{"id":19415,"date":"2016-04-07T19:31:34","date_gmt":"2016-04-07T11:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacex-gets-ready-to-launch-expandable-module-for-nasa-to-test-on-space-station\/"},"modified":"2016-04-07T19:31:34","modified_gmt":"2016-04-07T11:31:34","slug":"spacex-gets-ready-to-launch-expandable-module-for-nasa-to-test-on-space-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacex-gets-ready-to-launch-expandable-module-for-nasa-to-test-on-space-station\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX gets ready to launch expandable module for NASA to test on space station"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_242769\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-242769\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-242769\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/160407-beam-630x354.jpg\" alt=\"An artist's conception shows the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module attached to the International Space Station. (Credit: Bigelow Aerospace)\" width=\"630\" height=\"354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/160407-beam-630x354.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/160407-beam.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-242769\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist\u2019s conception shows the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module attached to the International Space Station. (Credit: Bigelow Aerospace)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For the first time, SpaceX is due to launch an entire room to the International Space Station&nbsp;\u2013 a room that can go into orbit folded up, and then be expanded like an accordion once it\u2019s hooked up to the station.<\/p>\n<p>The 3,100-pound Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, is the primary payload for Friday\u2019s cargo resupply mission. BEAM will be packed in the \u201ctrunk\u201d of SpaceX\u2019s uncrewed Dragon cargo capsule when it\u2019s lofted into space by a Falcon 9 rocket.<\/p>\n<p>Liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida is set for 4:43 p.m. ET (1:43 p.m. PT) Friday. Forecaster Kathy Winters said there\u2019s a 90 percent chance of acceptable weather. \u201cIt\u2019ll be a great day to launch a rocket,\u201d she told reporters at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center.<\/p>\n<p>NASA will live-stream countdown coverage&nbsp;starting at 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. PT).<\/p>\n<p>This mission promises to mark a couple of more firsts for California-based SpaceX, which has a $1.6 billion cargo contract with NASA. It would be SpaceX\u2019s first launch to the space station since last June\u2019s failure of a Dragon mission. The company traced the Falcon 9\u2019s breakup to a faulty strut, and since the fix was made, the Falcon has launched three times successfully.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX also could reach a new milestone in its drive to improve rocket reusability. Last November, the company brought a Falcon 9 rocket\u2019s first stage back for a touchdown on land for the first time. However, it hasn\u2019t yet succeeded in its efforts to land the booster on an oceangoing platform. SpaceX will try again for an at-sea landing on Friday, just minutes after launch.<\/p>\n<p>The autonomous drone ship, christened \u201cOf Course I Still Love You,\u201d will be sitting hundreds of miles out in the Atlantic, ready to serve as the landing pad. SpaceX wants to perfect the at-sea landing procedure because an on-land touchdown is possible for only about a third to a half of the Falcon 9\u2019s missions, said Hans Koenigsmann, the company\u2019s vice president for flight reliability.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"BEAM Installation Animation\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VopaBsuwikk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>An at-sea landing would be nice to have, because that could open the way for reusing Falcon 9 boosters and reducing launch costs. But it\u2019s not required for mission success. The key objective is getting Bigelow Aerospace\u2019s BEAM and the other cargo safely to the station. If all goes well, astronauts would use the station\u2019s robotic arm to bring the Dragon in for its berthing on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>In its folded-up configuration, the BEAM module is just a few&nbsp;feet tall. But when it\u2019s taken out of the Dragon\u2019s trunk and attached to the station\u2019s Tranquility node, it can be expanded to 13 feet in length and 10.5 feet in diameter.<\/p>\n<p>Nevada-based Bigelow Aerospace, which is funded by real-estate&nbsp;billionaire Robert Bigelow, has been experimenting with expandable modules for more than a decade. Two of them were launched by Russian rockets and are still in orbit.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"icon-quotes-left\"><\/span>&nbsp;This type of architecture has never been flown before.<span class=\"icon-quotes-right\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>BEAM is Bigelow Aerospace\u2019s most ambitious experiment to date, funded with $17.8 million from NASA.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis type of architecture has never been flown before. \u2026 We\u2019re not 100 percent sure of its behavior,\u201d Bigelow said today. \u201cIt is a testing station. That is the whole point here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Over the course of two years, NASA will monitor how BEAM&nbsp;handles space radiation, micrometeoroid impacts and temperature swings in orbit. Then the structure will be jettisoned into space to burn up during atmospheric re-entry.<\/p>\n<p>NASA expects to apply the lessons learned from BEAM to future modules that can go into space small and then be expanded to provide lots of living space.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is the future,\u201d Kirk Shireman, NASA\u2019s space station program manager, told reporters. \u201cHumans will be using these kinds of modules as we move further and further off the planet, and actually as we inhabit low Earth orbit. So I think it really is the next logical step in humans getting off the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"The Science and Tech on the Next ISS Supply Mission\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cq_Kl0IGHH0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Bigelow says more expandable modules could be put into orbit by as early as 2020 to serve as private-sector space stations, for use by commercial ventures or government-backed research programs. Someday, they might even show up on the surface of the moon or Mars.<\/p>\n<p>BEAM isn\u2019t the only payload going up on the Dragon. The craft\u2019s pressurized compartment will carry about two tons of supplies, including a wide range of experiments. Here are a few of the highlights:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Genes in Space:<\/strong> This Boeing-backed student project&nbsp;will test a \u201cminiPCR\u201d device that should be able to analyze DNA samples in orbit. The experiment, designed by 17-year-old Anna-Sophia Boguraev, aims to determine whether the device can be used to study&nbsp;alterations in DNA that could affect the astronauts\u2019 immune system.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rodents on drugs:<\/strong> Researchers want to find out whether drugs can help mice counter bone loss and muscle wasting in zero-G aboard the station. The experiment could lead to new ways to head off those health problems for human spacefliers during missions to Mars.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Protein crystal growth:<\/strong>&nbsp;For years, researchers have been trying to determine if uniform protein crystals can be grown in the zero-G environment. If so, that could lead to the design of new types of protein-based pharmaceuticals. Two experiments on the Dragon are aimed at blazing a trail in structure-based drug design.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fungi in orbit:<\/strong>&nbsp;Scientists are&nbsp;sending strains of fungus into space, in hopes that they\u2019ll produce chemicals&nbsp;that could have medical applications when they\u2019re stressed out. Previous examples of medicines extracted from stressed-out fungi include penicillin&nbsp;and&nbsp;osteoporosis drugs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Space-grown veggies:<\/strong> Last year, the space station\u2019s astronauts grew a strain of red lettuce that was bred in Oregon, marking the first time space-grown lettuce was consumed in orbit. This time, the astronauts will be tasked with growing a crop of Tokyo Bekana cabbage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If the resupply mission proceeds on schedule, the Dragon would be unleashed from the station on May 11 and return to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An artist\u2019s conception shows the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module attached to the International Space Station. (Credit: Bigelow Aerospace) For the first time, SpaceX is due to launch an entire room to the International Space Station&nbsp;\u2013 a room that can go into orbit folded up, and then be expanded like an accordion once it\u2019s hooked up [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3108,2007,1395,717,190,316],"class_list":["post-19415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-beam","tag-bigelow-aerospace","tag-dragon","tag-international-space-station","tag-nasa","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19415"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19415\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}