Architectural Concepts Applicable
To The Space Island Group Lab-ET
Space Station Configuration
Prepared For:
By:
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
ABSTRACT
Space Island Group’s Lab-ET Space Station represents an order of magnitude increase
in scale over prior space stations MIR and ISS. SIG’s commercial approach to Lab-ET
utilization also represents a significant departure from historically federalized programs.
SPACEHAB, Inc. is the preeminent commercial developer/operator of manned space
flight infrastructure utilized in the context of these federal programs. SPACEHAB’s
Strategic Programs Group has prepared these architectural concepts for commercial
applications of the Lab-ET in areas of pharmacological and biological research and
on-orbit production, with implications for other commercial applications.
INTRODUCTION
A variety of architectural and operational concepts are described through text and
sketches in the following pages. Many of these concepts are represented, at least in part,
in the finished renderings produced by SPACEHAB for SIG and accompanying the
delivery of this paper. These concepts seek to optimize the Lab-ET design in areas of
technical and operational efficiency, versatility, safety and economy while satisfying the
functional requirements of commercial tenants and facility operations.
These sketches provided the basis for basic scale models produced using Pro-E CAD.
The CAD models were used to validate the scale of the general architectural concepts
and were then used to generate perspective views of the architecture suitable for use in
generating the artist’s renderings delivered with this paper. The team of artists, CAD
operators and designers then cooperatively populated these views with selected outfitting
and operations concepts to provide a better vision of how they work together as a system
to address the commercial objectives of Space Island Group.
SCALE AND MODULARITY
As compared to NASA’s ISS, the Lab-ET offers an order of magnitude increase in the
scale of the facility. Envisioned commercial applications represent a similar increase in
the scale of operations and installations to be hosted by the Lab-ET. SPACEHAB’s
outfitting concepts reflect these increases in scale by defining a standard modular
outfitting increment offering approximately 1 cubic meter of volume and emulating the
role of the Middeck Locker Equivalent (MLE) outfitting increment on ISS (One MLE offers
approximately 1/16 of a cubic meter.).
NASA’s ISS configuration offers modularity at the International Standard Payload Rack
(ISPR) level, with each ISPR offering accommodations for approximately 2 cubic meters
of outfitting, and the entire ISS offering accommodations for dozens of ISPRs. One ISPR
would constitute a major installation aboard ISS. By comparison, SPACEHAB’s
architecture for the Lab-ET expands on the relative scale of standard increments with
each “deck” emulating the role of the ISPR in the NASA ISS architecture and operations
approach but at a significantly larger scale. Each bay environment in the Lab-ET
architecture emulates the role of an ISS module and supports the allocation of bays to
commercial users in a similar fashion as the ISS incorporates modules provided by and
allocated to the use of the International Partners.
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ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
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These modularity concepts promote efficiency in the development, design, marketing
and commercial utilization and operations of Lab-ET facilities while reflecting Space
Island Group’s vision of significant expansion of commercial activities in low-earth orbit.
The modularity is intended to apply not only to habitation and commercial installations in
the Lab-ET, but also to facilities infrastructure installations constituting the core systems
supporting the entire Lab-ET as a viable orbiting facility.
GENERAL INTERIOR SEGMENTATION APPROACH
Though not extensively traded in the scope of SPACEHAB’s current design study,
various high-level options were considered for segmenting the Lab-ET into discrete
regions suitable for recurring modular outfitting approaches. SPACEHAB elected to
pursue designs based on segmentation normal to the cylindrical axis of the structure,
similar to prior Space Island Group architectures. A modularity concept that emulates the
natural design of a bee-hive was selected as the fundamental theme and was applied in
various scales within the prescribed Lab-ET diameter to identify the most favorable scale
for the cells and related outfitting from the standpoint of packaging efficiency and human
scale concerns. The resulting 19-cell deck configuration became the progenitor for many
other dimensional aspects of the facility concept.
With the cell scale established, pallet proportions were dictated by a requirement for
unrestricted outfitting transportability within the facility. This pallet envelope, along with
clearance considerations and additional human-scale concerns, resulted in the
separation distances between adjacent decks at bay separations (intra-deck regions),
and deck-to-deck separation within the bay environments. Recognizing that the Lab-ET
primary structure would be a derivative of a Shuttle ET, and therefore may not present
identical dimensions or features as the Shuttle ET, SPACEHAB did not expand efforts to
optimize these proportions across the entire Lab-ET length, so the ideal total number of
decks in a Lab-ET is still to be determined. (See descriptions for Sketches
FTE071803.01 and FTE072103.03 and .04 for additional discussion of facility-level scale
issues and concepts.)
The resulting configurations and concepts are described in detail through the remainder
of this paper, offering in-depth information on philosophies and concepts applicable to
the architecture represented in those renderings.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
For purposes of common reference, the following terms are used throughout this
document and are offered as standard terms to be adopted in future developments.

Lab-ET Orbital Industrial Base (OIB): The Lab-ET Space Island Space Station
concept outfitted to support multiple industrial tenants. Thus configured, the OIB
may host alternative technology types and processes in distinct and proprietary
commercial settings. The OIB can also accommodate installations satisfying
habitation and physical plant applications based on the same architecture that
supports its commercial tenant facilities.
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ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
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
Facility Crew: Members of the OIB crew who are dedicated to the maintenance
and operation of the Space Island Group facility itself, and who provide facility
management and operations support services to the facilities industrial client base
and Commercial Crews.

Commercial Crew: Members of the OIB crew who are dedicated to the
proprietary operations of specific industrial tenants. Commercial crew may be SIG
or tenant employees or contractors. Commercial crewmembers are highly trained
in the tenant-specific operations, technologies and outfitting and have generic
cross training in areas of OIB emergency and contingency procedures and in
generic Habitation Bay accommodations and operations. Select members of the
Commercial Crew may be specifically trained and skilled in limited areas of
expertise: e.g. Production Bay activities or Laboratory Bay activities or
maintenance and repair of tenant-proprietary outfitting and systems.

Cell: Each hexagonal station on a deck. The typical deck configuration provides
19 cells, any of which may be delegated specific functions and alternately outfitted
with modular pallets, closeouts or other facility outfitting.

Deck: Each planar array of cells. Decks are designated “nadir” or “zenith”.

Row: Designated “A-E”, each row is a side-by-side array of cells. The quantity of
cells per row varies from 3 to 5.

Column: Designated “1-5”, each column is an array of cells adjacent to each
other along a vector 120 degrees from the “row vector”. Recognizing the circular
bounds of the decks and the “3-4-5-4-3” quantity of cells in rows, not all rows offer
cells in all columns (Rows D and E are mission columns 1 [in row D], 1 and 2 [in
row E], respectively). This designation scheme promotes clearly understandable
references coordinates throughout the facility.

