Commercial Future of Space Travel
SpaceX, Bigelow Aerospace, and many other companies have designed a wide variety of spacecrafts. In the future, SpaceX and Bigelow Aerospace plan to revolutionize NASA's manned space travel programs. They also expect to upgrade the efficiency of the International Space Station through their more cost-effective capsules, which are described below.
- Dragon Spacecraft
- BA 330
Dragon is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft being developed by SpaceX under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The Dragon spacecraft is made up of a pressurized capsule and unpressurized trunk used for Earth to transport pressurized cargo, unpressurized cargo, and crew members. The Dragon spacecraft is made up of 3 main parts: the Nosecone,the Spacecraft, the RCS system, parachutes, and the Trunk.
In December 2008, NASA announced the selection of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station when the Space Shuttle retires. The $1.6 billion contract included a minimum of 12 flights It is designed to include cargo and crew requirements for the ISS. SpaceX is currently operating fully commercial, non-ISS Dragon flights under the name “DragonLab".
The BA 330 can operate as an independent station, or many of these crafts can be connected together in a fashion to create a larger more convenient space complex.
The maximum number of astronauts aboard is up to six people on a long-term basis. It has radiation and ballistic protection equal to the International Space Station. BA 330 has the electrical power made with solar arrays and a series of batteries. The BA 330 will have incredibly clean environment control and life support systems. This is a travel capsule for the future.