/sci/ - Science & Math

>>11409332
Expando-hab's current claim to fame is that they give substantially more habitable volume per ton of material, are substantially more compact for launch, and are more durable (in terms of dealing with wear and tear) and more radiation safe than aluminum can habs. In the near future they can be considered superior to can-habs in every possible metric, in the middle future they'll be relegated to projects that need rapidly deployed habitats, as in the middle future launchers will likely be so large that the need for autistic volume and mass control will not be so dire, allowing for large quantities of raw structural components to be launched directly to the desired destination. At that point prefabricated habs will be relegated to the auxiliary role, somewhere for you to live until the primary hab is done being constructed.

Bigelow and Sierra Nevada Corp are the ones to watch right now, SNC is more well known for designing Dreamchaser but they also have a true inflato-hab, much thinner and more delicate looking than the Bigelow habs but this means that their internal volume will come at an even cheaper mass and launch volume cost. As Von Braun originally imagined, you could always add rigid metal panels or thick insulation+shielding layers to the outside after the hab has been inflated.