Zenith: The vector in the direction of the primary structures nose cone. (Note that
“zenith” typically means whatever direction is opposite to the local direction to the
Earth’s center, and “nadir” is the direction toward Earth’s center.) Since the LabET flight orientation is as yet unspecified, these terms (“zenith” and “nadir”) are
applied here independent of the Lab-ET’s orbital orientation.

Nadir: The vector opposite to zenith.

Utility Corridor: Each of six regions running along the inboard surface of the
primary structure within which facility-level power, data, fluids and ventilation
routing is accommodated. Utility corridors provide physically separated and
redundant distribution of services throughout the facility. Utility Corridors may
constitute Restricted Access Environments.
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ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
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
General Access Environment: Regions in the facility that are continuously
provided with environmental control and life support services to support
continuous occupation and not requiring special equipment or cautionary
measures during normal activities. General Access environments present
inherently safe outfitting (no sharp edges, hazardous protrusions, pinch points),
appropriate lighting and lighting controls and suitable décor.

Limited Access Environment: Regions within which specialized measures must
be taken to ensure safety of crew and equipment during periods when the crew is
present. Measures may include use of protective clothing and/or breathing
apparatus. Limited Access Environments may require activation of life support
systems otherwise taken off-line during extended unoccupied periods to preserve
facility resources.

Restricted Access Environment: Regions within which the vehicle design takes
liberties in inherent safety characteristics in return for significant savings in cost,
mass, and environmental parameters. Said regions may be optionally entered or
accessed for specific off-nominal purposes and by select, specially trained and
equipped crewmembers. These regions may include the interiors of Utility
Corridors and Plenums. Special equipment used in accessing these regions may
include protective clothing (gloves, coveralls, head gear, breathing apparatus,
Hazardous Materials suits, crew mobility and restraint aids, portable lighting, etc.).

Bay: The region between two adjacent firewalls, constituting the open habitable
volume between zenith and nadir decks and the plenum regions between the
decks and the firewalls. A bay has a gross volume of approximately 212 cubic
meters. Bays are designated using sequential Phonetic Alphabet characters
(Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.) starting with the upper-most bay (at the forward end
of the Lab-ET).

Laboratory Bay: A region within which processes and product analyses are
conducted by either by crewmembers or by autonomous or semi-autonomous
means. The Laboratory Bay is envisioned as a general access environment.

Habitation Bay: A region providing crewmember’s living accommodations
possibly including personal and common areas, food, hygiene, health and
recreational facilities, etc. Habitation Bays are general access environments.

Production Bay: The region spanning the distance between adjacent firewalls
and within which tenants locate large-scale installations involving multiple special
purpose pallets. Production Bays are provided with measures that ensure
protection of proprietary operations and outfitting (considering that the OIB may
accommodate multiple tenants each desiring to isolate their operations from each
other). Production Bays are Limited Access Environments.
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ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
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
Drone Robot: Multi-purpose robot capable of operating within a typical bay
environment and designed to provide crew support functions when operating in
proximity to the crew, remote controlled functions and autonomous routines.
The Drone Robot is initially envisioned as a tendon suspended robot similar to
the CHARLOTTE robot flown as a DTO experiment on STS-63.

Electrical Utility Panel: An area or the deck grid adjacent to each cell where
facility-to-pallet electrical connections are provided as a standard format array.
The degree to which all cells are thus provisioned is TBD. Interfaces support
power and data connectivity.

Fluids Utility Panel: An area or the deck grid adjacent to each cell where facilityto-pallet fluid connections are provided as a standard format array. The degree to
which all cells are thus provisioned is TBD.

Intercell Stowage Zone: Regions inbetween two adjacent pallets within which
inter-cell soft stowage may be accommodated. These regions typically occur in
the space between pallets adjacent to each other on the same ROW.

Intercell Soft Stowage: A standard increment of stowage accommodations that
fits into the “valley” between adjacent pallets on the same row and deck. Each unit
provides approximately .5 x .5 x 1 meter of stowage volume.

Pallet: The basic unit of outfitting, a pallet occupies a cell and extends into the
Bay free volume and intra-deck volume. The extent of the standard outfitting
envelope is that which, when viewed in cross-section, can pass through a
standard deck cell opening with approximately 1 inch of clearance between pallet
outfitting and cell profiles.

Stacked Pallet Configurations: Recognizing that some outfitting will benefit from
larger contiguous packaging volumes, the OIB architecture supports installation of
one pallet mounted atop a pallet installed in a standard fashion to the deck. This
“stacked” pallet option enables direct payload element-to-payload element
interfaces to be established that can reduce interconnection distance between
payload features.

Linked Pallet Configurations: Payload pallets in proximity to each other may
provide payload-to-payload interfaces wherein direct system-level
interconnections can be established between multiple elements using dedicated
jumpers. This offers throughput capabilities that may be unique to the payload
elements and would otherwise not be supportable using standard connections at
the standard Utility Panels. Linked payloads may be proximal to each other on the
same deck surface, or may be proximal but on opposite walls for a bay.
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ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
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
Bay-To-Bay Payload Interconnections: Tenants may occupy more than one
IOB Bay. In cases where tenant installations occupy adjacent Bays, potential
exists to directly interconnect payloads in adjacent Bays using jumpers that pass
between the payloads and within the Intra-deck airspace. Said connections would
penetrate the Bay isolation firewall and might be most easily accommodated if the
firewall offers an optionally replaceable panel in the firewall behind each deck cell.
Said panels shall be replaceable with payload-specific panels to support Bay-toBay direct payload item interconnections.

Intra-Deck Region: The space between decks bounding adjacent bays is
designated an “Intra-deck Region”. These regions house distributed utilities that
service standard pellet cells, provide a delivery/return plenum for avionics cooling
air, accommodate the firewall that isolates bay environments one from another
and accommodate the structural elements that strengthen and rigidize the decks.

Firewall: Given the large contiguous volume of the Lab-ET and the likelihood that
multiple tenants may co-occupy a facility, measures shall be evident in the facility
that reduce crossover risk between tenant facilities. One countermeasure involves
protection against propagation of fire between adjacent OIB Bays. Back-to-back
Decks of adjacent Bays are separated by a firewall to protect against propagation
of fire between bays.

Contamination Barriers: As with the firewall discussed above, multiple tenants
sharing a OIB may pose risks to each other relating to cross-contamination of
environments. Considering that the OIB is a “closed” facility, means to isolate and
purge or otherwise disinfect/sanitize one bay or OIB region while preserving
normal operations in the remaining bays would promote tenant autonomy and
security. Contamination Barrier functions will involve contributions from other
distributed OIB features, including the intra-deck firewalls and translation paths.

