GOLDEN,
Colorado Two privately-built prototype modules are circuiting the Earth
prelude technology to seed space with far larger orbital housing that support human
occupants.
Lofting all
that living room into Earth orbit is on the business agenda of Bigelow
Aerospace of North Las Vegas, Nevada but the company faces significant
challenges in attaining their sky-high goals.
The
privately-backed Bigelow Aerospace Genesis
1 and Genesis 2 expandable sub-scale space modules were shot into orbit
on July 12, 2006 and June 28, 2007, respectively via Dnepr boosters from
the ISC Kosmotras Yasny Cosmodrome, located in the Orenburg region of Russia.
Both remain
in excellent shape, providing valuable data on the use of expandable space
structures for crews, not only in low Earth orbit, but on the moon and Mars, said
Michael Gold, Corporate Counsel for Bigelow Aerospace in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
"We're
ahead of schedule," Gold told SPACE.com, thanks to the success of the
Genesis craft that are proving out the fundamentals of the Bigelow Aerospace module
design.
Expedited
schedule
In an August 13 message from Robert
Bigelow, president of the entrepreneurial space firm, he underscored the
fact that global launch costs were escalating.
"These
price hikes have been most acute in Russia due to a number of factors including
inflation, previously artificially low launch costs and the falling value of
the U.S. dollar. What this now means for Bigelow Aerospace is that to conduct
another subscale demonstrator mission would cost two to three times what it has
in the past," Bigelow explained.
That being
the case, Bigelow announced an expedited schedule one that skips an in-orbit
flight of a module dubbed Galaxy...and fast forwarding directly to the much larger
Sundancer an expandable habitat capable of being boarded by humans.
"We still
intend to construct and test the Galaxy spacecraft and/or various parts of it
in order to gain familiarity and experience with critical subsystems. However,
by eliminating the launch of Galaxy, we believe that Bigelow Aerospace can move
more expeditiously to our next step by focusing exclusively on the challenging
and exciting task presented by the Sundancer program," Bigelow reported.
Business
case
But while Sundancer
is already taking shape with 2010 eyed as the time period for launch it
also brings about some bad news, Gold said. "Our schedule is so aggressive and
our progress has been so good, it is creating some significant concerns in
terms of transportation," he added.
Gold urged
launch companies to recognize the fact that the International Space Station is
not the only destination target out there. "It is very disconcerting where the
launch industry is today," he noted.
While there
are rockets, both domestic and foreign, to loft the large and heavier Sundancer
module, affordable, reliable, and safe transportation of crews to the private
outpost is missing right now, Gold said.
Why not
utilize the Russian
Soyuz spacecraft to send crews to Sundancer? From a simple financial
perspective, Gold responded, "we don't know if it can support the business
case" of Bigelow Aerospace. "It's probably not a financially viable choice for
us."
Expanding
the technology
Sundancer
is meant to form the foundation of a future
Bigelow Aerospace space complex, one that ties separate modules together to
form an even larger on-orbit facility. Moreover, the company has its sights set
on beyond Earth applications of expandable structures.
"I think
it's widely acknowledged that expandable habitats are where we are heading,
whether it's the moon, Mars or beyond," Gold emphasized. "Low Earth orbit is
the first stage of that...to test the systems prior to deploying anything on the
moon or Mars. What we learn in Earth orbit will be absolutely vital to
expanding the technology to future worlds."
Meanwhile,
the two Genesis-class modules continue to rack up space mileage as they circle
the Earth. The intent is that the dual spacecraft will provide priceless data
for years to come.
The "Fly Your
Stuff" initiative in which participants paid to fly items inside the Genesis
spacecraft is completed, Gold said. Engaging the public in future Bigelow Aerospace
ventures will continue, he said, in one form or another.
Another
idea being prototyped on Genesis 2 is the use of a projector on the tip of the craft's
solar arrays. That equipment casts an uploadable image on the side of the
orbiting module. The resolution and clarity of those images has proven the
concept workable and also bolsters the prospect of being a revenue-generating
idea, Gold said.
Politics
and financing
Operating
two spacecraft through a telemetry network -- with mission control sited in Las
Vegas has proven invaluable, Gold said, particularly in terms of sharpening
the skills of ground control teams for future missions.
Expanding
the company's communications network to handle humans on orbit is the next
step, Gold continued, with plans for adding more ground stations on an annual
basis.
Gold said
that the great irony of space is that the technology has never been the
limiting factor. "It's a matter of politics. It's a matter of financing. And
those two challenges are much, much worse than any engineering issue that will
arise."
"The
success of Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 was not only technological...it was proving
that we could do it at the cost that we did," Gold stated. "I would be willing
to gamble that the two missions will go down in history as the most
cost-effective space operations in history. That's the paradigm shift...that's
what really needs to occur."
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