spacetoday.net: Bigelow to provide expandable module for ISS

Bigelow to provide expandable module for ISS

Posted: Sat, Jan 12, 2013, 11:28 AM ET (1628 GMT)
NASA confirmed Friday that Bigelow Aerospace, a company developing commercial space stations using modules that inflate in orbit, will provide a module for the International Space Station. The space agency said Friday that it has signed a $17.8-million contract with Bigelow to provide the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, to the ISS. Few details about the module's size, capabilities, or launch date have been announced, although more details are expected to be released at a press conference at Bigelow's Las Vegas facilities on January 16. NASA said that the module will demonstrate the capabilities of expandable habitat technology for future commercial and government applications.