Tag: BEAM

  • Bigelow’s expandable module goes into overtime on space station

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    European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli inside the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, after outfitting its interior for cargo stowage. Credit: NASA A commercial module mounted outside the International Space Station last year will remain attached to the orbiting research complex for at least three more years, carrying out additional tests for future space…

  • Video: BEAM welcomes first astronaut

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    International Space Station astronaut Jeff Williams opened the hatch and floated into the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, experimental habitat today for the first time. BEAM was launched April 8 and successfully expanded on May 28 for a two-year test of its durability in space. The crew will enter the module periodically to retrieve…

  • NASA calls off inflation of experimental station habitat

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    Mission control used this grid to chart the progress of BEAM’s expansion. Credit: NASA TV Mission control halted the expansion of Bigelow Aerospace’s experimental space station module Thursday after the structure did not grow as predicted when air began flowing into it. Working in the International Space Station’s Tranquility module, astronaut Jeff Williams opened a…

  • Bigelow’s station habitat to be expanded Thursday

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    Artist’s concept of an astronaut entering BEAM. Credit: NASA Space station flight engineer Jeff Williams will send commands Thursday to pump air into an experimental soft-sided module developed by commercial space habitat builder Bigelow Aerospace, expanding the structure to four times its current size in a stepping stone to future orbital destinations. The Bigelow Expandable…

  • Expandable room installed on space station

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    Updated after BEAM installation. Credit: NASA/Tim Kopra The International Space Station’s robotic arm, under the control of engineers on Earth, extracted an experimental inflatable habitat from the trunk of SpaceX’s Dragon supply ship Saturday and attached it to the orbiting complex. Made by Bigelow Aerospace, the new module will spend two years on the space station…

  • Dragon arrives at space station with inflatable habitat in tow

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    The Dragon spaceship flies over the Palm Islands of Dubai on final approach to the International Space Station on Sunday. Credit: Tim Peake SpaceX’s Dragon supply ship executed a laser-guided rendezvous with the International Space Station early Sunday, delivering an experimental expandable enclosure for attachment to the complex later this month for tests to verify…

  • Photos: SpaceX cargo mission prepared for launch

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    SpaceX’s eighth operational cargo mission to the International Space Station is set for liftoff with nearly 3.5 tons of research investigations, crew provisions and an experimental expandable habitat for the International Space Station. Launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for Friday at 4:43 p.m. EDT (2043 GMT) from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch…

  • Live coverage: Space station robot arm captures Dragon supply ship

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    Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral with SpaceX’s eighth operational Dragon resupply flight to the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

  • SpaceX lands rocket on ocean-going drone ship

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    A split-screen view during SpaceX’s launch webcast showed the Falcon 9 first stage booster after touchdown on the drone ship, while the Dragon cargo capsule is deployed from the Falcon 9’s upper stage in orbit. Credit: SpaceX A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster descended under engine power to a floating landing platform in the Atlantic…

  • Mostly clear skies predicted for Friday’s SpaceX launch

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    A Falcon 9 rocket sits on its launch pad this week awaiting liftoff Friday at 2043 GMT (4:43 p.m. EDT). Credit: SpaceX Mostly clear skies and brisk westerly winds are forecast at launch time Friday afternoon for SpaceX’s first resupply mission to the International Space Station in nearly a year. There is a 90 percent…