04. Will we build the hotels in space or build them on Earth and then take them to space? Would it be hard to build a hotel in space when there's no gravity? (A K2S Question)
From The Space Library
The materials that are used to build the modules will be assembled on Earth. The modules will then be packed into a rocket and flown into space to be inflated. Currently, building from scratch in space is very difficult. We try to build as much as we can on Earth, so we can test to make sure things work and are safe. These components will then be sent up to space and be assembled together by robotic equipment and spacewalking astronauts. Building in space under weightless conditions is quite challenging. Spacewalking astronauts on the ISS require intensive training back on Earth, usually underwater, to simulate weightless conditions. They need to learn how to use special construction tools to perform tasks, operate advanced camera systems to help them see, and remotely control robotic equipment to dock space components. However, in some aspects, zero-gravity will actually make it easier to inflate the modules and dock them together to form a larger station. It's not that there is no gravity in space. In fact, at 240 miles, at lower Earth orbit where our ISS is, gravity is more than 88 percent of its strength on the surface of Earth! What you are experiencing is just an apparent state of weightlessness because you are in a state of freefall.
Answer provided by Robert T. Bigelow
Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer
 Buy This Book Click here |
