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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Spacecraft carrying commercial space station launches

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: www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/07/12/private.space.station.ap/index.html

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Don't forget the patches!...

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Genesis I Mission Update 12 July 2006

July 12, 2006

5:20 PST

Bigelow Aerospace has received confirmation from the Genesis I spacecraft that it has successfully expanded.

We have also confirmed that all of the solar arrays have been deployed.

4:15 PST

Bigelow Aerospace mission control has begun to acquire information from the Genesis I spacecraft. The ISC Kosmotras Dnepr rocket has flawlessly delivered the Genesis I into the target orbit of 550km altitude at 64 degrees inclination. The internal battery is reporting a full charge of 26 volts, which leads us to believe that the solar arrays have deployed.

The internal temperature of the spacecraft is reported to be 26 degrees Celsius and we have acquired the spacecraft's Global Positioning System (GPS) signal that will enable us to track the ship in flight.

We have initiated communication with the ship's onboard computers and expect to download more information over the next few hours.

July 13, 2006

4:30 PDT

All Systems are operating within expected parameters. Temperature, avionics, solar arrays and battery power all remain positive. All of our initial orbits have had direct sunlight, which has helped in charging the main battery to maximum capacity.

Pressure onboard the spacecraft has remained constant at 7.5 pounds per square inch (PSI).

We have had multiple contacts with the ship, and received several data streams. While most of these current communication streams are dedicated to command and control of the spacecraft, we have downloaded several small images from the onboard cameras and hope to get more as more bandwidth in the data stream becomes available.

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No mainstream media coverage on this...too bad...

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Inflatable spacecraft beams back images

An unmanned, inflatable spacecraft launched by a Las Vegas real estate mogul has beamed back the first images since it slipped into orbit and expanded itself.

Genesis I sent back several photos Thursday taken by its dozen cameras showing sections of the craft, according to its builder Bigelow Aerospace. The company declined to publicly release the images.

The experimental spacecraft rocketed into space Wednesday from Russia on a mission to test technology that could be used to build an inflatable commercial space station.

Genesis I was healthy with functional onboard computers, solar panels, battery power and pressure systems, said company founder Robert Bigelow.

"All systems are operating," Bigelow said in a brief statement posted on his Web site.

Bigelow, owner of the Budget Suites of America hotel chain, has lofty dreams of building an expandable orbital outpost by 2015 to be made up of several Genesis-like satellites tied together.

He has promised to invest $500 million to build a space habitat that could be used as a space hotel, science lab or sports arena.

Source: www.physorg.com/news72100223.html

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I hope they release the images, but why keep them secret?...

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

First Images From Space Of Genesis 1 Vehicle

STATUS REPORT
Date Released: Saturday, July 15, 2006
Source: Bigelow Aerospace

We have extracted from early quick look data a low resolution thumbnail image of the Genesis I vehicle which verifies the success of vehicle inflation and solar array deployment.

At this point in time, the vehicle is happy and healthy.

Source: www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.nl.html?pid=21381

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I would like to see more of the images.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

NASA experiment on inflatable spacecraft

A privately funded inflatable satellite that rocketed into orbit last week carried a NASA experiment that will study how weightlessness affects genes, the space agency said Monday.

The Genesis I spacecraft, bankrolled by Las Vegas hotel tycoon Robert Bigelow, launched from Russia last Wednesday and successfully expanded in orbit about 340 miles above Earth.

The goal of the five-year mission was to test inflatable technology that could some day be used to construct an expandable commercial space station.

The experimental craft carried a shoebox-sized payload from the NASA Ames Research Center in Northern California. The mini-lab equipped with sensors and other high-tech systems will carry out experiments to analyze how weightlessness affects cells and small animals.

Scientists hope the project will open doors for future, low-cost research investigating how weightlessness affects the immune system and bone and muscle loss.

NASA's decision to send a payload aboard a Bigelow spacecraft is part of a new trend of an emerging public-private space partnership, said John Hines, who heads the NASA gene project.

Genesis I was the first launch for Bigelow Aerospace, founded by Bigelow, who owns the Budget Suite of America hotel chain. The company plans to launch another satellite this year with the goal of building a working space habitat by 2015.

Last week, Genesis I beamed back the first low-resolution images from its dozen cameras, including a self-portrait of the spacecraft fully inflated. Bigelow has spent about $75 million on the project so far and has pledged to invest $500 million by 2015.

Source: www.physorg.com/news72410875.html

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Are the strings to tight at NASA, that they needed a Russian booster to lift this inflable craft with a NASA experiment on it?

Just doesn't seem right...