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It's crazy what we are doing with inflatables. Cargo ships with huge inflatable wing sails. The luxury catamaran MODX is bringing that down in size too. https:/

It's crazy what we are doing with inflatables. Cargo ships with huge inflatable wing sails. The luxury catamaran MODX is bringing that down in size too. https://www.yachtingworld.com/news/modx-first-look-dual-inflated-wingsails-lift-the-catamaran-market-to-new-heights-157713 https://www.yachtingworld.com/news/modx-first-look-dual-infl... In space, NASA worked with Sierra Space to test their 300 cubic meter "Orbital Reef". The next go.is supposedly 500 m^3, about half the ISS size. Still seems way to small to spin though, I'd guess? Lockheed has their own inflatable hab station too. https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/leo-economy/nasa-supports-burst-test-for-orbital-reef-commercial-space-station/ https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/leo-ec... China launched and tested some kind of inflatable, just last fall. https://spacenews.com/china-quietly-tested-its-first-inflatable-space-module-in-orbit/ https://spacenews.com/china-quietly-tested-its-first-inflata... It seems like an obvious & amazing unmaterial leap, versus needing metal walls. If it works! Very fun having this history of rings post. Feels a little light on where we are though, what of promise is happening!

kragen 1y ago
Cargo ships have been powered by huge inflatable airfoils for at least thousands of years, possibly much longer than that. Inflatable structures in general are fantastic in theory: air or hydrogen is cheap, easy to put into the desired shape, and has immense compressive strength per gram, effectively unlimited. Same for impact energy. So you can separate out the compressive and shock-absorbing parts of your structure from the tensile parts, and only pay for the tensile parts. The main difficulty is recovery from rupture, especially in a space environment where not only don't you have a steady wind filling your sails, you have a limited, nonrenewable gas supply. Well, and high compressive strength in a small space.
- arethuza 1y ago
  Do square rig sails count as airfoils? I thought they could really only go downwind?
  - kragen 1y ago
    As I understand it, they can go somewhat crosswind, which is all the wing of a 747 manages too. (An angle of attack of 2° is probably a lot better than you can do in a cutter, though, I imagine.) But I don't know much about aerodynamics or sailing, so I could be wrong.

kragen 1y ago

Cargo ships have been powered by huge inflatable airfoils for at least thousands of years, possibly much longer than that. Inflatable structures in general are fantastic in theory: air or hydrogen is cheap, easy to put into the desired shape, and has immense compressive strength per gram, effectively unlimited. Same for impact energy. So you can separate out the compressive and shock-absorbing parts of your structure from the tensile parts, and only pay for the tensile parts. The main difficulty is recovery from rupture, especially in a space environment where not only don't you have a steady wind filling your sails, you have a limited, nonrenewable gas supply. Well, and high compressive strength in a small space.

arethuza 1y ago
Do square rig sails count as airfoils? I thought they could really only go downwind?
- kragen 1y ago
  As I understand it, they can go somewhat crosswind, which is all the wing of a 747 manages too. (An angle of attack of 2° is probably a lot better than you can do in a cutter, though, I imagine.) But I don't know much about aerodynamics or sailing, so I could be wrong.