0:21:55.840 --> 0:21:58.640 a lot of stuff that could potentially come in really handy, 0:21:58.720 --> 0:22:01.320 especially as you start talking about going further into our 0:22:01.320 --> 0:22:04.840 Solar system, whether it's for exploration or a colonization or 0:22:04.840 --> 0:22:09.280 whatever it may be. And then space tourism of course, Yeah, 0:22:09.000 --> 0:22:12.880 to be able to create a cabinet space. Yeah, it's 0:22:12.920 --> 0:22:17.560 the it's the ultimate adventure destination, right, Like it's the 0:22:17.680 --> 0:22:21.560 idea of going into space and staying aboard a space 0:22:21.560 --> 0:22:25.480 station looking back at the Earth. So far, only seven 0:22:25.560 --> 0:22:30.760 private citizens have ever done this, and it wasn't for funzies. 0:22:30.800 --> 0:22:33.560