As NASA works toward sending people into deep space, the agency is looking for new types of space habitats that astronauts can live in far from Earth. One company, Nanoracks, has a design idea in mind 鈥� but rather than build something completely new, the company has a bold plan to聽recycle聽space hardware to create living quarters. Their plan: turn used rocket tanks into suitable places for deep-space explorers to live.
And now, Nanoracks has signed a contract with NASA to start turning this habitat concept into reality. Last summer, the company was聽one of six picked to be part of the second round of NASA鈥檚 NextSTEP program, an initiative to create concepts and ground prototypes of novel deep-space habitats. Now聽with a finalized contract, Nanoracks can get to work on developing its concept, called Ixion, and eventually turning a spent rocket tank into a habitat that can then be tested out in space.
Basically, the company just wants to utilize hardware that would otherwise go to waste. When a satellite launches on top of a rocket, the probe is typically delivered into its final orbit by the vehicle鈥檚 upper stage 鈥� the top section of the rocket that contains its own separate engine(s) and fuel. That means the upper stage usually orbits along with the satellite after it鈥檚 been deployed from the rocket. By the time it鈥檚 in orbit, most of propellant in the stage鈥檚 tank has been depleted, which creates a whole lot of empty space that is going unused.
If these stages go to a low enough orbit, they鈥檙e usually deorbited on purpose; any remaining propellant is used to redirect the stage toward Earth and have it burn up in the atmosphere. That way they don鈥檛 add to the growing amount of space debris already around Earth. But instead of getting rid of these stages, Nanoracks wants to keep them in orbit and then refurbish them, turning them into something completely new. 鈥淲e鈥檙e augmenting what already exists,鈥� Mike Johnson, chief designer at NanoRacks, tells聽The Verge.聽鈥淵ou kind of double down for your money.鈥�
The plan would be to vent the rest of the propellant out into space, making the tank completely empty. Or if the rocket uses cryogenic propellants, as many modern vehicles do, then the materials will boil off after a few days as the stage orbits Earth and is heated up by the Sun. Once the tank is completely empty, Nanoracks will fill it with pressurized air from smaller vessels attached to the outside. In fact, each of these tanks-turned-habitats will have smaller modules attached to the outside, containing vital supplies like life support systems and cargo that can be used to make the tank a viable place to live. The modules can also be used to attach the stage to other habitats already in space.
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