Assured Transit Corridor (ATC): The facility, configured as a “stack” of bays
each capable of mutual and selective isolation, provides a corridor capable of
selective isolation from any or all Bays yet offering transit between bays for crew
and equipment. The ATC is the nominal translation route between bays.

Service Corridor: A parallel corridor is envisioned in addition to the ATC. This
“Service Corridor” is intended to support infrequent passage of large items
throughout the OIB. This corridor may be as simple as a series of optionally
opened hatches between adjacent facility bays sized to enable transit of standard
Pallet assemblies through the resulting airlocks. Each bay-to-bay transit feature
would constitute a hinged cover over the opening of a deck cell and opening into
the hosting bay. All adjacent bays provide such covers on back-to-back
decks/cells. The firewall between decks has a penetration and the through-deck
opening is sealed about the six sides of the cell to create a sealed airlock
chamber between the decks. Depending on conditions throughout the facility, the
Service Corridor may selectively be transited as a series of transfers through
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ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
sealed airlocks (to maintain bay-to-bay isolation control), or hatches may be
“thrown open” to present an unobstructed clear passage through multiple decks
and bays. The Service Corridor also supports contingency functions such as
providing a physically distanced secondary transit path between all points in the
OIB.

Transportation Bay: As an orbiting facility supported by transportation systems
for crew, supplies and equipment, the OIB requires interfaces and facilities that
enable efficient visiting vehicle operations and logistics staging/warehousing.
Depending on the overall traffic model and tenant activities, the OIB will, at
minimum, require transportation of crew-support logistics (food, water, hygiene
supplies, medicine). This traffic alone, for a crew of up to twelve members,
represents a significant total volume of items. When combined with consumables,
equipment and bi-products from tenant operations, the warehousing, material
handling and inventory management challenges alone become significant. A
properly designed and dedicated Transportation Bay is envisioned within which
the entire facility’s needs for payloads staging transfer and management may be
addressed. Application of robotics and electronic inventory management systems,
along with efficient human factors design of the Transportation Bay and related
facility features, will result in greater crew efficiency and reduced overhead costs.

Core Systems: Systems supporting basic facility services maybe either
centralized or distributed throughout the IOB. Systems include:
 Electrical power generation, management, and distribution
 Data management systems
 Communications systems
 Thermal Control systems
 Environmental Control and Life Support systems
 Caution and Warning systems
Optimal allocation of core systems functions between centralized and distributed
installations shall reflect considerations for facility-level technical and businessrelated factors, such as the degree of flexibility supported by the design of the
generic OIB as a host for tenant operations and installations that may vary widely
in their specific resource requirements. At a minimum, the facility’s core systems
shall be capable of maintaining the IOB in a ready state to accept variations in
outfitting specific to TBD industrial tenants. Standardized and modular distributed
enhancements may be installed throughout the OIB to increase or concentrate
availability or select resources in particular IOB regions consistent with the
specific requirements of the tenants.

