Artist rendering of the The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) which will be sent to the ISS in 2015.
Image: Bigelow Aerospace
that humans could inhabit, it was basically a large by NASA and persuaded NASA to grant him exclusive
balloon with no life support systems, no radiation licensing to the technology and formed Bigelow
protection, no facilities to work or sleep in, but it proved Aerospace. The company is based in the desert area of
North Las Vegas, an area that most people would not
that inflatable spacecraft were indeed feasible.
think of when they think of
Inflatable
spacecraft
spacecraft development.
were not looked into again
Despite having the
until 1992 when NASA was
technology licensed from
tasked with developing a
NASA, the company had
plan for a manned mission
to re-develop a lot of
to Mars. Unfortunately the
the current technologies
Mars Mission planning
before they could launch
was cancelled and once
a test habitat. The end
again, inflatable habitats
result, in only five years,
were also.
was the launch of the
In 1997 when planning
Genesis I test habitat on
was well underway for
July 12. 2006. Genesis
the International Space
I is still in service today
Station (ISS), the idea was
providing important test
revived as a possibility for
data back to mission flight
use on the ISS. NASA had
controllers at Bigelow’s
designed and built a test
Transhab module before
Las Vegas facility.
Another test article,
the inflatable habitat
Genesis
II,
launched
initiative was cancelled in
just one year later, and
2000.
is also still operational.
Robert Bigelow heard
of the latest cancellation The Echo 2, a rigidized inflatable balloon, was launched into orbit Both spacecraft have
of the inflatable habitats by in 1964. Men and a car are seen at the base of it. Photo: NASA six inch multi-layer skins
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