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| Thursday / 13 July 2006 | ||
Bigelow Prototype
Inflatable Module Launches Into Space.
"That's one small step for Bigelow
... one giant leap for entrepreneurial space," announces Mike Gold,
corporate council for Bigelow
Aerospace. The Genesis-1 module was
lofted into orbit about 512 km above Earth at 18:54
Moscow time yesterday aboard a Dnepr rocket from the Yasny /
Dombarovsky launch base in Russia. The launch was the first for Bigelow,
and Gold tells Space.com
it was also the inaugural Dnepr launch from the Yasny
/ Dombarovsky launch base. The
goal of the mission is to test the one-third-scale Genesis-1
module in the harsh conditions of space in preparation for deployment
of a full-scale habitat, dubbed BA-330, around 2012. The Genesis-1
module is equipped with a dozen cameras to be aimed at Earth, and
is expected to circle Earth for at least five years if all goes well,
according to CNN.
Bigelow Aerospace Mission Control Center in North Las Vegas will
command and control the module, as well as receive video and data
from Genesis-1. "Ultimately, we expect to have anywhere from six
to ten sub-scale demonstrator flights, which will help establish
both the technology and the business-case necessary for the deployment
of a full-scale, private sector expandable habitat," says Gold. "Our
motto at Bigelow Aerospace is 'fly early and often.' Regardless of
the results of Genesis-1, we will launch a follow-up mission rapidly."
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