Bigelow Aerospace: Space Company
Bigelow Aerospace is a company founded in 19991 by Robert Bigelow in Las Vegas and whose business is to use space stations for commercial purposes. Bigelow Aerospace is funded largely by wealth acquired by Bigelow thanks to its hotel chain Budget Suites of America. In 2010, Bigelow has invested $ 180 million in company. Bigelow has repeatedly declared to be willing to fund Bigelow Aerospace up to approximately $ 500 million until 2015 to achieve the launch of marketable materials.
Bigelow bought the patents of the expandable space module technology ("inflatable"), multi-layer NASA after it canceled the Transhab project for the International Space Station because of budget constraints, in the late 1990. Bigelow continued to develop the technology for a decade, taking the design of the layer structure of modules.
The Next-Generation Bigelow Commercial Space Station is a private orbital space complex being developed by Bigelow. The space station will be built in both extensible modules Sundancer and BA 330 and a central lashing knot, a propulsion system, solar panels, and space capsules attached. The first launches of the components of the space station are planned for 2014, with portions of the station available for rent as soon 2015.
Bigelow Aerospace recently announced that it has entered into agreements with six states to use its future facilities in orbit commercial space stations: the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, Japan and Sweden.
In February 2010, following the announcement of NASA after the report of the Augustine Commission, providing redirect manned launches plans in the direction of private providers of commercial launch, Robert Bigelow said: "We as a company lunar ambitions. ... And we have ambitions to Mars of course. "
In April 2010, Mr. Bigelow spoke of a space station at the Lagrange point L1 and said his private moon base Moon Base project would consist of three BA 330
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