question:  What was the problem with having the fifty-five gallon barrell in the dome?
context: [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, September 1962. General Finogenov notified Major Winship that the underground blast was scheduled for the following morning. Next morning, before the sunlight exploded, the four of them donned their space suits and went and sat outside the dome, waiting. "I'll try again," Major Winship said and switched to the emergency channel. He crossed with the floating moon-motion to the airlock and entered, closing the door behind him. The darkness slowly filled with air, and the temperature inside the suit declined steadily. His foot was lifted for the second step when the floor beneath him rose and fell gently, pitching him forward, off balance. It then abated to something in excess of normal. "Well," Lt. Chandler commented, "even though we didn't build this thing to withstand a moonquake, it seems to have stood up all right." Air currents whisked it away and plastered it against a riveted seam of the dome. It pulsed as though it were breathing and then it ruptured. Major Winship moved quickly to cut out the emergency air supply which had cut in automatically with the pressure drop. It's on your right side, midway up. Major Winship said, "they should have made these things more flexible." The sheet began slowly to slide downward, then it fell away completely and lay limply on the floor. Electrical cables trailed loosely along the walls and were festooned from the ceiling, radiating from the connections to the outside solar cells. The living space was more restricted than in a submarine, with the bunks jutting out from the walls about six feet from the floor. "I'll be damned surprised," Major Winship said, "if they got any seismic data out of that shot.... Well, to hell with them, let's get this leak fixed. Capt. Lawler ascended. Squeezed in front of the massive transmitter, Capt. Wilkins had energized the circuits.
output:  It took up too much room in an already crowded area.
options:  It would be impossible to get out once it was inside the dome.  It took up too much room in an already crowded area.  It had a terribly overpowering smell.  It weighed too much to be supported by the dome.