Bigelow Aerospace has released the first interior photos from a portion of the company's inflatable Genesis I spacecraft currently in orbit. The images represent a sample of what the company said it hopes to produce in its "Fly Your Stuff" program.
The blurred objects in the images are actual photos and items in flight. "As these are all preliminary samples, they do not accurately reflect the quality of image we hope to produce," Bigelow said in a news release. "The images we produce for the 'Fly Your Stuff' program should be of a higher resolution and clarity, as we will have more cameras, improved main antenna signal and increased data streams."
On July 12, a Russian Dnepr rocket lofted Genesis I into orbit from a missile base in Siberia. The spacecraft is currently orbiting at an altitude of 550 kilometers (340 miles) and is being kept inflated by computer-controlled air-pressure tanks.
The one-third-scale prototype is 4.5 meters (15 feet) long with a diameter of 2.4 meters (8 feet). The tough fabric shell is made of a composite of Kevlar – used to make bullet-proof vests – and an advanced material called Vectran.
The company plans to send another inflatable prototype into orbit this fall. It will carry insects as well, plus the photographs and personal items of paying customers. Genesis II also will carry multiple cameras for the purpose of recording those items floating by in the spacecraft's interior.
Eventually, Bigelow wants to put a multi-module version of Genesis into orbit to serve as the first space hotel, hosting private tourists. Toward that end, he has established America's Space Prize, a $50-million award to the first private spacecraft that can carry five passengers and crew to an altitude of 400 kilometers (250 miles) by 2010.
