NASA has published documents with requirements for the design of private space stations. text published On the US government website Sam.gov.
One of the documents is devoted to the resource that the station should have. A special successor to the ISS is expected to provide 3,000 to 4,000 working hours per year for astronauts, requiring two people on board. At the same time, the agency doesn’t mind that some of the work is done by members of a dedicated team. In total, 130 to 230 experiments are planned per year using 24 cubic meters of storage space. To ensure the operability of internal equipment, 42 kilowatts of power will be required, and external equipment – 5-8 kilowatts. It is planned to transfer 5,000 kg of cargo to the station and to return 2,000 kg of cargo.
The second document is devoted to a general description of the technical characteristics of the future station. Most surprising is the lack of an airlock requirement for spacewalks. However, it is added that such capabilities can be useful for repair and recovery of external payloads. Also, if the station does not have a gateway, the commercial contractor will have to offer an alternative way to place equipment and payloads outside the station. Presumably, we are talking about robotic hands that can independently pick up cargo from the ship and place it on the hull. In addition, the document provides for the simultaneous presence of private and government crews on board, and most likely the private crew will be engaged in the maintenance of the station. At the same time, the authors of the documents recommend partial division of technical tasks between the two teams in order to avoid conflicts arising from an unfair distribution of load on the team.
You can read more about plans to build the Axiom private space station here. material “socialbites.ca”.