ISS astronauts are about to take delivery of an inflatable room

NASA has announced the next date for a resupply mission from Hawthorne-based SpaceX, and is targeting an April 8th launch of the SpaceX Dragon from Cape Canaveral.

Inside SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft on the way to the ISS, the BEAM will be approximately 8 feet in diameter. Weighing more than 3,000 pounds, and measuring roughly 12-feet long and 10-feet wide when fully expanded, the module is created to give astronauts a great deal more space to move around in during long missions at the International Space Station (ISS).

Designed by Bigelow Aerospace, the inflatable space habitat is one area NASA is exploring for potential deep space habitats and other advanced space missions. Additionally, NASA said they provide protection from solar and cosmic radiation, debris, and other elements of space, making them ideal for long-duration flights.

The launch onboard the SpaceX cargo spaceship also will offer a test of the habitat’s packing and folding techniques. “But the sightings are not random; mathematics determines the time of the sightings”, said Arvind Paranjpye, director of Nehru Planetarium in Worli. Bigelow has sent up a few unmanned prototypes in the past and have been publicly announcing they want bigger space habitats in the near future.

This artist’s impression shows the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module attached to the space station’s exterior.

While BEAM is going to the International Space Station for testing, that’s not their ultimate intended destinations. They could be very easier to fit into a launch vehicles and even more cheaper to launch for these reasons. The company’s founder, Robert Bigelow, made his fortune in real estate and the hotel business. After congress cancelled their expandable habitat project known as Transhab in 2000, Bigelow originally licensed inflatable habitat technology from NASA. In fact, we were supposed to have an inflatable habitat up there years ago. Then an astronaut will press a button to inflate the module, which should pop out from 7 feet to 13 feet long in roughly 45 minutes.

Bigelow Aerospace is being paid $17.8 million by NASA for BEAM. However, astronauts won’t be living inside it; rather, the BEAM will be tested for 2 years to see how it holds up. The structure to be launched next week aboard SpaceX’s craft will be the first such module to be tested on the International Space Station, and the first to be occupied by space crew. “By attaching BEAM to the ISS, we’ll be able to evaluate our technology, elevate its technology readiness level and demonstrate that we are ready to support humans in space”.