To build the giant stations and airships we need to start testing the airbeam structures up high. This is a flight we’re planning to carry a 50 foot airbeam to 100,000 feet.
We’re calling the mission “High Beam”.
To build the giant stations and airships we need to start testing the airbeam structures up high. This is a flight we’re planning to carry a 50 foot airbeam to 100,000 feet.
We’re calling the mission “High Beam”.
Will the air beam be inflated before launch?
If so how will it handle the reduced air pressure at 100,000 feet?
The air beam will be inflated before launch. On the end caps there are pressure relief valves that open at 2.5 psi. The bean will hold it’s shape on the way up, but sag on the descent.
The beam flight after this will have a repressurization system.
[...] and structural test flights behind them, aerodynamic and microgravity drop tests, high-altitude structural and construction tests, a flight and cargo-capable airship (Tandem-class), a full-scale Dark Sky Station crew cabin [...]