NASA to keep inflatable habitat module in use at ISS for at least three more years
The US space agency NASA has announced that it will continue to use the inflatable living module, which has been attached to the ISS space station since 2016, for at least three more years.
The living module BEAM, made by the space company Bigelow Aerospace, was originally supposed to be divested from the ISS, but that is now likely to happen after 2020. NASA wants to use the module longer to collect more data about how well the living module can withstand space debris, radiation and the growth of bacteria. NASA also wants to see how strong the structure is and how well the module is able to regulate the temperature.
In addition, the inflatable module will likely be used to store goods, freeing up more space elsewhere in the ISS space station. A total of 130 so-called cargo transfer bags fit in the module; these are the containers that NASA uses to send cargo to the ISS. If BEAM is used to store cargo, it will free up at least 0.53 cubic meters of space in other parts of the space station, according to NASA.
The inflatable module attached to the ISS was launched in 2016 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It is a relatively small, experimental module of about sixteen cubic meters. In April 2016, the module arrived at the ISS and at the end of May 2016 the module was blown up.
Ultimately, NASA wants to use these types of modules for the training of astronauts, for example. To that end, Bigelow plans to launch a B330 module, which will cover a third of the ISS in volume, into low moon orbit by 2022. The company wants to do that with a Vulcan 562 rocket that is still under development. Expandable or inflatable modules such as the B330 require relatively little rocket fuel for transportation and can provide a fairly spacious and comfortable living space for astronauts.
The hull of this B-330 module is formed by a combination of layers of foam rubber, Nextel insulation material, Kevlar and a fire-resistant fabric. This leads to a hull with a total thickness of almost half a meter. According to Bigelow, the hull is as hard as concrete when inflated and is more resistant to radiation and space debris than the aluminum hull of the ISS. The material must also be able to provide protection against high and low outside temperatures.