What is the simplest, cheaper orbital lifeboat possible?

(Henry Spencer) :

I wrote:
Seriously, isn't it about time someone gave some serious thought to an
ultra-minimal personal re-entry scheme?

Alas for the notion, that's not really what's called for. A lifeboat that
can carry at least two or three people is generally superior, not least
because it doesn't require donning a spacesuit on short notice (which is
all too likely to cause decompression sickness...

A friend has pointed out, in private mail, that you could do this with a
two-step emergency setup: an emergency refuge, which would provide life
support for a while and give time for prebreathing procedures, and then
a spacesuit-dependent bailout system.

While that's feasible, my gut feeling is that you're still better off with
a non-spacesuit lifeboat. And it does not strike me as substantially
harder to do, not when you deal with all the details.

While the earlier lifeboat thread was talking about a general design to meet
the needs of untrained guests, with an unknown number of people. Assuming
you are build an orbital lifeboat for the ISS where everyone onboard it fully
trained for emergencies, knows not to overcrowd a unit (they would call ahead
before piling in) and you are trying to make the simplest, cheapest design
possible so you can have lots of units attached to the ISS - how would you
design it?

Earl Colby Pottinger

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