It's like a scene straight from an action-thriller movie but it is true. NASA uses the idea of an ex-Nazi officer to build cheaper space stations. The space station has already signed a deal with three private companies to find out if the idea is feasible or not.
The idea was to recycle used rocket tanks and send them to space to be converted as space labs complete with a functioning crew.
The idea was first proposed in the 1960s by Wernher von Braun, an ex-Nazi aerospace engineer and the creator of the V-2 rocket. Braun proposed that the cheapest way to build space stations was to recycle used rockets.
NASA wants to explore the possibility of that idea by using two rockets from recycled parts. One of those rockets will be manned while the other is unmanned. The unmanned rocket will carry the resupply cargo or a satellite and will launch a day ahead of the manned rocket.
Once in space, the crew from the manned rocket will vent any leftover fuel from the unmanned rocket. Then, they will create a life equipment in space using a recycled fuel tank instead of letting it float aimlessly into space.
The space station has already signed a $10 million contract with three private companies to explore this possibility.
Jeff Manber, founder and CEO of NanoRacks, one of the private firms involved in the project, said that the method is not only cheaper but also safer. He said there is less risk involved than in creating modules on Earth and launching them afterward.
Manber also added that they are committed to creating commercial space stations that are cheaper by using re-purposed materials. He also hoped that people will be able to be part of the experience in the future.
