Continued Testing Success in Space Deployable Habitat Verification, Validation, and Certification

Testing of Sierra Space’s LIFE® (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) habitat – a 27ft diameter deployable softgoods structure – has been ongoing throughout 2024, building on the test data presented in ICES-2024-321 Advancement in Space Deployable Habitat Verification, Validation, and Certification, which summarized LIFE structural testing that occurred in 2022 and 2023. The objective of this paper is to present these test results as well as discuss what the results mean for the LIFE softgoods structure's certification for human habitation. Testing has focused on the continuation of ultimate burst pressure (UBP) testing of the LIFE restraint layer, and verifying its structural integrity surpasses the 4.0 FOS (factor of safety) guideline put in place by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). This paper will also discuss flammability, permeation, and cold-flexure testing of the air barrier and hypervelocity-impact (HVI) testing of the micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) shield layer.