beam module attached to ISS
And of course, no one can stop talking about the inflatable habitat that will be tested on the space station. Like a pop-up tent, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module will fly to the ISS compacted in the trunk of SpaceX's Dragon capsule, then expand to over 10 times its original volume after it's attached to the space station. It'll still only be about the size of a small bedroom, but if it works, the technology will have huge implications for the future of human space exploration. Over the next two years, sensors on the BEAM module will measure impacts from debris, as well as radiation levels and temperature inside the module. Astronauts will enter and leave the module 4-6 times per year, staying for about 3 hours at a time. With the exception of the first entry, they should be able to hang out in there without a spacesuit or other life-support equipment. The BEAM module is scheduled to expand to its full size and begin taking measurements near the end of May or early June. If it works, it could eventually pave the way for privately owned space stations in Earth orbit as well as lightweight, inflatable habitats that could be sent to the moon or Mars. Bigelow Aerospace
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inflatable habitat module

BEAM Me Up

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) inflatable habitat is expected to launch to the space station on April 8.

The first astronauts on Mars probably won’t live in a tin can like the International Space Station. Big, heavy structures are expensive to launch, and aren’t great at protecting against the radiation they’d be pummeled with on Mars. Instead, the first Martians might live in something like a pop-up tent.

Bigelow Aerospace designs inflatable space habitats–lightweight modules that ride compacted in the trunk of a spacecraft, then expand to a much larger size in space. In a launch scheduled for April 8, the company is sending one of its modules up to the International Space Station for testing.

The module had previously been scheduled to launch in the fall of 2015, but after SpaceX suffered a rocket explosion in June, its missions to the ISS have been grounded.

Next month, after SpaceX’s Dragon capsule docks with the space station, one of the station’s robotic arms will unload the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, from the Dragon’s trunk, and then install it to the station itself. Then the module will inflate to about 13 feet long and 10 and a half feet in diameter.

Here’s a video of the unloading process, from Bigelow’s website:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvozbgdQMMA

On the ISS, astronauts will monitor BEAM’s pressure, temperature, and ability to deflect radiation and debris. The module will be closed off from the rest of the space station for most of the time, but occasionally astronauts will enter the BEAM to take measurements.

Bigelow has tested other small-scale versions in orbit, unmanned. Genesis I and II launched in 2006 and 2007, respectively, and are still helping the company assess the long-term safety of the design.

The BEAM module launching in April weighs 1,400 pounds. That may sound like a lot, but it beats the space station by a long shot. Whereas BEAM weighs an average of 5.46 pounds per cubic foot of space it provides, the ISS weighs 28.6 pounds per cubic foot.

inside view of BEAM module
Inside the BEAM module Bigelow Aerospace

Bigelow’s design stems from NASA’s TransHab design, which stalled in the 1990s due to budget constraints. It uses a material called Vectran, which is said to be twice as strong as Kevlar. Because the material is flexible, the inflatable habitats are expected to be better than metal at protecting against radiation and micro-meteorite strikes. They’ll absorb hits, rather than shattering on impact or scattering radiation like metal does.

If the BEAM module performs well on the ISS, Bigelow hopes to launch a larger version within the next few years. Their pill-shaped BA-330 will be 45 feet long and 22 feet in diameter, and the modules can link together to form an even larger habitat.

The company envisions using the habitats to build private space stations and space hotels in orbit. And eventually, the inflatable domiciles could provide a home for astronauts colonizing the moon and Mars. BEAM us up, Bigelow!

International Space Station
Space