Exposure Lock: A feature of the OIB primary structure constituting a hexagonal
penetration in the exterior wall providing an internally oriented frame interface that
emulates a typical cell, said frame having interior and exterior hinged covers
between which a cavity is disposed when both doors are closed, said cavity also
being sized to accommodate insertion of a typical pallet payload envelope.
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ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
With the interior door open and the external door closed and sealed, a pallet
assembly may be affixed and sealed to the internal surface of the frame, and may
also be attached to facility services via a connector panel internal to the cavity and
on the inboard surface of the installed pallet. With the pallet installed from inside
the OIB, the inboard door is closed and sealed (to avoid dependence on the pallet
as a critical pressure vessel surface), and the outer door is automatically opened,
thereby exposing the outboard aspect of the installed pallet to the space
environment.
Such installations may be useful for tenant-specific or facility-level installations.
Examples may include:
 Radiator/Pump Package: For instances where a tenant has unique thermal
rejection requirements beyond the capability of the baseline OIB TCS, a
“stand-alone” radiator/pump package may be installed in an exposure lock
located about the perimeter of the tenant’s IOB bay. Once installed, the
radiator/pump package would extend a dedicated radiator into space, said
radiator having an ability to rotate such that its surface faces deep space.
Removal or access for servicing would reverse the process. This example
demonstrates the ability to deploy and recover external features while avoiding
Extra-Vehicular Activity or installation designs that preserve EVA viability.
(Facility-level installations may also utilize this approach.)
 Experiment Exposure: Presuming a tenant has a particular need to expose
features of a payload directly to the space environment, the Exposure Lock
may be utilized similarly (as described above). Potential advantages may be
optimal exposure for vacuum venting of a payload feature via a dedicated
vacuum vent offering required venting rates and abilities to control the
utilization of the vent to avoid contamination or to control timing for vent use
without regard for other users “piggy-backing” on the same vacuum vent
manifold.
HIERARCHY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
Recognizing the large volumes associated with the Lab-ET concept, and further
recognizing the diverse types of activities and installations envisioned and the high
overhead cost to provide and maintain unrestricted occupancy standards throughout
spacecraft, a hierarchy of environmental conditions is envisioned to economize on
Environmental Control and Life Support System scale, complexity and resource draw;
and to offer additional latitude for designing and maintaining “special-use” environments
suitable for various commercial activities. The degree to which this approach provides
actual economy and useful versatility may be determined over the course of detailed
development of the facility and in coordination with the tenants that would utilize the
facility. The degree to which environments in a given Lab-ET may be modulated over
time to create various levels of conditions suitable for changing utilization modes is
another variable, itself representing a degree of system-level complexity that may prove
unattractive from a facility development and management perspective.
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ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
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Variables that may be manipulated to optimize environments for limited applications
include: temperature, humidity control, atmospheric constituents, atmospheric pressure,
chemical and biological contaminant monitoring, control, countermeasures and recovery
modes; lighting conditions; ventilation conditions; physical hazards; accessibility
characteristics; fire detection and suppression techniques; occupancy capacity and
duration. Each of these variables represents cost and complexity. Properly balancing
these parameters to reflect the actual and limited requirements of several distinct
environments will offer significant advantages in development and operations cost at the
facility level and for the commercial tenant infrastructure and operations that Space
Island Group intends to host.
“Shirt-Sleeve” Environment
This designation applies to regions of the Lab-ET where crewmembers reside and work
on an everyday, unrestricted basis. This type of environment is typical of NASA’s Space
Station, providing a terrestrial analog environment for the crew. Conditions maintained
include: comfortable temperatures, low humidity, standard atmospheric constituents,
comfortable and controllable lighting levels and ventilation provisions, elimination of
physical hazards (sharp edges, pinch points, etc.). This level of environment is
analogous to terrestrial offices and residences.
Limited Access Environment
This level of environmental conditions is analogous to terrestrial industrial environments
where hard-hats, special protective clothing and special purpose equipment and
operational modes may be used to compensate for reduced inherent habitability at the
facility level. This level of habitability may be suitable for crew-tended areas of the LabET where automated processes are predominant. Such environments may offer reduced
nominal lighting levels, altered atmospheric and temperature control and monitoring
parameters, reduced emphasis on inherently safe (hazard-free) outfitting design, reduced
restriction on confinement at worksites and other parameters.
This level of environment is analogous to special-purpose and limited access terrestrial
industrial environments such as: clean rooms, operating rooms, refineries, heavy
manufacturing floors, etc.
Restricted Access Environment
Various regions of the Lab-ET may require very limited access by crewmembers to the
degree that the environment may be most economically designed, operated and
maintained if requirements are relaxed and restrictions are placed on the manner in
which the crew interacts with this environment. Candidate regions where these conditions
may appropriately apply include sections of the Lab-ET that host resource storage
facilities (e.g. high pressure containers, hazardous materials, etc.), areas hosting
inherently hazardous installations (potentially involving high-energy power systems, etc.)
and areas hosting systems requiring virtually no normal interaction with the crew.
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ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
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Crewmembers operating in these environments may require special garments and
equipment to enable their entry into and continued occupancy of these regions. Such
equipment may include portable breathing apparatus, hazard-protective clothing,
portable task lighting, portable power delivery to support use of tools and portable
equipment, special restraint and mobility support equipment for the crewmember and
the tools and equipment with which the crewmember is working, etc. This level of
environment is analogous to terrestrial restricted access environments such as:
submerged worksites, contaminated environments, fire-fighting environments,
hazardous materials handling environments, etc.
Internal Transitional Environments
The Lab-ET, as a facility maintaining particular conditions in discrete regions, provides
features that enable crew and equipment to transit between these discrete regions.
Transitional environments enable control of exposure of the crew to these environments
and further ensure that discrete environments remain discrete.
Various factors may drive the need to isolate regions of the Lab-ET. The environments
described in the section above may require specific modes of isolation to address and
control atmospheric constituents and contaminants. Also, in a Lab-ET that hosts multiple
commercial tenants, each tenant may require limited accessibility to their proprietary
environments.
The current Lab-ET architectural concept proposes a crew-transit corridor to support
normal access throughout the facility. This corridor may be isolated from various Bay
environments through the use of localized adjacent “airlocks” along the corridor’s path.
Said airlocks may provide varying degrees of isolation and may further support specific
capabilities and equipment relating to limited or restricted access environments
