LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — A Russian rocket blasted off Wednesday carrying an experimental inflatable spacecraft for an American entrepreneur who dreams of some day building a commercial space station, officials said.
The Genesis I spacecraft lifted off from the southern Ural Mountains at 6:53 p.m. Moscow time aboard a converted Cold War ballistic missile, according to the Russian Strategic Missile Forces.
It reached its designated orbit about 320 miles above Earth minutes after liftoff.
The launch was a first for Bigelow Aerospace, founded by Las Vegas real estate mogul Robert Bigelow, who owns the Budget Suites of America hotel chain.
Bigelow envisions building a private orbiting space complex by 2015 that would be made up of several expandable Genesis-like modules linked together and could be used as a hotel, or perhaps a science lab or college. He has committed $500 million toward the project.
Because Wednesday’s unmanned mission was experimental, Bigelow said he was prepared for problems.
“I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if we have a number of different systems fail,” he said. “I would hope that we have some success.”
The watermelon-shaped Genesis I is a one-third scale prototype of the commercial space station to which the company eventually hopes to fly humans. Equipped with a dozen cameras to be aimed at the Earth, it is supposed to circle the planet for at least five years while scientists study its durability.
Genesis I measured 14 feet long and 4 feet wide at launch and was to inflate to twice that width in orbit. It carried photos of Bigelow employees and insects that scientists hope to study to determine how well they survive the flight.
In the 1990s, NASA studied inflatable technology for a possible trip to Mars, but later dropped the idea after deciding inflatable modules were too expensive.
This fall, Bigelow Aerospace hopes to launch Genesis II, which will carry mementos from the public for $295 apiece. Over the next several years, the company plans to test larger prototype spacecraft, including a full-scale mock-up slated to launch in 2012.
Source: CNN Science & Space
This is very interesting… I wonder how well it’s going to survive being bombarded by very small particles… Well I hope it’s sucessful, we really need to be considering finding another place for us to live since we sure are messing this planet up…
So true Keith. For the first time since the early 1960’s during the Cuban Missle Crisis the news media actually are using those 3 dreaded words to describe what may be the outcome of this latest Middle Eastern confrontation:
World War III.
Sounds to me like Gene Roddenberry is about on track in his view of mankind’s future on Earth. Instead of superhumans like Khan though we have superterrorist organizations like Al-Queda, Hamas and Hezbollah.
But, what makes us think we won’t drag the same old attitudes and warlike ideas with us into space and another habitable planet?
We can only hope Gene got it right too about what happens after WWIII.