Introducing NASA's bouncy-house habitat for the ISS

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

It might look like a moon-shaped bouncy house, but a large, shiny, silver inflatable sphere scheduled to be transported to the International Space Station (ISS) later this year is actually a new expandable habitat co-developed by NASA and Bigelow Aerospace.

BEAM us up, Scotty!

Known as the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), the habitat is scheduled to be carried to the orbiting laboratory on a SpaceX flight this September, according to a Washington Post report published on Friday. Upon its arrival, it will be attached to the ISS and will undergo extensive tests over the next two years to see if it can handle the rigors of space.

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BEAM recently passed the US space agency’s rigorous certification requirements, the newspaper added, but only time will tell if the habitat can withstand the radiation of space, the movement of the ISS itself, and potential collisions with the countless fragments of debris in orbit.

On its official website, Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace noted that it had been awarded a $17.8 million contract for the development of expandable space habitat technology. The module will be berthed to the station’s Tranquility node, and a pressurization system will be activated by the ISS crew in order to expand the structure to its full size.

During the trial period, astronauts will periodically enter the module to gather performance data and inspect the unit, and at the conclusion of the two-year test, the BEAM module is slated to be jettisoned from the space station, where it will fall back towards Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.

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The BEAM habitat “will advance important long-duration human spaceflight goals,” NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver noted. “NASA’s partnership with Bigelow opens a new chapter in our continuing work to bring the innovation of industry to space, heralding cutting-edge technology that can allow humans to thrive in space safely and affordably.”

Bigelow’s George Zamka, a retired US astronaut who has logged over 3,500 total flight hours, told the Washington Post that the company ultimately plans to send larger inflatable habitats to space, to either augment or even replace the ISS, and hopes to create ones for use on the moon. In fact, it’s proposed B330 module would have 330 cubic meters of internal space, with the modules connecting to each other to create research centers or even living quarters.

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Zamka said that the recent announcement was only “the first step, but it’s a big step,” and William Gerstenmaier, the associate administrator for human exploration and operations for NASA, told the newspaper that he was anxious to see how BEAM performs. He added that he was pleased “to see how the private sector can step up and help us meet our requirements.”

The project was originally announced last October, and at the time, Space.com reported that NASA planned to use it to evaluate radiation levels inside the module in comparison to those on other areas of the station. The mission, the website added, is part of the agency’s ongoing initiative to encourage commercial firms to become more involved in low-Earth orbit projects.

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Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1113352787/introducing-nasas-bouncy-house-habitat-for-the-iss-031615/