Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Space Station for BFR/BFS Discussion

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Is this for real? It seems like a scheme to sell memberships rather than a serious proposal.

I like the concept. I have no clue how they intend to get the funds to build the thing. I'm certainly not advocating joining anything or buying into anything. I like their ideas for building a massive structure in space. This seems like a simple enough concept that it could just work.
 
I like the idea of a large space station. I am doubtful about the refueling station, Also I imagine that SpaceX would just build it themselves.

It makes sense to put up a station, you could lauch fuel on payloads that are not at capacity.
 
The Gateway Foundation just put out a video that combines their concept of a space station with the BFR/BFS concept
The reasons stated for building such a space station don’t make sense to me.

I see no compelling reason to “offload” BFS passengers while the BFR is re-fueled in orbital. That would add a lot of cost to the Mars journey. Clearly SpaceX plans to refuel in LEO with passengers onboard.

To “help pay for the BFRs development cost with a huge launch contract”? Who is going to pay for the huge cost of building such an enormous space station? It’s completely unnecessary for the SpaceX Mars missions.

There is no need for BFS passengers to spend a few days at 0.2G in such a space station to prepare them for the Mars journey. Again, it adds significant costs to the journey, and ISS and MIR astronauts have shown that humans can adjust to extended periods of weightlessness. The 3 to 6 month journey to Mars is not too long a time period. And at the end of that journey they only have to adjust to Mars gravity. And the presenter talks about “the long journey to the Moon”. It’s only 3 days! That’s just being disingenuous.

The presenter used the word “gateway” to describe the proposed space station. This sounds suspiciously like the NASA “Deep Space Gateway” plan, which in my opinion is only being proposed to make the SLS look like it has a useful purpose.

Those videos just seem silly to me. By the way, when the video shows passengers disembarking from the “space plan” in the station hub, the passengers walk normally out of the plane. Impossible.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Ben W and e-FTW
The reasons stated for building such a space station don’t make sense to me.

I see no compelling reason to “offload” BFS passengers while the BFR is re-fueled in orbital. That would add a lot of cost to the Mars journey. Clearly SpaceX plans to refuel in LEO with passengers onboard.

To “help pay for the BFRs development cost with a huge launch contract”? Who is going to pay for the huge cost of building such an enormous space station? It’s completely unnecessary for the SpaceX Mars missions.

There is no need for BFS passengers to spend a few days at 0.2G in such a space station to prepare them for the Mars journey. Again, it adds significant costs to the journey, and ISS and MIR astronauts have shown that humans can adjust to extended periods of weightlessness. The 3 to 6 month journey to Mars is not too long a time period. And at the end of that journey they only have to adjust to Mars gravity. And the presenter talks about “the long journey to the Moon”. It’s only 3 days! That’s just being disingenuous.

The presenter used the word “gateway” to describe the proposed space station. This sounds suspiciously like the NASA “Deep Space Gateway” plan, which in my opinion is only being proposed to make the SLS look like it has a useful purpose.

Those videos just seem silly to me. By the way, when the video shows passengers disembarking from the “space plan” in the station hub, the passengers walk normally out of the plane. Impossible.
Lost all credibility when he showed an “iPoop”.

I could have made all of this with iMovie on my phone.
 
The 2001 spinning space station plan seems quite difficult. Establishing regular BFR/BFS service to Mars might be easier. A couple of years ago Marko Krco made some interesting observations on the physics of a similar design proposal, also rotating at about 1 rpm.

Why doesn't NASA build rotating spacecraft to simulate gravity? (Intermediate) - Curious About Astronomy? Ask an Astronomer

Some quirky stuff thrown into these videos. Not sure how Denver airport cost overruns can be used to predict the budget for BFR/BFS. Most entertaining was the Chris Hadfield barf bag demo. I guess if you're building a space station you'd better be prepared! I'll give credit to that eye catching stage prop for the YouTube crowd.....the Gateway guy standing next to his 1:72 scale, five foot tall Saturn V produced by Dragon Models. He cheated a couple of ways. Unless he's really short his rocket is elevated to look taller. He also didn't build it. I have one too, just stack the stages and you're fully assembled, purchased a few years ago for around 200 bucks. Alas, he may find building a real spaceport slightly more elusive.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Grendal
The 2001 spinning space station plan seems quite difficult. Establishing regular BFR/BFS service to Mars might be easier. A couple of years ago Marko Krco made some interesting observations on the physics of a similar design proposal, also rotating at about 1 rpm.

Why doesn't NASA build rotating spacecraft to simulate gravity? (Intermediate) - Curious About Astronomy? Ask an Astronomer

Some quirky stuff thrown into these videos. Not sure how Denver airport cost overruns can be used to predict the budget for BFR/BFS. Most entertaining was the Chris Hadfield barf bag demo. I guess if you're building a space station you'd better be prepared! I'll give credit to that eye catching stage prop for the YouTube crowd.....the Gateway guy standing next to his 1:72 scale, five foot tall Saturn V produced by Dragon Models. He cheated a couple of ways. Unless he's really short his rocket is elevated to look taller. He also didn't build it. I have one too, just stack the stages and you're fully assembled, purchased a few years ago for around 200 bucks. Alas, he may find building a real spaceport slightly more elusive.

Thanks for the link. Interesting. His major point is that it would be too expensive to make it worth it. BFR might change the cost factor to make it less prohibitive. His point about microgravity is very relevant. Personally, I'd like to see a large spinning space station and a zero gravity only station. But then again, I'd like to see a Mars colony, a Lunar Base, an asteroid colony, and massive orbital construction that would eventually lead to O'Neil colonies...
 
  • Like
Reactions: croman
Thanks for the link. Interesting. His major point is that it would be too expensive to make it worth it. BFR might change the cost factor to make it less prohibitive. His point about microgravity is very relevant. Personally, I'd like to see a large spinning space station and a zero gravity only station. But then again, I'd like to see a Mars colony, a Lunar Base, an asteroid colony, and massive orbital construction that would eventually lead to O'Neil colonies...

indeed
 
  • Like
Reactions: Grendal