Bigelow Aerospace

Bigelow Aerospace is an aerospace company from Las Vegas, Nevada, which is working on a new technology of space station modules with deployable outer skin.

The company was founded by Robert Bigelow in 1999 and is funded from the assets Bigelow, which by its possession of a hotel chain ( Budget Suites of America ) was achieved in the United States. He plans to invest 500 million U.S. dollars in the company. In 2004 the company acquired the rights to the TransHab technology.

Company Profile

Starting point of the range is the TransHab technology NASA. This allows for the use of a habitat in a folded state ( space saving ). After injection into the corresponding orbit the habitat is inflated so as to provide the "living space" for a crew that is not needed during the start phase.

Business

Commercial use of future space station sees Robert Bigelow in two areas. On the one hand, there are numerous nations with their own astronauts, but without or with limited access to the International Space Station. And on the other hand sees Robert Bigelow, a potential in the industrial use of materials, pharmaceutical and μ - gravity research, and in a possible future space production ( under μ - gravity ), eg Carbon nanotubes.

That opinion is in the public due to the press releases, held that the Space complex especially the space tourism serves as a space hotel. R. Bigelow seen in this region due to the high cost and the limited number of potential candidates no large market.

Products

The first two modules of Genesis 1 & 2 served to test the technology. The subsequent Galaxy module was set for reasons of cost and because of the successful testing of Genesis 1 & 2. The Sundancer module is to be launched in early 2015 and used as the basis for the expansion of the station. After the successes rich start a node segment is to be started, to which a second Sundancer module and the BA -330 module can dock. The node and the three modules then give the space station complex.

Transport systems

The ability of the unmanned space have currently some nations, such as USA, Russia, European countries, Japan, China and India. The wide variety of discount on available carrier systems for satellite launches has a positive effect on prices. The capability of manned space flight, however, have only a few nations. After setting the space shuttle program, Russia and China are the only nations with a manned access to space. This leads to a monopoly which affects the price development negatively. Although Bigelow Aerospace in a few years may own space station can boast, access to this is not yet secured.

In May 2012, Bigelow and SpaceX announced a collaboration. The companies plan to deliver customers with Falcon missiles to Bigelow stations in orbit. Developed for this carrier system spaceship Dragon has so far been only suitable for unmanned missions, although it was designed for the transport of people.

America's Space Prize

While all space station modules from Bigelow Aerospace unmanned be sent into orbit, the transport of astronauts by means of manned vans. Due to the lack of availability of commercially inexpensive vans Bigelow Aerospace praised in 2004 from the America's Space Prize, with prize money of 50 million U.S. dollars. This prize money should go to a privately funded U.S. company if this would send up to 10 January 2010, a manned spacecraft into orbit. The deadline passed without a candidate had come even close to the criteria. The only company that was promising, SpaceX is, however, violated this against the rules of the competition by accepting funds from the U.S. government.

Commercial Crew Development program

In September 2009, Boeing signed in partnership with Bigelow Aerospace, the offer of the Commercial Crew Development program ( CCDev ) NASA. The aim is to develop and build a spaceship CST -100 to supply the ISS. With the partnership with Bigelow Aerospace to another market starting in 2015, will be with the BA space complex, opened up. The CST -100 is to transport payloads or crews to 7 people in the LEO. It is to be used and compatible with the most common carrier systems again up to ten times.

Visions

Should the construction and use of the BA Orbital Complex Construction successful, Robert Bigelow sees the future in an L1 or lunar base. This idea of ​​using deployable or inflatable structures has also been proposed on the part of NASA, as a post- ISS utilization concept.