Learn About BEAM: The Expandable Module Developed for Space Exploration

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module is an ISS capsule made from fabric that is able to be launched into space in a compact form and expanded with air once attached to the space station.

BEAM was developed by NASA and built by the private, Nevada-based company Bigelow Aerospace. BEAM was launched into space by the private company SpaceX. It was built and attached to the ISS as a test of expandable modules and is used to collect valuable data on radiation shielding in space and to record the impact of space debris and small asteroids on the module itself. Currently, BEAM is being used to store cargo transfer bags that are moved to and from cargo spacecraft.

The BEAM was designed as part of a series of technology demonstrations to test space habitat systems outside of the Earth’s atmosphere.

BEAM was initially designed to be used for a two-year period to showcase the structural integrity and thermal stability of habitat technology that could go on to be used by NASA astronauts traveling to deep space. The technology developed for BEAM has many applications beyond its current usage and could be used onboard a hypothetical commercial space station in addition to further space exploration on the part of NASA.

The notion of developing an inflatable habitat has been considered by NASA since the 1960s.

• The first attempt at creating expandable habitats took shape with the TransHab inflatable module project, which was developed in the 1990s but was terminated by Congress in 2000.
• NASA then sold several patents related to expandable habitat technology to Bigelow Aerospace, an aerospace company located in Las Vegas, NV.
• The Bigelow Space Operations (BSO) divisions set about designing private space station habitat systems that could viably house crew members in low-earth orbit.
• The first two prototypes to come out of this effort were known as Genesis I and Genesis II, both of which were launched by BSO to earth orbit.
• NASA’s interest in developing an expandable space habitat and inflatable module grew in the early 2010s.
• In 2012, NASA awarded BSO a contract to begin construction on the BEAM module modeled after their earlier prototypes.

The BEAM module was transported to the ISS aboard the SpaceX CRS-8 spacecraft. The module was attached to the ISS on the aft portion of the existing Tranquility module by Canadarm 2. After a 10 month delay, the inflatable space habitat was inflated to full capacity over the course of seven hours.

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