(e.g. local accommodations for environment-specific garments and equipment required
in specific regions).
In addition to the crew-transit corridor, provisions are made to enable transit of large
objects throughout the Lab-ET. The deck and pallet architecture supports transit of
pallets through the openings in the deck. A series of corresponding cells on adjacent
decks are outfitted such that these cells may be selectively opened to allow insertion of a
pallet through the resulting opening in the deck. The “intra-deck” space may incorporate
a closure that isolates the transit route from the general intra-deck environment and
penetrates the firewall that isolates adjacent decks. The entire Lab-ET shall preserve the
capability to transit the largest contiguous outfitting package throughout the facility and
through whatever portal is provided to interface with facility-supportive transportation
infrastructure.
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ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
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Extra-Vehicular and Pressurized/Vacuum Transitional Environments
The Lab-ET will most likely employ systems and features external to the pressurized
environments. These features may be designed for operations and maintenance
supported directly by crew or by robotic devices, or (most likely) a combination of both.
NASA’s Space Station provides an example of this type of facility and the activities
relating to its operations.
The Lab-ET will embody capabilities for crewmembers and equipment to transition from
interior to exterior environments. Various forms of airlocks may satisfy particular
requirements most efficiently in this role.
Transportation Portals
Once the Lab-ET is on orbit, nothing arrives or departs without interfacing with some form
of transportation portal. The traffic that supports the Lab-ET will include personnel,
supplies, consumables and equipment. This traffic will be bi-directional, supporting both
delivery to the Lab-ET and departure from the facility. Traffic will involve a spectrum of
operational and physical requirements:
 Urgency of transport and delivery
 Controlled conditions and availability of services during transport
 Need to recover material from the Lab-ET back to Earth
 Need to dispose of material no longer required aboard the Lab-ET
but not to be recovered to Earth
 Nominal and contingency crew transportation
NASA’s Space Station development and operation has demonstrated that specific
requirements are generally reflected in the design of the specific facilities created in
response to the requirements and that failure to define and meet broad-spectrum
requirements results in unintended limitations on the versatility and operability of the
resultant infrastructure. Space Island Group’s Lab-ET facilities must prepare to host
commercial and industrial clientele that will demand versatility at an unprecedented level.
A significant factor in preserving such versatility involves the interfacing features of the
Lab-ET itself and the transportation infrastructure that services the Lab-ET. Development
of these features is not in the scope of SPACEHAB’s current task. Reference to these
features is provided to indicate functional relationships with in-scope concepts.
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ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
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ORIENTATION MAP
This figure provides orientation cues
for generic features throughout the
Lab-ET Orbiting Industrial Base. The
map at left designates features and
locations in a manner that allows
rapid and accurate reference to
particular features and locations
throughout the Lab-ET.
A typical pallet designation is
described by giving its bay, the
orientation of the deck upon which
the location resides, and the
location’s row and column
designator, e.g. Alpha Zenith A 1
or Delta Nadir C 3.
DESCRIPTION OF FACILITY
OUTFITTING CONCEPTS
Two finished renderings are
delivered with this paper depicting
an amalgamation of concepts into
single scenes as might be found in
the Lab-ET. The following text and
sketches offer insight to the design
rationale behind the renderings.
GENERIC FEATURES: VIGNETTE VIEW DESCRIPTIONS
Multiple sketches are described below, each representing concepts potentially applicable
to the Lab-ET facility. Sketches are identified by date produced and are described in the
order in which they were produced.
Various concepts may not be mutually compatible. All features discussed may not be
evident in the finished renderings delivered under the current contract. These
descriptions are intended as candidate features only. Operational concepts are also
described relating to the physical design concepts.
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ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
FTE070803.01
Habitat Deck Layout
View of a 19-cell deck with attached
deployable walls used to create
distinct crew cabins. Each of four
cabins shown is identical in
configuration. Each provides a
door to a common area; said
doors opening onto cell C3 (see
facility map). Each cabin
provides a window offering
exterior views for recreation and
psychological benefit.
The common area on a given deck
may accommodate any of several
functional installations, including
wardroom, galley, exercise and health
maintenance equipment, “sick bay” equipment, etc.
Whether or not the Pharma-Lab provides identical levels of living accommodations for
SIG staff and tenant staff is TBD. Given that facility staff represents overhead expense
while tenant staff represents potential revenue, and considering the potential differences
in mind-set and in work-shift scheduling for each class of crew, there may be good
reasons to differentiate the level of accommodations for facility and tenant crew.
SIG prefers that the Pharma-Lab accommodate 12 crewmembers for extended
operations. SPACEHAB has projected from that requirement that three crewmembers will
be SIG employees dedicated to managing, operating and maintaining the facility itself.
This staff will consist of a facility commander and two subservient technicians. The
commander acts in the role of ship’s captain and is the resident authority for all SIG and
client issues associated with running a safe and reliable facility, including efforts to
ensure an uninterrupted flow of resources are provided to the industrial clients consistent
with the requirements set forth in their contracts with SIG.
Facility staff and other residents will be subject to career limits for time on orbit; said
limits reflecting the radiation dosage allowable in the harsh LEO environment. Radiation
shielding in high-occupancy rate regions may reduce exposure and result in greater staff
longevity. The concept depicted incorporates water-filled panels to construct the walls of
crew quarters and other defined spaces. These panels are envisioned as Tisavel
structures. Tisavel is a material that uses multi-directional internal fibers between airtight
parallel planar fabric walls and configured as closed panel structures. Typically filled with
compressed air, these panels achieve rigidity through the interaction of the cross-woven
fibers and the rigidized pressure barrier material. The depicted application uses water
rather than air to fill the panel, with a small amount of pressurized air injected to result in
a semi-rigid panel. Water acts as an effective attenuator for relatively low-energy
14
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
radiation, though high-energy cosmic radiation is less effectively shielded. An additional
benefit to dense yet flexible walls is their sound-insulating properties.
A crew aboard an isolated station for months may require opportunities to get away from
each other and may work in shifts. Either of these cases and more drives the provision of
interior surfaces that attenuate noise.
Also evident in this view are four of six commonly occurring utility distribution corridors.
One corridor is evident adjacent to the window-bearing facet of each crew cabin and two
additional corridors flank the common region of the bay. Facility-level utilities are
distributed throughout the Lab-ET via these limited access corridors. Access is gained
through removable panels on the interior surfaces. Pressure vessel penetrations may
occur coincident with these utility corridors through which electrical, fluids and data
connections can pass from the exterior to the interior of the Lab-ET. (See additional
discussions on sketch FTE071003.02, FTE071003.10, and FTE071703.01.)
Lab-ETs housing twelve people might utilize three similar bays, each providing four crew
