A Private Aerospace Company Wants To Put An Inflatable Space Habitat Into Orbit Around The Moon
The idea is to have a lunar space station where experiments and astronaut training can be conducted.
The next big step in space exploration is a mission to Mars, both government and private aerospace companies across the world agree on that. But to do that, we¡¯re going to need a stop off point for rockets launched from Earth, for which the Moon looks like a great option.
In order to help things along, one aerospace company wants to put an inflatable space habitat into orbit around the Moon.
Bigelow Aerospace, a private company solely devoted to manufacturing inflatable space habitats, says it wants to put one of its modules near the Moon within the next five years. The B330 module is a standalone habitat capable of functioning autonomously as a space station, and the company wants it to be a space where astronauts can undergo further training, and private companies can test any new technology they design.
¡°Our lunar depot plan is a strong complement to other plans intended to eventually put people on Mars,¡± Bigelow Aerospace president Robert Bigelow said in a public statement. ¡°It will provide NASA and America with an exciting and financially practical success opportunity that can be accomplished in the short term.¡±
To achieve its goal, Bigelow Aerospace is looking to launch the B330 from the United Launch Alliance¡¯s Vulcan rocket, expected to begin missions in 2019. Once put into lower-Earth orbit, the B330 will stay in space for a year as a working proof-of-concept, during which time the company expects to have a rotating crew that changes every few months.
After that, the ULA will launch two more Vulcan rockets, whose advanced upper stages will be dropped into orbit near the B330 and then be used to propel it to the Moon.
Bigelow Aerospace hopes to have their habitat in place by late 2020, to facilitate either further missions to the Moon or travel to Mars.
