People have been discussing the idea of space travel since the flight of Yuri Gagarin. But only now, according to experts, it has come close to a full implementation. The pioneer in this area was the hotel magnate and space entrepreneur Robert Bigelow, who launched a copy of the space room into orbit. Experts think that it can become part of the first orbital hotel.
On April 8, 2016, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was launched from the cosmodrome at Cape Canaveral, USA. The purpose of its flight was the delivery of the Dragon cargo vehicle with a load for NASA astronauts at the ISS. It is notable that this event can play its role in the development of space tourism, as far as the Dragon also trasported Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which was the prototype of the orbital hotel room of the future.
After delivery to the station, BEAM was attached to one of the outer ports of the space station and inflated. It helped the module to unfold and expand. As a result, you get 16 cubic meters of living space. The manufacturer of ВЕАМ is the American company Bigelow Aerospace, founded by the owner of the hotel chain Budget Suite Robert Bigelow.
The company began launching space residential modules into orbit ten years ago. In July 2006, a Dnepr rocket hefted Genesis 1 into orbit, and a year later - upgraded Genesis II. The testing of both ships was successful: they were inflated to the dimensions of 4.4m long and 2.5m in diameter, while maintaining contact with the Earth for more than two years.
The difference between the residential module of ВЕАМ and Genesis is that this is the first inflatable orbital module a person will enter. It is expected that BEAM will remain connected to the ISS for two years, and astronauts will periodically visit the module. According to Bigelow, there must be no problems, since the material, from which the BEAM is made, is capable of withstanding all the tests, including radiation and collisions with space debris.
Provided that the experiment with BEAM is successful, NASA will invest additional funds in the development of such modules. Another advantage of Bigelow technology is that it considered the most affordable at the moment. At the same time, the space hotelier is not going to stop now. The businessman intends to develop full-fledged hotels in orbit and inflatable bases on the Moon.
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