cabins. The relative rotation of these interiors from one deck to another could be rotated
such that the common spaces of all three decks partially align with each other. This
feature, combined with large openings in the decks between the adjacent bays, would
result in greater visual interest and diversity in the environment and a large contiguous
common area to host the community activities of the Lab-ET’s population.
For more info on inflatable flat panel technologies see:
http://www.us-government-torture.com/bighard.htm
(Bighard is an outgrowth of Bigelow Aerospace, itself a potential developer of commercial
space-based manned infrastructure.)
http://www.sciences.univnantes.fr/physique/recherche/LGCNSN/themesrecherche/struct
uresgonflables/structur.htm
Though this site is in French, it does offer images and text describing the flat panel
technology of interest for interior walls with radiation attenuation contributions.
15
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
FTE070803.02
Typical deck outfitting concept
This sketch explores the general layout of
a facility deck configured as a series of
hexagonal cell units. Illustrated is the
ability of a typical pallet to pass through
the opening of a typical cell. Also
illustrated are the utility corridors features
of the proposed Lab-ET layout and initial
exploration of locations for utility
connections between pallets and the
hosting deck cells.
FTE071003.01
Inter-bay Hatch Concept
and Stacked Pallet Concept
These sketches depict two concepts
potentially applicable to the SIG Lab-ET.
The upper image shows a hatch configuration initially conceived for application to a
hyperbaric chamber/airlock to have been a part of NASA’s Space Station Freedom. This
hatch actuates via a mechanism that enables the hatch to pass through the opening and
seal to either side of the port, thereby enabling pressure-assisted sealing regardless of
which direction exerts higher pressure. The hexagonal shape of the cells is compatible
with this actuation mode. Hatches with this capability may be important aboard the LabET, where the facility might experience off-nominal conditions resulting in a need to
isolate particular portions of the facility with pressure-assisted hatch closures.
The lower sketch illustrates two
pallet assemblies mounted in tandem
on a single deck cell. Such a
configuration may enable higher
density outfitting in sections of the
Lab-ET where free-volume between
opposing decks is not required for
crew activity or where installations
must be immediately adjacent to each
other. A similar concept is shown in
the interior rendering of the
“Production Bay” environment but
with the distinction of the 2-cubic
meter cross-bay payload extending
all the way from one standard pallet
to the opposing standard pallet.
16
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
FTE 071003.02
Hybrid Payload
This sketch illustrates a payload configuration
referred to by SPACEHAB as a “Hybrid Payload”:
that refers to the payload’s inclusion of an internal
element and an external element directly
connected to each other by way of facility-provided
through-hull connectors.
The advantage of a hybrid payload is that only the
external component requires the rigorous and
challenging effort of designing for the harsh space
environment. The inboard (pressurized) element
enjoys the conditioned environment of the Lab-ET,
which is significantly more amenable to avionics,
materials selection, servicing and trouble-shooting
by Lab-ET crew working internal to the station.
FTE071003.03
Cross-Bay Installation (Shower) and Inter-Bay Airlock
In addition to standard pallet installations,
various generic installations are viable in the
context of the current architectural concept.
Two such installations are shown here: one
that spans the bay environment and one
that spans the deck structures between
adjacent bays.
Depicted in the upper image is a concept
for a full-body shower installed as a crossbay feature. Two typical pallet installations
oppose each other, each constituting
elements of a full body shower installation. The
upper and lower elements are connected to
each other by utility lines carrying fluids, power
and control signals to coordinate their operations.
Also connecting the two pallets is a shower enclosure
here envisioned as a multi-element telescoping
assembly of clear (probably polycarbonate) material
creating the confines of the shower facility.
Depicted in the lower image is a trans-deck airlock suitable for isolating adjacent
bay environments while enabling passage of crewmembers between the isolated
environments of the two habitable bays and the separate environment of the
intra-deck region.
17
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
These two concepts illustrate a level of outfitting versatility that is inherent to the
architecture. Many additional applications may be derived based on these general
configuration themes.
FTE071003.04
Pallet Application Concepts:
Glove box and MDK pallets
The upper sketch shows a typical
pallet outfitted as a glove box and
illustrates the favorable relationship
of the pallet increment to human
scale. Similar installations are
illustrated in one of the finished
renderings accompanying this paper.
The lower sketch shows ISS-heritage
MDK-format payloads mounted to a
standard pallet and illustrates the
pallet’s capacity to host up to six such
payloads on each of its surfaces.
Also shown is a standard stowage
increment concept occupying the
space between standard pallet
installations. Space flight experience
has shown that payloads typically
require supplemental equipment to support their operations. Provision of dedicated
stowage capacity immediately adjacent to all standard pallets addresses this
requirement. The proposed architecture offers the planned option to use the spaces
between payloads to host storage rather than dedicating pallets themselves to host
storage. ISS experience has shown that aisle volume is quickly appropriated to
accommodate stowage regardless of whether that use was initially planned in the
architectural development of the facility. Recognizing this, the recommended architecture
incorporates this use in the original design, which should result in improved operational
flexibility while preserving the intended viability of installation designs adjacent to the
storage regions. Similar stowage installations are depicted in the context of complete
deck outfitting in the renderings accompanying this paper.
18
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
FTE071003.05
Standard Pallet Features
This sketch illustrates configuration and
interface concepts for the standard pallet.
The pallet concept strives to improve
significantly on the ISS ISPR in areas of
structural efficiency, maintainability and
optimization of user and facility interfaces.
The structural approach provides a planar
structural pallet to which other elements and
outfitting are mounted. Flight loads are transmitted between the pallet and deck
structures via structurally determinate and de-coupled interfaces at three positions evenly
spaced about the perimeter of the pallet. This configuration, depicted in the first image
on the following page, offers direct and short load paths from pallet outfitting to the deck
structures, especially compared to the convoluted load paths seen in ISS outfitting.
A pallet-outfitting envelope is defined that preserves the integrated pallet’s ability to pass
through a standard deck cell opening. Environmental closures can attach to both sides of
the pallet and their removal reveals internal components for assembly, test, servicing and
maintenance to a much-improved degree compared to ISS ISPR racks.
Pallet ventilation for internal equipment cooling may be achieved in any of several
modes, illustrated by the diagrams along the mid-portion of the image. The intra-deck
region constitutes a plenum providing a supply of conditioned cooling air. Pallet-based
installations may draw air from this plenum and exhaust that air either back to the plenum
or to the cabin. Cabin air may also be drawn upon with exhaust either back to the cabin,
or to the intra-deck plenum. These ventilation modes offer versatility to configure
payloads to take best and most appropriate advantage of available thermal rejection in a
resource-limited setting.
19
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
Additional pallet features evident in the figures include:
 Truncated corners on enclosures: Each corner has
a facet upon which hard point is provided in the
form of a threaded insert. These features, when
dispersed throughout the interiors, offer versatile
interfaces for crew equipment, pallet handling,
portable equipment attachment, etc.

