Private Space Station Test Launched http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4043475.html
By ALICIA CHANG AP Science Writer LOS ANGELES - An experimental spacecraft bankrolled by real estate magnate Robert Bigelow successfully inflated in orbit Wednesday, testing a technology that could be used to fulfill his dream of building a commercial space station. In a brief statement posted on his Web site, Bigelow said the Genesis I satellite "successfully expanded" several hours after liftoff. No other details were provided. Genesis I flew aboard a converted Cold War ballistic missile from Russia's southern Ural Mountains at 6:53 p.m. Moscow time. It was boosted about 320 miles above Earth minutes after launch, according to the Russian Strategic Missile Forces. The launch was a first for the startup Bigelow Aerospace, founded by Bigelow, who owns the Budget Suites of America hotel chain. Bigelow is among several entrepreneurs attempting to break into the fledgling manned commercial spaceflight business. Mission controllers established communication with Genesis I about seven hours after launch. Early indications showed its GPS tracking system was working and that it had deployed its solar panels. Bigelow hopes to use inflation technology to build an expandable orbital outpost made up of several Genesis-like modules strung together like sausage links that could serve as a space hotel, science lab or even a sports arena. "We're ecstatic. We're just elated," Bigelow said in a telephone interview from Las Vegas. "We have a sense of being on a great adventure." The goal of the maiden Genesis mission will focus on the inflation process _ a key element to determining the feasibility of constructing an expandable space habitat. Future Bigelow missions will test docking among spacecraft. Bigelow has committed $500 million toward building a commercial space station by 2015. So far, $75 million has been spent on the project. Because Wednesday's unmanned mission was experimental, Bigelow said he was prepared for problems. "I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if we have a number of different systems fail," he said on the eve of the launch. "I would hope that we have some success." The watermelon-shaped Genesis I is a one-third scale prototype of the commercial space station to which the company eventually hopes to fly humans. Unlike the rigid aluminum international space station, Genesis I consists of a flexible outer shell and is layered with tough material such as Kevlar, which is found in bulletproof police vests, to withstand flying space debris. The 2,800-pound Genesis I measured 14 feet long and 4 feet wide at launch and was to inflate to twice that width in orbit. It carried photos of Bigelow employees and insects that scientists hope to study to determine how well they survive the flight. Equipped with a dozen cameras to be aimed at the Earth, the spacecraft will circle the planet for at least five years while scientists study its durability. Bigelow Aerospace plans to launch several prototypes this decade. Future missions will test docking among spacecraft, but the maiden Genesis flight will primarily focus on the inflation process. In the 1990s, NASA studied inflatable technology for a possible trip to Mars, but later dropped the idea after deciding inflatable modules were too expensive. Bigelow Aerospace then licensed the technology from NASA. This fall, the company hopes to launch Genesis II. Over the next several years, the company plans to test larger prototype spacecraft, including a full-scale mock-up slated to launch in 2012 Gregory S. Williams [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
