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Robert Bigelow, founder and chief of Budget
Suites, seeks to boost human space flight
by putting the first privately developed
space stations into orbit. His Bigelow
Aerospace company took technology for
inflatable structures initially studied
at NASA and developed the technology
to a flight worthiness level. They successfully
launched and operated two prototype habitats,
Genesis
I and Genesis
II, in 2006 and 2007 respectively.
The structures, though inflated, are not
balloon-like with thin walls but in fact
have multiple layers of material including
Vectran,
which is tougher than bullet-proof Kevlar.
They have done extensive testing with hyper-velocity
projectiles to show that the walls will
actually be more resistant to micrometeorites
and orbital debris than the standard aluminum
walls used, for example, for the ISS modules.
The fabric walls also produce less secondary
radiation.
The company is now developing two types
of crew capable habitats: the 3-person Sundancer
and the much larger 6-person BA-330
(the structure has 330 cubic metres or 12,000
cu ft of internal volume).
The BA
website has recently been revamped and
includes a lot more information about the
company and their plans for the future.
See, for example, this
page with pictures of construction currently
underway that will double the floor space
of their already extensive plant
in Las Vegas.
This sequence
of pictures shows the assembly sequence
of an orbital complex of two Sundancer
and one BA-330
habitats. The first orbital complex would
look like the following illustration showing
three habitats (two Sundance
and one BA-330
modules) connected together along with solar
panels. It also shows transport capsules
that will bring crew and cargo to the station.
The company website says,
We anticipate construction of
our first space station to begin with a
Sundancer launched in early 2014, and that
by 2015 the station will be available for
client use.. The seven-step assembly sequence
begins with Sundancer-One launched first
(unoccupied).
Here is leasing information for an orbital
space station in case you are in the market:
Bigelow Aerospace’s clients will
be able to lease the entire station, an
entire BA 330 or Sundancer or share space
within a module. We will provide a comprehensive
turn-key experience including our clients’
transportation and on-orbit needs. Whether
you are a sovereign nation developing an
astronaut program, a corporation interested
in microgravity research, or an individual
with a desire to experience space, we can
help you achieve your goals. For more information
about business opportunities, please send
us a message from our Contact
Us page.
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