Russia launches inflatable module demonstrator
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.
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:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, January 19
Proba-3: our eyes on the Sun’s inner corona
ESA — 6:10 am ET (1110 GMT) SpaceX successfully launches Falcon 9 rocket into low-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral
WESH-TV Orlando — 6:07 am ET (1107 GMT) Small businesses in Higashiosaka launch crowdfunding campaign for lunar exploration robot
Independent Online — 6:06 am ET (1106 GMT) Polish Lawmakers Request Military to Establish Suborbital Spaceport
Militarnyi — 6:03 am ET (1103 GMT) ISRO was set to move on to a new era. PSLV failure has stalled India’s space policy
ThePrint (India) — 6:00 am ET (1100 GMT) |