Utility connections: Power, data and fluid connections between pallets and resources
occur at the perimeter of the pallet structure. Their locations on the pallets coincide
with the utility provisions at each pallet cell on the deck structures. These locations
will be efficiently supplied with resources via distribution lines in the intra-deck regions
and the Utility Corridors.
FTE071003.06, 7, 8, and 9
IVA Robot Assistant Concepts
Intra-Vehicular Activity (IVA) Robot are environed based
generally on the design of the CHARLOTTE1 Robot flown as a
McDonnell Douglas Development Test Objective (DTO) payload
on NASA’s STS-63 mission. CHARLOTTE was the first robotic
device to operate concurrently with crewmembers within the
cabin of an orbiting spacecraft, its inherently fail-safe design
garnering such trust from the crew that one crewmember even
slept in the SPACEHAB module while CHARLOTTE was
executing its automated test routines.
These several sketches explore the CHARLOTTE
concept taken to a configuration and scale thought to
be appropriate for its role in the Lab-ET setting. The
robot as envisioned here would be multi-functional and
capable of assisting crew to execute tasks or executing
standardized routines autonomously, both roles
promising increased performance from the Lab-ET
crew and system.
In the crew-support role, the robot acts as a crew
mobility and restraint aid, providing not only mobility
throughout the bay environment, but also providing
additional end effectors and manipulator arms to assist
1
CHARLOTTE IVA Robot technology is subject to Intellectual Property limitations relating to limitedscope patents issued to its designers and assigned to McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company
(now The Boeing Company). References to this technology in this paper do not imply that rights to
exploit this IP have been coordinated with The Boeing Company.
20
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
the user. The user directs the robot’s motion using foot controls: one foot enables a
“activate” switch and the other reacts against a 6-DOF force-torque sensor on the foot
platform to drive and fixate the robot wherever the user desires while leaving the
operator’s hands free to work.
The robot may relieve the crew of many “housekeeping”
tasks aboard the Lab-ET, possibly including such
mundane activities as cleaning lint from intake filters,
sampling and testing utility resources, general facility
cleaning, etc.
One of the finished renderings delivered with this
paper depicts such a robot operating in support
of a crewmember in a limited-access environment.
As shown in the rendering, the robotic assistant
provides two 6-DOF manipulators. Modular end
effectors are envisioned stowed on the robot itself to
be selectively attached in support of specific tasks that
the robot can perform. The robot also is shown with
integral task illumination located to project over the shoulders of the crewmember using
the robot as a mobile work platform in limited-access or restricted access environments.
The robot may also provide interfaces to support services for the crewmember’s
controlled environment garb, including breathing air, thermal conditioning fluids, power,
data and communications connections.
A docking station at a standard cell may host the robot, configured to emulate the
interfaces of a standard pallet. The intent of the robot concept is to support operations
throughout the facility using identical robots or variations on a common configuration in
multiple settings.
21
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
FTE071003.11
Color Scheme
An interior color scheme is reflected
in this sketch and in the finished
renderings delivered with this
paper. The approach applies color
in a manner that not only enhances
the psychological aspect of the
interior, but also reinforces crew
sense of orientation and location
throughout the Lab-ET interior.
The general theme attempts to emulate
the distribution of colors found in natural
environments, and to do so in a way that
promotes crew efficiency, safety and
comfort. Colors employed represent sky,
clouds, sand and grass, in addition to fairly
extensive use of white for lighting control
purposes. Color distribution reinforces
the crewmembers sense of spatial
orientation by offering a different
predominant color on visible surfaces
when the crewmember views the
environment in different directions.
Colors are applied to Utility Corridor surfaces and to Pallet
surfaces and pallet color schemes are typical for all cell
locations. Deck structures are one color (sky blue) on decks
oriented toward the Lab-ET “zenith”, and “sand” on the opposing
deck surface.
Surfaces of the hexagonal pallets themselves and the frontal surfaces
of the pallet enclosures are white, the letter to contribute to acceptable
lighting with limited resources.
This scheme not only embodies “comfort colors” from terrestrial environments, it also
contributes to productivity and safety by assisting the crew in always knowing which
direction they are facing and where emergency corridors are, etc.
Graphical/symbolic location cues adjacent to each cell are also envisioned to uniquely
identify each deck cell throughout the Lab-ET facility.
Location coding concepts are discussed below with sketch FTE071103.01.
22
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
FTE071103.01
Typical Pallet Features and Location Designators
The “Orientation Map” concepts discussed earlier in this paper and other features of the
pallet architecture were developed through this sketch. Cell row and column designations
and orientation/position of pallet utility connections are identified here.
Locations on the pallet for primary
load paths from pallet to deck are
also shown.
Fluid and electrical utilities are
distributed on the distal side of the
deck structures (relative to the Bay
environment), with connections for
electrical and fluid utilities being
physically separated from each
other at the upper and lower
regions of the pallet perimeters.
Connector regions are located to
preclude interference with interpallet stowage regions.
FTE011703.01
Primary Structure Surface
Features
This sketch explores the dispersal
and functionality of modular
features in the primary pressure
vessel. Experience has shown that
versatile multi-purpose features in
a spacecraft’s pressure vessel
primary structure enable greater
flexibility to outfit and operate the
vehicle in response to varying
customer requirements. The SPACEHAB module’s rooftop windows offer one example,
wherein a feature originally designed to selectively accommodate modular window
installations has also proven valuable in supporting hybrid payloads through the
replacement of the window with a cover plate providing payload-specific through-hull
connectors. A similar example was evident on NASA’s Spacelab, where a penetration
was capable of hosting an optically correct window, a scientific payload exposure airlock,
or other suitable modular installations.
Unique and valuable payload-support capabilities may be economically implemented
over time by altering the design of the modular installations while preserving the integrity
of the original pressure vessel design.
23
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
For the Lab-ET application, this concept has been expanded to the scale of the typical
pallet. An array of hull penetrations is envisioned, each constituting a ring-frame
interfacing the cylindrical shell on the frame’s outer perimeter and hosting a planar
surface within its perimeter. The planar surface is penetrated by a hexagonal opening to
which various modular elements may be installed from the inboard side of the opening.
Seals and circumferential fasteners provide pressure integrity. Selectively installed
modular elements emulate the general configuration of a standard pallet, thereby
ensuring their compatibility with system-wide architectural parameters of the facility (for
unrestricted passage, common transportation interfaces, etc.).
The sketch represents several bays, each
with (up to) six localized pressure vessel
discontinuities. The discontinuities may
all be of a common design offering
modularity options in their purpose-driven
outfitting. Or, alternative localized features
may be provided among these regularly
occurring locations. Though many other
modular installations are possible (see
EXPOSURE LOCK description
earlier in this paper), this sketch
represents a distribution of
three types of modular features:
 A window
 An Exposure Lock
 A “blank”, or cover plate
Two of each feature is
indicated as occurring in each
bay and features are shown in a 60-degree rotation
relative to those of adjacent decks. The relative rotation
is intended to orient like interfaces in multiple vectors
throughout the Lab-ET, thus maximizing exposure
possibilities for all feature types that might be installed.
24
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
FTE071803.01
Deck Structural Concepts
This sketch explored the structural design of the Lab-ET decks. (Details of these
structures are not evident in the finished renderings accompanying this paper.) Lab-ET
deck structures carry significant load from payloads and outfitting during launch, a
function that drives the deck’s
strength and stiffness and the
design of load paths between
the deck and the payloads and
the deck and the Lab-ET
primary structure. (Also see
description of Sketch
FTE072103.03.) After orbital
insertion, these loads never
again occur and the deck
functions as a static framework
for attachment of equipment, a
supportive structure for
distributed utility lines, a reaction
point for induced loads from
crew, robots, or payloads and a
separation barrier between
adjacent bay environments.
This sketch shows an intra-deck
cross-bracing scheme that
provides deck stiffness and
appropriately distributed hard
points to accommodated loads
from pallet outfitting on ascent.
(Note that the Lab-ET may offer
on-orbit capacity that exceeds
its launch capacity. Determination of these limits and the ideal means to optimize the
design across ascent and on-orbit operational phases has not yet been explored, but will
significantly impact the deck structural design, allocation of payloads for ascent and
operational scenario whereby the Lab-ET becomes fully outfitted and operational.)
This sketch shows an internal cross-bracing configuration suitable for application
between adjacent decks and the firewall in the intra-deck region. The array of internal
bracing and the localized reinforcement and strength it provides corresponds with the
load transfer paths between the deck and standard pallets such that each hard-point
on the deck sustains selective loads from each of three adjacent pallets.
The cross-bracing configuration preserves the void regions of each cell location while
