Illustration of a reusable space tourism cruise shuttle approaching a manned habitat 400 kilometres above the Earth. The habitat is composed of two mo

---

Illustration of a reusable space tourism cruise shuttle approaching a manned habitat 400 kilometres above the Earth. The habitat is composed of two modules connected in the middle by docking ports. At left is a hard-walled habitat similar to the modules that make up the pressurized environments of the International Space Station, while at right is soft-walled inflatable habitat that is collapsed and folded during launch. Once in orbit it is inflated like a balloon and has a pressurized and breathable atmosphere. Both modules provide a comfortable shirt-sleeve, albeit weightless, environment for several astronauts. Such a configuration could one day be amenable to space tourism. Earth image courtesy of the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center.

---

Size: 6904px × 5076px
Photo credit: © NASA/WALTER MYERS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: activity, aerospace, air, artwork, astronautical, astronautics, bladder, cells, craft, earth, engineering, expandable, expandables, exploration, flexible, flight, habitat, human, illustration, inflatable, manned, module, orbit, photo, reusable, ship, shuttle, solar, space, spacecraft, spaceflight, spaceship, technology, tourism, voltaics