Posted: Wed, Jul 12, 2006, 1:56 PM ET (1756 GMT)
A converted Russian ICBM launched late Wednesday a spacecraft developed by a US company to test technologies needed for orbital habitats. The Dnepr rocket, a converted SS-18 ICBM, lifted off from the Dombarovsky launch site in southern Russia, near the Kazakh border, at 10:53 am EDT (1453 GMT). The rocket placed into orbit the Genesis 1 spacecraft, the first in a series of prototype spacecraft under development by Las Vegas-based company Bigelow Aerospace. Genesis 1 is designed to test the ability for inflatable spacecraft to properly deploy in space; such spacecraft would provide a much larger volume of internal space than possible with a conventional rigid module. Bigelow plans to eventually deploy a commercial space station in orbit using inflatable modules. The launch was the first space launch from the Dombarovsky site, which was originally developed as a ballistic missile range.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article
•  AP article
•  Itar-Tass article
•  RIA Novosti article