Designing an orbital-scale TESSERAE habitat
A new case study applies human-centered design principles and rigorous engineering figures of merit to a preliminary design analysis of Aurelia’s self-assembling space architecture
Aurelia Institute is working to envision a future for life in space that is both a departure from traditional design and backed by established spacecraft engineering principles. Following the publication of initial results from our Space Architecture Trade Study last summer, the research team conducted a preliminary design analysis of a flight-scale version of our self-assembling TESSERAE habitat. In a new executive summary, the team provides an overview of the ongoing TESSERAE case study, including initial design considerations, alignment with space industry goals, and the status of current trades for power, thermal, structures, and additional sub-systems.
In accordance with NASA’s goals for future Commercial LEO Destinations and the fast-growing market for biological research in microgravity, this particular case study has envisioned a deployment of TESSERAE as a biotechnology research station, with two primary focuses:
Protein Crystallization
High-quality protein crystals grown in space can lead to more precise structural data, with many results leading to drug discovery for muscular dystrophy, breast cancer, or periodontal disease.
Biologic Medicines
A class of bulky, biobased pharmaceuticals that include proteins, enzymes, nucleic acids, and antibodies, isolated from a variety of natural resources. A low-gravity environment can accelerate the discovery and preclinical testing of these molecules.
The envisioned TESSERAE habitat will host a crew of four: two visiting biotechnologists, who will be offered the unique opportunity to fly alongside their experiments, and two career astronauts—an arrangement that aligns with NASA’s goals for commercial LEO development.
Illustrations drawn to scale of current, past, and planned space habitats, including TESSERAE.
This habitat represents a significant departure from the standard cylindrical, axial configuration of modern space stations, with an open central volume and modular, tile-based assembly. This architecture, in conjunction with the need to accommodate crew from non-traditional backgrounds, informed the formal engineering requirements and the internal layout of the TESSERAE habitat.
Human-centered design and practical outfitting considerations
Diagram showing the TESSERAE habitat’s life cycle.
TESSERAE is designed to deploy and assemble without the need for crew EVA (extravehicular activity), which incur tremendous costs and pose serious safety risks. Critical systems, such as the habitat’s power, thermal, avionics, life support, and guidance, navigation, and control systems, will be integrated prior to launch. The internal systems, such as the storage, partitions, research equipment, and other layout components, will be outfitted after assembly, once the habitat has been pressurized. For these systems, Aurelia Institute is actively conducting a trade analysis of a variety of different outfitting options with the aim of maximizing modularity and minimizing crew installation requirements.
The case study takes into consideration every aspect of the habitat’s design and functionality, employing a series of human-centered design principles intended to make the TESSERAE habitat an inclusive and appealing environment in which to work and live. It also takes a human approach to environmental factors, considering the feasibility of “softer” materials, customizable acoustics, and adjustable thermal zones to maximize comfort.
The case study also offers preliminary subsystem analysis and architecture recommendations for the habitat’s most critical systems, including its electrical power, thermal control, and life support systems. It provides in-depth examinations of the habitat’s structural design, interior layout options, and engineering requirements, including comparisons to prior designs and the current state of the art.
From this analysis, Aurelia Institute will continue to mature the TESSERAE design, and explore the feasibility of novel concepts as flight hardware continues to be developed, tested, and matured in microgravity. TESSERAE’s next phase is now actively underway, as Aurelia Institute iteratively builds and tests the TESSERAE hardware platform towards a future crewed habitat mission. This case study parallels Aurelia’s in-house hardware development and presents the initial design considerations and preliminary trade analysis for the TESSERAE habitat.