B330

The B330 (previously known as the Nautilus space complex module and BA 330) was an inflatable space habitat privately developed by Bigelow Aerospace from 2010 until 2020. The design was evolved from NASA's TransHab habitat concept. B330 was to have of internal volume, hence its numeric designation. The craft was intended to support zero-gravity research including scientific missions and manufacturing processes. Beyond its industrial and scientific purposes, however, it had potential as a destination for space tourism and a craft for missions destined for the Moon and Mars. Several test articles were built and tested in ground test facilities, but no flight versions were built. Compared to their volume-mass ratio, expandable modules offer more living space than traditional rigid modules. For example, the pressurized volume of a B330 module was 330m3, compared to 106m3 of the 15-tonne ISS Destiny module. Thus B330 offered 210% more habitable space, with an increase in mass of only 53%. Bigelow claimed that the module provided radiation protection equivalent to, and ballistic protection superior to, the International Space Station. The exterior of the craft was long by in diameter and the module weighed . The habitat was designed with two solar arrays and two thermal radiator arrays for heat dissipation, as well as life support systems to sustain a crew of up to six astronauts. It had "a zero-g toilet with solid and liquid waste collection, semi-private berths for each crew member, exercise equipment, a food storage and preparation station, lighting, and a personal hygiene station." The wall thickness was approximately with the module fully expanded. The walls had 24 to 36 layers for ballistic protection, thermal protection, and radiation protection, as hard as concrete once the craft was fully expanded. The exterior had four large windows coated with a UV protection film. Dual-redundant control thruster systems were to be used, one using mono-propellant hydrazine and the other using gaseous hydrogen and gaseous oxygen.