Snuggle up in space

Intergalactic hotel makes 10,000 orbits

Congratulations to Bigelow Aerospace. The inflatable space habitat they launched without fanfare 665 days ago has just completed its 10,000th orbit, marking a milestone towards humans visiting space as real tourists.

The Genesis II craft is an unmanned vehicle, with meteorite shielding, air systems and temperature regulation all designed to provide a useful prototype for future space hotels. By launching a cylindrical tube which then inflates in space, the designers have created a technique to allow for the maximum number of guests at once.

Deflated, the Genesis II measures 4.4m by 1.6m, and swells to 4.4m x 2.54m after being pumped with air. Solar arrays to the front and back provide power to the onboard systems through the six-inch thick ‘skin’. The module is one-third the size of the eventual hotel that Bigelow Aerospace hope to launch in to space: the enormous BA330.

The drive to send tourists to space without relying on expensive and politically complex stays at the International Space Station has gained interest after news that the ISS crew will soon be increased to six members (ie. no more room for billionaire 'guests'). Along with the fact that shuttle will soon be retired – which means the usual Soyuz craft that take tourists into space will be prioritised for ‘proper’ astronauts.

The Genesis II and BA 330 are the brainchild of Robert Bigelow, a Nevadan billionaire who made his fortune from the Budget Suites of America hotel chain. After buying the blueprints of NASA’s cancelled TransHab inflatable space station programme, he’s ploughed millions into his dream of creating affordable accommodation in orbit. And by affordable, read £60m – a snip by space standards, at least.

For more information, including when to spot the hotel in the night sky, go to www.bigelowaerospace.com