BEAM – Spaceflight Now

Bigelow’s expandable module goes into overtime on space station

December 6, 2017 Stephen Clark

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 habitats and serving as a storage closet for the lab’s crew.

Video: BEAM welcomes first astronaut

June 6, 2016 Justin Ray

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.

NASA calls off inflation of experimental station habitat

May 26, 2016 Stephen Clark

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.

Bigelow’s station habitat to be expanded Thursday

May 25, 2016 Stephen Clark

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. Live video begins at 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT).

Q&A with Mark Mulqueen, Boeing’s space station program manager

April 24, 2016 Stephen Clark

The International Space Station’s oldest sections launched nearly 17 years ago, and with the huge orbiting research complex now well into its operational life as a microgravity science lab, prime contractor Boeing’s job is keeping the outpost going, according to Mark Mulqueen, who manages the aerospace company’s space station program.

Expandable room installed on space station

April 16, 2016 Stephen Clark

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.

Dragon arrives at space station with inflatable habitat in tow

April 10, 2016 Stephen Clark

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 the inflatable design’s suitability for future space habitats.

SpaceX lands rocket on ocean-going drone ship

April 8, 2016 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster descended under engine power to a floating landing platform in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, notching the first-ever rocket landing at sea minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral with a supply ship hauling 3.5 tons of cargo to the International Space Station.

Photos: SpaceX cargo mission prepared for launch

April 8, 2016 Stephen Clark

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.

Live coverage: Space station robot arm captures Dragon supply ship

April 8, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule arrived at the International Space Station early Sunday with 3.5 tons of supplies and experiments, including an inflatable room to test out technologies for future use on deep space missions. British astronaut Tim Peake captured Dragon with the robotic arm at 7:23 a.m. EDT (1123 GMT).