“BEAM me up, Scotty, the future of space travel is here!” The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, will be launched to the International Space Station later this year. The expanding space station module made its first public appearance on Thursday at a warehouse in Las Vegas. It is due to be trucked out east to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will be prepared for launch on board a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule.
BEAM uses innovative lightweight and compact materials, unlike the hard metallic shells of contemporary spacecraft. The layers include a material called Vectron, which is stronger than Kevlar and repels space radiation unlike the aluminum body of the ISS. The expanding materials also provide better protection from other space hazards like random debris.
When packaged for transport to the space station, BEAM will measure only 8 feet in diameter, but will expand to the size of a recreation room, which will be one of its functions. It will be docked at the Tranquility node in the American section of the space station. There will be a minimum two-year testing period, after which the module will be allowed to fall into the atmosphere and be consumed.
Beyond living space for the low-orbit space station, expandable space habitats open the way for long-duration space travel as well as off-world space habitats. Robert Bigelow, founder of Bigelow Aerospace, believes that expandable habitats are the future of space travel.
Beyond BEAM, Bigelow Aerospace plans to launch the B330, developed from the TransHub technology licensed from NASA. B330 will be a low-orbit space habitat, somewhat like the ISS, but privately owned. It will be a destination for space tourism and a vehicle for missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
BEAM also represents a successful partnership between NASA and private aerospace companies: “The BEAM is an example of NASA’s increased commitment to partnering with industry to enable the growth of the commercial use of space. Bigelow Aerospace is building on technology NASA conceived in the 1990s and licensed to the company. NASA and Bigelow Aerospace are each benefitting from the sharing of expertise, costs, and risks to pursue mutual goals.”
