The LIFE module is a large, round habitat made out of woven fabric, primarily consisting of Vectran, which is a synthetic fiber made from a liquid crystal polymer. Vectran is commonly used in spaceflight application, including the airbags that helped land the Pathfinder on Mars in 1997. This second test was performed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama and the first was performed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Sierra Space says that this most recent test saw LIFE withstanding pressures of 204 psi, exceeding the safety threshold of 182.4 psi.
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Theoretically, the LIFE habitat will launch on a conventional rocket and will then be inflated while in orbit, providing astronauts with a spherical habitat that is 27 feet (8.2 meters) in diameter to live and work in. Sierra Space says it will conduct a full scale UBP tests of the LIFE habitat in 2023 to complete NASA’s certification.
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