GravityLab, a pioneering firm, makes progress on creating a ground-breaking spinning spaceship that might transform the future of human presence in space-a big step towards understanding and managing artificial gravity.
Grant Bonin, co-founder and CEO, believes the spacecraft will be able to create "programmable gravity" by dynamically adjusting spin and counterweight extension, according to TechCrunch.
In order to pave the path for long-term space travel, the mission seeks to address the urgent need to understand the impacts of different gravity levels on the human body, plants, creatures, and industrial processes.
The Pursuit for Programmable Gravity
Since he was a graduate student studying aeronautical engineering, Grant Bonin has been passionate about the study of biology in spaceflight, centered on the two primary issues of "How do you get there and how do you stay there?" in space travel.
The latter, which he believed needed to be getting more attention, was something Bonin was keen to remedy. His interest in artificial gravity has remained strong despite a varied career in the aerospace sector, including positions with Deep Space Industries, Rocket Lab, and Spaceflight Inc.
In the previous year, Bonin and Chris Lewicki founded gravityLab, a business that received initial money from Village Global to develop prototypes and investigate possible applications. The firm's goal is to create well-instrumented, programmable experiment volumes inside of a small spaceship that can provide adjustable artificial gravity for lengthy space experiments, according to the website of gravityLab.
To survive in space, humans must understand gravity at different measurements. Microgravity may cause circulation issues, vision loss, muscle atrophy, and brittle bones.
Read Also: ESA Plans to Intentionally Crash Satellite "Aeolus" Into the Atlantic Ocean
The objective of gravityLab is to investigate several types of gravity, including Martian gravity (which is around 0.38 times as strong as Earth's), lunar gravity (0.16 G on the Moon), and Venusian gravity (0.91 G on Venus).
These studies might clarify the effects of various degrees of gravity on living things, including people, and they could reveal the particular difficulties and adaptations needed for extended space missions.
Future Plans of gravityLab
A motorized boom that can extend and retract a counterweight will be included in the gravityLab spacecraft, allowing for dynamic adjustment in boom length and rotation rate to regulate the acceleration of gravity within the spaceship.
The spacecraft will start small, approximately the size of a little refrigerator, but it will eventually have an extensible boom that can reach up to 20 meters and rotate up to four times every minute, replicating the gravity of the Moon.
The startup's gLab-1 demonstration mission, which is set to launch in late 2024 or early 2025, is planned, per a report from Beritaja. The California-based space systems business Astro Digital will provide the satellite bus for this historic mission.
After a successful demonstration, GravityLab intends to expand the spacecraft's capabilities, seeing it integrated as a "mudroom" for commercial space stations.
To ensure the continuation of human existence in space when the International Space Station is decommissioned in 2030, gravityLab's novel approach complements the expanding range of commercial space endeavors. The startup's emphasis on customizable gravity gives the potential for space study and exploration a distinctive dimension.
Related Article: FAA Taking Steps Toward Regulating Commercial Spaceflight
