http://www.spacefuture.com/archive/the_symbiotic_relationship_between_astronaut_program_and_space_tourism_development_a_third_world_perspective.shtml
2.4. An Example of a Space Tourism Development Activity Originated from the Astronaut Program: Labu Sayong - Meal Container for Space Tourist An example of a space tourism development activity originated from the astronaut program is an activity to develop a spherical meal container for space tourist by the Perak state government and Space Tourism Society Malaysia Chapter launched in November 2006 [9, 10]. The spherical meal container will be the major component of a proposed meal delivery system to deliver meals efficiently and safely to space tourists in their rooms onboard space hotels [9, 10]. The meal container is called labu sayong, a Malay word meaning, traditional personal water container originated from Perak, a state on the northern west coast of peninsular Malaysia. More than 100 years ago labu sayong was used to carry water by individuals, who travel long distance in Perak and Malay Peninsula. Figure 4.1. Illustration of a traditional labu sayong. The water carrier was spherical, but has a tube with lid at the top for pouring out water and a flat bottom. It was made from baked clay and its spherical body has a diameter between 15cm and 25cm. Today, traditional labu sayong remains as a popular hand-crafted household accessory in Malaysia, but still useful as water container. Since the beginning of the Malaysian astronaut program, the meals to be carried onboard the ISS by the astronaut has become the most popular issue. There were parliamentary and ministerial discussions about the issue and several traditional meals have been proposed to be carried onboard the space station by the Malaysian astronaut. Malaysian space tourism activists realise that the issue of traditional meals can also be popular for space tourism development as in the astronaut program. Due to this, they have proposed a project to develop a suitable meal container to be used by space tourists onboard space hotels, originated from a traditional meal container. Orbital hotels will be equipped with rooms just like terrestrial hotels, because space tourists who pay for their accommodation will need exclusivity and privacy. However, unlike the rooms of terrestrial hotels, the rooms onboard space hotels will not have human workers providing meal delivery service. The lack of gravity will reduce the efficiency of service by human workers and limit the number human workers allowed onboard the space hotels [9, 10]. A suitable method to deliver meals to rooms onboard the space hotels will be using vacuum technology, because such delivery system will not be affected by the lack of gravity, and can be concealed inside the wall, floor or ceiling and eliminate the need of human workers to deliver the meals. Meal containers with food or water will travel through the vacuum tubes from the meal preparation module to the rooms. The vacuum tubes will not be straight because they will be concealed inside the wall, floor and ceiling and have to negotiate bends and curves. Therefore, the meal container will have to be spherical to guarantee it can able to travel smoothly through the vacuum tubes [9, 10]. Being spherical is also considered to be suitable in terms of design for the meal container because all major celestial objects such as planets and moons are spherical, and it also symbolizes the lack of gravity and orientation in space [9, 10]. The container will be made of high quality plastic with diameter of 15.0cm. It will have useful storage of 13.0cm diameter surrounded with 1.0cm thick insulator. Figure 4.2. The dimensions of the spherical food container. It can be separated into 2 equal sections via an unlocking mechanism, one of which will act as a bowl for the food. To drink water from the container, a small screw with diameter of 0.5cm can be opened so that a straw can be inserted into the container through the opening. Drinking water using the straw is the most practical and safest within the zero-gravity environment to avoid the water floating around and damaging electronic and other water-sensitive devices onboard the space hotel. Figure 4.3. The spherical meal container can be opened to reveal the food to be eaten, and a straw can be inserted through a small opening, so that water inside it can be drunk. A meal container or several meal containers will arrive at a meal cabinet inside the room automatically as ordered by the guest. The guest needs only to open the meal cabinet, which will be fixed on the wall, to reach the container. Being spherical with a proper diameter, the container can easily be carried with one hand and placed on the lap when seated to enjoy the meal. It can also float around in zero-gravity while the food is being eaten or water is being drunk through the straw. The meal containers are re-useable. They can be returned to the meal preparation module from the rooms through the same vacuum tube, because the force of the vacuum energy inside the tube is reversible. Therefore the food delivery system will have two-way transfer capability [9, 10]. In designing the meal delivery system, factors such as immediate but soft arrival of the meal containers, sharing of tubes by the meal containers delivered to different rooms, vacuum sound damping and minimum power consumption are given attention. The attractive presentation of the meal containers such as colour and graphical coding is also considered significant [9, 10]. However, since space hotels will only exist in a decade, the spherical meal container will also have to be designed with the objective of being commercial for contemporary terrestrial applications as food and water container. Only when the time arrives, it will be used onboard the space hotels. The spherical meal container can be used daily with or without accessories. It can be carried around like a conventional food container in a net and a net can also be used to carry several of them. It can also be extended by using an extension tube between the 2 parts of a separated container. The tube has an opening, which is half of the tube's outer surface. The tube may or may not have walls at both ends. If the tube does not have walls at its ends, the container will have more than twice the volume of the original container for food. If the tube has walls, the tube can function as the food container, and the 2 separated parts can function as containers for 2 different types of drink. Figure 4.4. A spherical meal container with extension tube, 2 straws and 4 rubber balls on a flat surface. A spherical meal container with or without the extension tube can be served securely on a flat surface like a table when 4 small rubber balls are screwed at its bottom. Perhaps in the future, the traditional labu sayong will evolve into the spherical labu sayong for space tourist made from advanced material. If the evolution becomes reality, the traditional labu sayong will be very popular and continue to exist as the spherical labu sayong for space tourist. This project is an appreciation to the Perak state government's contribution to the development of space tourism in Malaysia, since labu sayong is the most popular traditional product of Perak. The spherical meal container for space tourist program has contributed to space tourism development in the country, because it promotes space tourism development and strengthens the support for space tourism development activities from the Perak state government. It is the first product originated from Malaysian astronaut program designed to be commercial. Later it will contribute to the astronaut program when it becomes marketable for terrestrial everyday uses and known to the general public as a spin-off product from the astronaut program [9, 10].