Bigelow Aerospace

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

   PDF

2. Robert T. Bigelow, Orbital Real Estate Mogul

   • Erik Seedhouse

   Pages 1-16

3. Expandable Module Technologies

   • Erik Seedhouse

   Pages 17-39

4. TransHab Up Close

   • Erik Seedhouse

   Pages 41-66

5. Genesis I and II

   • Erik Seedhouse

   Pages 67-85

6. Bigelow Expandable Activity Module

   • Erik Seedhouse

   Pages 87-98

7. The Space Taxi Race

   • Erik Seedhouse

   Pages 99-120

8. Bigelow’s Space Station

   • Erik Seedhouse

   Pages 121-139

9. The Man Who Sold the Moon

   • Erik Seedhouse

   Pages 141-153

10. Back Matter

    Pages 155-182

    PDF

Here for the first time you can read:

• how a space technology start-up is pioneering work on expandable space station modules
• how Robert Bigelow licensed the TransHab idea from NASA, and how his company developed the technology for more than a decade
• how, very soon, a Bigelow expandable module will be docked with the International Space Station.

At the core of Bigelow's plan is the inflatable module technology. Tougher and more durable than their rigid counterparts, these inflatable modules are perfectly suited for use in the space, where Bigelow plans to link them together to form commercial space stations. This book describes how this new breed of space stations will be built and how the link between Bigelow Aerospace, NASA and private companies can lead to a new economy—a space economy. Finally, the book touches on Bigelow's aspirations beyond low Earth orbit, plans that include the landing of a base on the lunar surface and the prospect of missions to Mars.

• Beyond Low Earth Orbit
• Bigelow Aircraft Founder
• Commercial Spaceflight Ventures
• Expandable Space Modules
• Human Base on Mars
• ISS Expansion
• Lunar Base
• NASA Contracts for ISS
• Space Colonies
• Space Economy
• Space Hotel

“Robert Bigelow has made a very large fortune in property and hotel chains. … This excellent book is a great primer on the man, his company and a myriad of ideas all the way to bases on Mars.” (Spaceflight, Vol. 58 (3), 2016)

• American Astronautics Institute & Suborbital Training, Sandefjord, Norway

  Erik Seedhouse

Dr. Erik Seedhouse worked as an Astronaut Training Consultant for Bigelow Aerospace in 2005, a company for whom he wrote the Spaceflight Participants Flight Surgeon’s Manual. He also developed astronaut-training protocols for future spaceflight participants and wrote and edited several chapters of Bigelow Aerospace’s Astronaut Training Manual. Erik is a research scientist specializing in environmental life sciences and physiology, the subject in which he obtained his Ph.D. in Physiology while working for the European Space Agency between 1996 and 1998. In 2009, he was one of the final candidates for selection as an astronaut in the CSA’s Astronaut Recruitment Campaign. He is a certified commercial suborbital astronaut who will fly a payload mission in 2014. He is also Training Director for Astronauts for Hire and, for the last four years, served as Director of Canada’s Manned Centrifuge Operations.

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