Genesis II Launches, Deploys Solar Panels
Along with your jetpack, flying car, and moving sidewalks, a hotel in space is one of the great, undelivered promises of the future. Well, Bigelow Aerospace took another step towards fulfilling that promise last week with the launch of Genesis II, its prototype of an inflatable space hotel.
Genesis II was lofted into space atop Dnepr rocket on Thursday from the SC Kosmotras Yasny Cosmodrome in Russia. Shortly after launch, ground controllers confirmed a strong signal with the vehicle, confirming that it reached orbit.
On Friday, the habitat unfurled its solar panels, and inflated itself to its full width of 2.4 metres (8 feet).
Like it predecessor, Genesis 1, this spacecraft is a 1/3rd scale prototype of a future space hotel, designed to demonstrate various technologies and techniques needed for space tourism. The eventual plan is to put a manned habitat up by 2015, and then connect additional modules together to build up a space station.
Genesis II has 22 cameras, and many new systems that weren’t aboard Genesis I.
Original Source:Bigelow Aerospace
Recent Posts
China Creates a High-Resolution Atlas of the Moon
Multiple space agencies are looking to send crewed missions to the Moon's southern polar region…
Dinkinesh's Moonlet is Only 2-3 Million Years Old
Last November, NASA's Lucy mission conducted a flyby of the asteroid Dinkinish, one of the…
The Universe Could Be Filled With Ultralight Black Holes That Can't Die
Steven Hawking famously calculated that black holes should evaporate, converting into particles and energy over…
Starlink on Mars? NASA Is Paying SpaceX to Look Into the Idea
NASA has given the go-ahead for SpaceX to work out a plan to adapt its…
Did You Hear Webb Found Life on an Exoplanet? Not so Fast…
The JWST is astronomers' best tool for probing exoplanet atmospheres. Its capable instruments can dissect…
Vera Rubin’s Primary Mirror Gets its First Reflective Coating
First light for the Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO) is quickly approaching and the telescope is…