The International Space Station is about to get a puffy new playroom.
SpaceX is poised to launch an experimental, inflatable module for testing on the ISS, which could pave the way toward more compact, inexpensive space station modules in the future – including modules for commercial tourism.
The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, might sound like a playset for a toddler, but it's actually a collapsible sort of space tent meant to withstand the rigours of low orbit. The privately-developed module is set to be installed on the ISS this week, for a two-year demonstration to test how well it holds up against the radiation, temperature and micro-meteoroid dangers of space.
On Friday, a SpaceX rocket will carry the folded-up BEAM into orbit, where the Canadarm2 will install it on the ISS. The BEAM is designed to automatically inflate to its full 4.01-metre by 3.23-metre spherical size once it is installed.
Space.com journalist Tariq Malik says NASA paid $17 million for the module, which is far less expensive than the $100-billion it cost to build the five-module ISS.
"This would be an extra room for a fraction of that cost," he told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday.
Malik says the module will mostly serve as a storage area for the ISS, while astronauts run tests to see if it can remain comfortable, habitable and pressurized over a long period of time.
"It's got a lot of room inside – like a big, empty sphere," he said.
The BEAM was developed by Bigelow Aerospace, a private company owned by hotel billionaire Robert Bigelow. The company hopes its efforts will lead to the construction of its own space station in the future, for commercial space tourism or exploration, Malik said.
He added that NASA wants the expandable module to work so it can use the design for deep space missions and future space stations.
However, Malik also pointed out that Bigelow has launched two modules like this in the past, but no one has ever lived inside them.
"There's a lot of things that have to go right for this mission," he said.
