{"id":18574,"date":"2018-04-10T19:39:03","date_gmt":"2018-04-10T11:39:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nanoracks-lays-out-vision-for-turning-rockets-into-space-outposts-starting-with-independence-1\/"},"modified":"2018-04-10T19:39:03","modified_gmt":"2018-04-10T11:39:03","slug":"nanoracks-lays-out-vision-for-turning-rockets-into-space-outposts-starting-with-independence-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nanoracks-lays-out-vision-for-turning-rockets-into-space-outposts-starting-with-independence-1\/","title":{"rendered":"NanoRacks lays out vision for turning rockets into space outposts, starting with Independence-1"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_411062\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-411062\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-411062\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180409-outpost-630x355.jpg\" alt=\"NanoRacks outpost\" width=\"630\" height=\"355\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180409-outpost-630x355.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180409-outpost-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180409-outpost.jpg 1208w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-411062\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artwork shows a Centaur upper stage that\u2019s been converted into an outpost. (NanoRacks Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Don\u2019t call them commercial space stations, or gateways, or portals. NanoRacks is laying claim to a different moniker for its new breed of refurbished orbital modules.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe like \u2018outposts,&#8217;\u201d NanoRacks CEO Jeffrey Manber told GeekWire.<\/p>\n<p>The space outposts that Manber has in mind, at least to start out with, are converted Centaur upper stages&nbsp;\u2014 the rocket boosters that sit atop the first stage of United Launch Alliance\u2019s Atlas 5 rocket.<\/p>\n<p>NanoRacks\u2019 concept calls for refurbishing the insides of a Centaur upper stage after it\u2019s finished delivering an Atlas payload to its proper orbit, so that it can be reused as an orbital habitat. The work could be done by a crew on the International Space Station, or by a robot.<\/p>\n<p>MDA US Systems, a business unit of Maxar Technologies, has already worked out a procedure for robotic remodeling:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Outpost - Robotics Animation - Repurposing Without Astronauts\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/263532681?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a new frontier for NanoRacks, a Texas-based venture that was founded nine years ago. The company\u2019s main line of business has been to get commercial payloads into low Earth orbit, and primarily to the International Space Station. Some of those payloads have been delivered on standardized equipment racks, which is how NanoRacks got its name.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past couple of years, NanoRacks has been lifting its sights: Last year, it struck a deal with NASA and Boeing to provide the space station with its first commercial air lock. And now its grand plan for a series of orbital outposts is coming together.<\/p>\n<p>An outpost could be used as an add-on module for the space station, or as a standalone spacecraft. Either way, Manber sees the concept as a contributor to the Trump administration\u2019s goal of commercializing space operations in low Earth orbit by the mid-2020s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNanoRacks is positioned very well to help the United States move into the next chapter with commercial outposts,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to be dependent on any one company&nbsp;\u2014 not NanoRacks, not Axiom, not Bigelow, not Boeing, not Lockheed, not anybody else out there. What I look forward to is a number of companies that will emerge, with the administration\u2019s support, each with a different architecture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Converting an upper stage into an orbital outpost isn\u2019t exactly a new idea: As far back as the 1960s, NASA considered doing something similar with Saturn V upper stages after launch, but the process of clearing out the fuel tanks, and then retrofitting the stage for habitation, was considered too unwieldy and expensive.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, NASA went with Skylab, an upper stage that was converted into a space station before launch.<\/p>\n<p>Now NanoRacks is reviving the on-orbit conversion concept with new technology, as one of six options being supported by NASA\u2019s NextSTEP deep-space habitat initiative. The Texas-based company has moved on to&nbsp;Phase 2 of the effort, in partnership with United Launch Alliance, Space Adventures and Maxar.<\/p>\n<p>NanoRacks previously referred to the concept as \u201cIxion,\u201d and called its team the Ixion Initiative Team. That name harks back to the son of the war god Ares in ancient Greek mythology. But as of today, Ixion has been nixed. Instead, the first outpost will be christened Independence-1, Manber said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s sort of a coming together of things,\u201d he explained. \u201cNanoRacks is really in the outpost business now. None of the previous terms really worked for us. They didn\u2019t work for anybody. \u2026 They\u2019re outposts. We\u2019re going to go forward with that, with Independence-1, and hopefully there\u2019ll be Independence-2.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_411087\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-411087\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-411087\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180409-cutaway-630x212.png\" alt=\"Outpost cutaway\" width=\"630\" height=\"212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180409-cutaway-630x212.png 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180409-cutaway-768x259.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180409-cutaway-1260x424.png 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180409-cutaway.png 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-411087\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A cutaway view shows how the propellant tanks of a Centaur upper stage could be converted into a habitable space outpost. Solar arrays, insulation and a layer of material to guard against micrometeoroid impacts would be installed on the Centaur before launch. (NanoRacks Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The next big task for NanoRacks\u2019 NextSTEP effort would be to build a full-size, on-the-ground prototype. Manber said the plan that\u2019s currently under discussion with NASA calls for taking a Centaur upper stage that didn\u2019t pass the required checks for spaceflight, and refitting it as a demonstration module at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe expect that we should be able to reach a successful conclusion in the coming month or two,\u201d he said. Building the on-the-ground prototype would show NASA that NanoRacks and its partners can address all of the project\u2019s technical challenges.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, Manber is talking with other potential customers about building a commercial outpost. \u201cI would say that we\u2019ll have news on that this year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Centaur upper stages won\u2019t be around forever: ULA is already deep into the development of its next-generation Vulcan rocket. Initially, the Vulcan will use the Centaur as its upper stage. But eventually, ULA will switch over to a new type of refuelable upper-stage rocket known as the Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage, or ACES.<\/p>\n<p>The coming transition doesn\u2019t faze Manber. \u201cACES may be a little better as an outpost than the Centaur,\u201d he said. Spent stages from NASA\u2019s heavy-lift Space Launch System, which is currently under development, could conceivably be converted as well.<\/p>\n<p>So what could an outpost be used for? The likeliest application for Independence-1 would be to add to the International Space Station\u2019s real estate. But outposts also could serve as space hotels, or as platforms for orbital research and manufacturing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI look forward to being in partnership with the commercial cargo folks, going to different orbits, different inclinations,\u201d Manber said. \u201cLet\u2019s break free of having one orbit, one inclination.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the commercial side, NanoRacks is focusing on low Earth orbit, but Manber said NASA\u2019s NextSTEP program could open a path to deep space as well: \u201cIf we could show that it\u2019s possible, maybe we could supply the warehouses, or the factories, or the fuel depots\u201d for a space complex in lunar orbit or beyond.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s see how far the technology can take us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Manber said he takes inspiration from architect R. Buckminster Fuller, the visionary who invented geodesic domes and once said all human beings were \u201castronauts on a little spaceship called Earth.\u201d Now NanoRacks is envisioning little spaceships that can help expand humanity\u2019s range beyond Earth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was so far ahead of his time,\u201d Manber said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at Independence-1 as a continuation in space of what Buckminster Fuller wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Artwork shows a Centaur upper stage that\u2019s been converted into an outpost. (NanoRacks Illustration) Don\u2019t call them commercial space stations, or gateways, or portals. NanoRacks is laying claim to a different moniker for its new breed of refurbished orbital modules. \u201cWe like \u2018outposts,&#8217;\u201d NanoRacks CEO Jeffrey Manber told GeekWire. The space outposts that Manber has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[291,2702,5256,717,4913,1524],"class_list":["post-18574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-commercial-space","tag-deep-space-gateway","tag-independence-1","tag-international-space-station","tag-life-in-space","tag-nanoracks"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18574"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18574\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}