Max Space reinvents expandable habitats with a 17th-century twist, launching in 2026

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By forming Bernoulli’s shape (called an isotensoid) out of cords, or “tendons,” every problem with expandables more or less solves itself, De Jong explains.“It’s structurally determinant.

Having just sold, he was thinking about the next big thing — literally.“I quickly realized that if we were ever going to bring real commercialization (large factories, housing, labs, etc.) to space, we needed a lot more volume.

He was quick to add that the people working on basket-weave designs today (primarily at Sierra Nevada and Lockheed Martin) are extremely competent and have clearly advanced the tech far beyond what it was in the early 2000s, when Bigelow’s pioneering expandable habitats were built and launched.(Genesis I and II are still in orbit today after 17 years, and the BEAM habitat has been attached to the ISS since 2016.

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Article Details

Author / Journalist: Devin Coldewey

Category: StartupsBusiness

Markets: United StatesEgyptIndiaJapan

Topics: Startups Made In Space Space Max Space Hardware Space travel

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Article Type: News Report

Published On: 2024-07-27 @ 15:00:00 (13 hours ago)

News Timezone: GMT -5:00

News Source URL: techcrunch.com

Language: English

Article Length: 2671 words

Reading Time: 15 minutes read

Sentences: 108 lines

Sentence Length: 25 words per sentence (average)

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Copyright Owner: © TechCrunch

News ID: 21792822

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