retaining clear avenues in the intra-deck region for distribution of utility lines. Intra-deck
regions may, depending on the conditions provided in adjacent bays, constitute limited-
25
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
access or restricted-access environments. The proportions support crew access to the
intra-deck regions, and the bracing design preserves accessibility to enable facility
maintenance, repair, and modification as driven by commercial and facility-management
requirements.
To economize on manufacturing, decks may be fabricated and assembled as complete
installable subassemblies that are inserted to the Lab-ET pressure vessel. This approach
promotes parallel fabrication, assembly and checkout of primary structures and multiple
deck assemblies while reducing work done in confined spaces. These factors can reduce
manufacturing schedules and cost.
The deck concept uses large numbers of identical component parts, further fostering low
design, development and fabrication costs. Commercially available fittings and materials
may be used to create the component parts.
FTE071803.02
Bay Isolation Airlock
Industrial environments such as those envisioned
for the Lab-ET are often isolated to control
bilateral flow of contaminants. This sketch
illustrates a concept for positioning an airlock
adjacent to a translation corridor to enable
controlled access to a bay requiring isolation
from the balance of the Lab-ET.
Shown is a translation corridor transiting a
series aligned cells. The corridor constitutes a
discretely ventilated environment relative to the
bays through which it passes. Adjacent to that
corridor in a particular bay is positioned a
second chamber configured as a cross-bay
installation. This chamber can be selectively
opened to the transit corridor, or to the hosting
bay, with an intermediate state of being closed
relative to both adjacent environments.
Preferential sequential cycling of filtered air through the selectively isolated airlock
enables control of the passage of contaminants between the corridor and the isolated
bay environment.
Similar features may also be used to isolate sections of a single bay if used to penetrate
a barrier spanning between bounding decks.
26
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
This type of feature may be applicable to relative isolation of hazardous activities and/or
materials from the crew habitation environment, or to isolate sensitive environments from
contaminants originating in the habitable regions of the Lab-ET.
FTE 072103.01 and FTE 072103.02
Multi-Cell Installations
SPACEHAB recognizes that all
installations supporting Lab-ET tenants
may not be scalable to the size of a
typical pallet. Cross-bay installations and
cross-deck installations offer two
approaches for installing large
contiguous assemblies in the proposed
architecture. This sketch explores multicell installation concepts that are viable
within the physical constraints of the
envisioned Lab-ET design. The
operational viability of these concepts
and potential applications that might be
served are yet to be explored.
Shown in the upper figures of
FTE072103.01 are concepts for multicell assemblies configured such that the
entire assembly may still pass through
open deck cells to transit the facility via a
service corridor. The orientation of the
pallet-outfitting envelope to the pallet’s
minimum cross-section, along with the
dimensions between the decks bounding
the typical bay constrain the maximum
size of as assembly capable of transiting
the Lab-ET facility via service corridors.
Sketch FTE072103.02 shows the largest installations attainable using this configuration
can span the entire bay, offering the combined volume of multiple pallets plus the
volumes on the bay side and between typical pallet outfitting envelopes. Contiguous
installations up to approximately 5 cubic meters may be thus configured. Installation of
these maximum size assemblies would require their insertion to the Lab-ET through an
opening in the primary pressure vessel directly into the hosting bay. If installed prior to
launch, the assembly may be inserted prior to installing the closure to the primary shell
opening. Installation of such large assemblies once the Lab-ET is on orbit would be
possible through the use of an externally disposed airlock (relative to the Lab-ET shell),
possibly taking the form of an inflatable cylinder capable of attaching to the Lab-ET
exterior at a typical shell penetration (discussed in Sketch FTE071703.01).
27
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
Installations that may finds this
capability/configuration attractive may include
large contiguous tanks or containers associated
with chemical processes, large pressure vessels
holding consumables and instruments and devices
that are necessarily driven to large scale by the
physics associated with the related processes or
technologies, etc.
The bottom figure on this sketch diagrams the
cross-bay installation previously described.
FTE072103.03
Multi-Deck Structural Concept
A facility as large as the Lab-ET and intended to launch with pre-integrated payloads will
experience extreme environments during ascent. Preserving the structural integrity of the
assembly through ascent while designing for minimum structural mass requires that the
loads be well distributed throughout the available structures and that load concentrations
are avoided. The concepts illustrated here address the mounting of decks within the LabET pressure vessel and the relative fixity of adjacent decks.
Shown at the upper right is a typical deck
structure designed to act as a viable structure in
and of itself. This deck is mounted within the
cylindrical Lab-ET shell via a series of wire rope
isolators (WRI) at six positions about the deck’s
perimeter. The WRIs are capable of transmitting
loads while providing a degree of controllable
compliance and definitive dynamic response
between the adjacent structures.
Also shown at the upper right is a tripod of
launch-phase struts spanning the bay between
adjacent decks. These struts transmit forces
between adjacent decks in a manner that
preserves each deck’s limited freedom of motion
during ascent while also preserving the overall
dimensions of the multi-deck assembly mounted
within the Lab-ET pressure vessel.
Another function of this structural concept
addresses the behavior of large pressurized
structures in vacuum environments that also
28
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
present strongly directional heating parameters. The Lab-ET structure will respond to
non-uniform heating while on orbit by expanding and contracting. Given the facility’s
large scale, these thermal responses can result in significant dimensional changes.
Unless compliance is designed into the structural assembly, large loads can be
experienced at the interfaces between the pressure vessel and the internal outfitting.
The structural approach depicted here provides distributed load paths throughout the
Lab-ET assembly while preserving compliance.
Also found on this sketch is a listing of various generic pallet types that may be required
in multiple locations throughout the Lab-ET to satisfy common “housekeeping” functions.
Maximizing commonality among standard-function pallets throughout the Lab-ET and in
multiple Lab-ETs will promote affordability in design, development, test and certification
of these assemblies, reduce crew training for their operations and maintenance, simplify
the spares approach and improve system-level redundancy across the Lab-ET. Among
the typical pallet types listed are: Oxygen Regeneration, CO2 scrubber, water tank,
Toxicity Monitoring and Control system, battery assemblies, high pressure tanks
assemblies, power conversion assemblies, Thermal Control System pump packages, etc.
FTE072103.04
Non-Standard Deck Configurations
Although the Lab-ET concept is based on the
geometry of the Space Shuttle External Tank, Space
Island Group’s Lab-ET may deviate significantly
from the Shuttle-ET design. One area of deviation
may involve the elimination of the internal barriers
that separate the cryogenic propellants for which the
Shuttle ET was designed. If configured as a single
contiguous pressure vessel, the Lab-ET’s forward
decks in the tapered region may resemble the decks
in the constant-cross-section portion of the Lab-ET.
This sketch explores the potential capacity of decks
of diminishing size, as might apply in the nose of the
Lab-ET.
These decks exhibit some rather interesting
geometric variation that. If applied to the habitation
facilities for the Lab-ET crew, might add variation
and interest to their living environment. Allocating
this architectural variation to the non-commercial
potions of the Lab-ET also fosters facility-wide
design commonality in the commercial bays.
29
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS APPLICABLE TO THE
SPACE ISLAND GROUP LAB-ET SPACE STATION CONFIGURATION
FTE072303.01
Robotic Assistant Concepts
This sketch expands on the concept of
the Robotic Assistant. The robot is
depicted with reference to human scale.
Also depicted is an array of tendons
emanating from the corners of the robot’s
housing and running to anchor points in
the Lab-ET environment. The robot
translates and adjusts its orientation by
coordinated variation of the length of
these various tendons while maintaining
equivalent tension in all tendons. This
robotic concept is subject to patent
protection, with The Boeing Company
having limited rights to variations on this
theme which house the reel assemblies
internal to the robot’s mobile base. Other
patents protect configurations wherein
the reel assemblies are at the distal ends
of the tendons. Any commercial
applications of these concepts by Space
Island Group shall be coordinated with
the holder of these and other applicable
patents.
SPACEHAB’s renderings incorporate a depiction of the robotic assistant, but do so
without illustrating tendon and tendon control features that are subject to existing
Intellectual Property protection.
CONCLUSION
The descriptions provided throughout this paper demonstrate the viability of
SPACEHAB’s architectural concept for the Space Island Group Lab-ET facility as
designed to host commercial pharmacological and biological research and production
applications. These concepts also seek to apply various lessons learned through NASA’s
development of its International Space Station and SPACEHAB’s commercial space flight
infrastructure development and operations, especially in areas that might reduce design,
development and operations costs and simplify ongoing operations and maintenance.
The concepts illustrate the inherent versatility of the Lab-ET architecture developed by
SPACEHAB, Inc. for Space Island Group. Many of these concepts may be appropriate
for other Lab-ET applications.
30