Bigelow Aerospace/Genesis

Swampcat · Jun 1, 2006

A Dnepr-1 rocket is scheduled to lift a Bigelow Aerospace Genesis module into orbit June 16 from Dombarovsky/Yanyy launch facility. The Dnepr-1 LV is a converted SS-18 ICBM and is launched from a silo. The inflatable Genesis module at launch is 4.6m long and 1.9m in diameter. When inflated it will be 3.8m in diameter. The Genesis is a one-third scale test version of Bigelow's BA-330 Nautilus. Current plans are for launching several reduced scale versions before placing a full scale Nautilus in orbit some time around 2012. The Dombarovsky/Yanyy launch site is in the Orenburg region of Russia near the border with Kazahkstan. It has been a military launch site, but is being converted to commercial use. The launch was originally scheduled for June 13, but has been changed to June 16. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> ------------------------------------------------------------------- "I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."Thomas Jefferson </div>

soyuztma · Jun 1, 2006

There are some interesting things on their website too. <blockquote>In reply to:<hr />Once the domain of only the privileged, Bigelow Aerospace is now offering to the public an exciting new opportunity. For the first time, you can actually send an item of your own into space. Your personal selection will be floating inside a spacecraft hundreds of miles above the Earth. If all systems function properly, your personal treasure (be it a photo, ring, bottle-cap or toy) will be floating in space for years. And here is the best part: You might even be able to see it. That's right! The Bigelow Aerospace spacecraft known as Genesis II will be carrying multiple cameras. Some of these cameras will be viewing areas inside the spacecraft where your prized possession is floating. Everyday, Bigelow Aerospace will be downloading images and video from these cameras to its Website. If you log onto the Bigelow Aerospace Web portal, you will have a chance to actually see your item floating by! And who knows? If the Genesis II spacecraft stays in orbit for several years as we expect, you may see your face (or item) many times over! <hr /></blockquote> You can make your reservations here: Fly Your Stuff for $295 US per picture or item. More here. They also have some nice pictures from there new mission control center: mission control <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

Swampcat · Jun 1, 2006

"Fly Your Stuff for $295 US per picture or item." Interesting way to start bringing in some revenue <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />. I also understand that Bigelow Aerospace is in the process of setting up a communications network to provide a data link with his modules. His mission control is rather skimpy isn't it? Anyway, I want a job as a mission controller. Looks like they're doing some interesting "work" <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />. Probably reading Uplink <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" />. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> ------------------------------------------------------------------- "I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."Thomas Jefferson </div>

owenander · Jun 1, 2006

Link to the official announcement please =)

Swampcat · Jun 1, 2006

"Link to the official announcement please =)" I haven't seen an "official" announcement, per se. The information I posted was gathered from several sources including Alan Boyle's Cosmic Log, Michael Belfiore's Dispatches from the Final Frontier, a Popular Science article entitled The Five-Billion-Star Hotel, The MSNBC.com article Company fine-tunes space module plans, an article in Personal Spaceflight, several websites that listed Dnepr launches and several other sources. Mr. Bigelow, as is his custom, is not saying a lot at this point. I'm sure he will have more to say after the first module is in orbit. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> ------------------------------------------------------------------- "I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."Thomas Jefferson </div>

qso1 · Jun 2, 2006

Looking forward to that one. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> My borrowed quote for the time being:There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened. </div>

Swampcat · Jun 2, 2006

"I hope they have good luck with the booster !" From what I've been able to find it seems that the Dnepr is a pretty solid LV. The National Space Agency of Ukraine lists it at 97% reliable. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> ------------------------------------------------------------------- "I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."Thomas Jefferson </div>

Boris_Badenov · Jun 7, 2006

The much-anticipated first orbital test of technology that could lead to a "space hotel" will be delayed, Bigelow Aerospace announced Tuesday. The blastoff, widely believed to have been planned for June 16, will now not take place before early July. “We have just been informed that there will be a three- to four-week delay of our first launch,” Chris Reed, publicist for the Las Vegas-based company, said in an e-mail advisory. “We are told that if there are no other delays, our new launch time frame will be between July 4th and July 14th.” The Genesis 1 payload will be a one-third-scale model of an inflatable habitation module that could form the backbone of an orbital facility for space tourists and commercial space researchers sometime in the next decade. NASA experimented with the concept early in the international space station program, but budget cuts forced them to terminate research. Bigelow Aerospace has picked up that approach and has perfected the technology, observers say. e test flight is expected to subject the flexible exterior wall material to space conditions for an extended period of time, while interior instrumentation will monitor pressure and temperature. In theory, a flexible wall should be even more resistant than a metal wall to penetration by micrometeorites and space debris. In addition to the space hotel angle, the mission is of high interest because it would be the first commercial satellite launch from an active Russian military missile base, where dozens of SS-18 Satan intercontinental ballistic missiles remain aimed at the United States, each with 10 thermonuclear warheads. The launch vehicle, a commercialized version of the SS-18 called the Dnepr, has already made several successful satellite launches from the Russian main spaceport at Baikonur in Kazakhstan. Commercialized by the Kosmotras Corp., it can carry up to 3 tons of cargo into orbit. Two years of preparation For the past two year <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center">. </div><div align="center">Never roll in the mud with a pig. You'll both get dirty & the pig likes it.</div> </div>

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