Bigelow Aerospace founder Robert Bigelow has launched a new company for spaceflight called Bigelow Space Operations. The billionaire has big plans of using BSO for commercializing space and outdoing NASA with a massive space station.
BSO is planning to launch two inflatable modules called B330-1 and B330-2, which will measure 55 feet in length respectively. The two modules will be connected together to create a private space station.
In a press release, Bigelow said that the units are so large and diverse that they can host virtually unlimited use anywhere. The cost per passenger could be anywhere from low seven figures to low eight figures.
The new spaceflight company wants to sell time on the modules to nations that require a laboratory space in orbit, in addition to selling reservations for multimillion dollars to space travel enthusiasts who want to experience a literally out-of-the-world hotel stay and trip.
BSO said that the modules are single structures that can host humans on a permanent basis and will be the most complex and largest ever human-use space stations.
Private Space Stations
Bigelow Aerospace will continue its part in producing space hardware, while BSO will be marketing its services in low-Earth orbit, which is an area that is 250 miles above the planet, to space tourists, corporations, and nations.
“We don’t look at tourism as a particularly deep market,” Bigelow added. “What we’ve always anticipated and expected is that we would be very involved in helping foreign countries to establish their human space programs.”
The B330 space station modules, which can support around six people, will be launched in a folded-up state. Subsequently, once they are deployed into orbit, breathable air will be used to inflate them. The modules' thick white shields, created with materials that absorb impact, would protect against radiation and space debris.
BSO wants to attract the same countries that fund the International Space Station today after it is de-orbited in 2028. There would not be as many restrictions for the B330s as in the case of the ISS, which devotes most of its payload capacity to science experiments and supplies.
The Olympus
Robert Bigelow wants to launch something even more massive with just one rocket if the B330s are successful. To be called Olympus, it will be a space station that will have over 2.4 times the whole ISS's volume. It will have a weight of around 75 to 80 metric tons on launch. The dimensions of the Olympus will make it a monster spacecraft by any present standard.
