Test of private spacecraft successful

[American Patriot]

Test of private spacecraft successful
CNEWS Space ^ | July 13, 2006 | Alicia Chang

LOS ANGELES (AP) — 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.

[falcon]

Here is an up date


Genesis Orbiting With No Problems

Genesis I with the Earth in the background. The module's orbit is coming from the dark side of the Earth into daylight. The arm on the right is a side view of a forward solar array.

by Staff Writers
Las Vegas NV (SPX) Jul 18, 2006
The Genesis I prototype inflatable spacecraft continues to operate with no significant technical or mechanical problems and is transmitting video images to mission controllers, Bigelow Aerospace announced Monday. "The spacecraft continues to function perfectly," Chris Reed, a company spokesman, told SpaceDaily.com.
Genesis I was launched last Wednesday aboard a Russian Dnepr rocket from Dombarovsky missile base in Siberia. It achieved its designated orbit of 550 kilometers (340 miles) a short time later, its computer-controller air-pressure tanks activated and its pre-folded structure expanded into a watermelon shape.
"All systems are operating within expected parameters," said Robert T. Bigelow, the company's founder, in a statement issued shortly after the launch. "Temperature, avionics, solar arrays and battery power all remain positive. All of our initial orbits have had direct sunlight, which has helped in charging the main battery to maximum capacity."
The one-third-scale prototype is 4.5 meters (15 feet) long with a diameter of 2.4 meters (8 feet). The tough fabric shell is made of a composite of Kevlar - used to make bullet-proof vests - and an advanced material called Vectran.
The spacecraft's planned operational lifetime is five years, during which technicians will determine if Genesis can maintain the proper internal air pressure and temperature, whether it can withstand any collisions with space debris and micrometeorites, and whether solar radiation causes any deterioration of the airtight fabric.
Bigelow said the internal temperature of Genesis remains around 78 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius), and air pressure continues within normal limits. Genesis carries live insect colonies, whose health is being monitored.
The company plans to send a second inflatable prototype into orbit this fall. It will carry insects as well, plus the photographs and personal items of paying customers. Genesis II also will carry multiple cameras for the purpose of recording those items floating by in the spacecraft's interior.
"Every day, Bigelow Aerospace will be downloading images and video from these cameras," the company said on its Web site. "If you log onto the Bigelow Aerospace Web portal, you will have a chance to actually see your item floating by."
Eventually, Bigelow wants to put a multi-module version of Genesis into orbit to serve as the first space hotel, hosting private tourists. Toward that end, he has established America's Space Prize, a $50-million award to the first private spacecraft that can carry five passengers and crew to an altitude of 400 kilometers (250 miles) by 2010.



http://www.space-travel.com/reports/...blems_999.html