Chinese and Bigelow On Commercialization?

07/05/04 00:00:00    

By Michael Mealling

What with Scaled's SS1 flight, the Aldridge Commission, and other various things, it seems that we've been ignoring Mr. Bigelow a good bit lately. This article in AvWeek suggests we should be paying a little closer attention:

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China is eyeing participation in new privately funded U.S. space ventures, such as the Bigelow Aerospace inflatable habitat for biotech or other space-business endeavors.

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Bigelow has taken over part of the TransHab technology under Space Act and other agreements with NASA, and space agency managers speak highly of the Bigelow. As part of these activities, Bigelow and NASA have just completed a second exclusive licensing agreement–this one for debris shield-related technology to be transferred from JSC to the company.

The Bigelow project involves more than two dozen established aerospace subcontractors and nearly 60 full-time Bigelow employees.

The team is working in 120,000 sq. ft. of floor space on a 50-acre site in North Las Vegas, Nev. These efforts have gone virtually unnoticed by the broader aerospace community. The company is preparing to add an additional 40,000 sq. ft. of space and several additional subcontractors.

It is well into the development of 25% and 45% scale inflatable flight test modules for a series of four privately funded unmanned orbital test flights during 2005-07. It has already developed substantial full- and reduced-scale inflatable ground test hardware.

RTWT…