Bitter Lessons from the ISSpresso
8 hours ago
- #Cost Drivers
- #Space Exploration
- #Safety Regulations
- The ISSpresso project illustrates that safety and certification costs, not launch costs, are the primary drivers of high expenses in human spaceflight.
- NASA's rigorous safety review process imposes extensive requirements to ensure payloads won't harm the ISS or crew, covering electrical safety, physical durability, fluid handling, and more.
- A personal anecdote about a home solar system shows how unexpected interactions (like a Japanese toilet destabilizing an inverter) highlight the need for strict interface controls to prevent cascading failures.
- Even with cheap launches (e.g., via Starship), the high costs of qualifying and testing reliable equipment for space will persist, akin to expenses for space telescopes.
- Mars missions face compounded challenges: equipment must survive long transit, landing, and harsh conditions with extreme reliability, driving costs further.
- To reduce certification costs, suggestions include flying more missions to build flight heritage, using robots for testing, improving Mars landing precision, reforming outdated safety rules, and allowing amateur experiments.