Bigelow gets set for next stage in space

Steppingstone approach
Bigelow Aerospace is taking a stepping-stone approach to the development of its space modules. Next in line is the larger Galaxy module the company plans to launch in the latter part of 2008.

The entrepreneurial firm’s habitat plans then lead to Sundancer — a module that will provide 180 cubic meters of habitable space and come fully equipped with life-support systems, attitude control, on-orbit maneuverability, as well as reboost and deorbit capability. This larger module — sporting a trio of windows — could support a three-person crew and be on orbit in the second half of 2010, Bigelow said.

While Bigelow Aerospace is making strides in the development of its modules, Gold said one ongoing headache is the export control and regulatory process, be it telemetry issues or the U.S. government's International Traffic in Arms Regulations, known as ITAR. “If anything, the regulatory procedures have been more difficult for Genesis 2 than Genesis 1. It rivals, if not exceeds, the technological difficulties that we face,” Gold said.

While improvements in dealing with ITAR are sorely needed, Gold saluted the Defense Technology Security Administration’s Spacelink system — a newly overhauled Internet portal that is simple, easy to use and responsive to space companies like Bigelow Aerospace.

“It’s a good example of efficient, effective and simple government regulatory interaction. The old Spacelink system was like trying to figure out a Rubik’s Cube with a blindfold on … while the new system is trying to do a Rubik’s Cube in a lighted room when it has been solved already,” Gold told Space News. “Export control and ITAR are a barrier to entry for small entrepreneurial firms. Particularly in aerospace, in this day and age, you can’t have a cost-effective and innovative operation without international participation.”

Yet another arena that needs tackling is the issue of space transportation and the high price of access to space. “Almost more than my snoring dog, that’s what keeps me up at night,” Gold said.

Business strategy
In April, during the National Space Symposium to be held in Colorado Springs, Colo., Bigelow plans to roll out his firm’s business plan — a strategic approach that he admits has been under wraps for several years.

“We think we have some innovative ways that people have not been considering in terms of pushing the private-sector movement forward,” Bigelow told Space News. “It was decided that the sooner we start to talk about this the better.”

Bigelow said he has invested more than $90 million in Bigelow Aerospace to date. As a general contractor for 35 years, “we’re not strangers to contracting, to banking, to the financing of major projects. That’s crucial if you really want to get the financial horsepower involved. No. 1, the business model has to serve a customer. No. 2, is it has to be very cost-effective, and No. 3 is that it has got to do what it says it’s going to do. The banking world appreciates that and they respond. … Wall Street responds in predictable ways.”

On to the moon and Mars
Bigelow said the business structure to be outlined next month will not only support destinations in low Earth orbit, but also operations on the moon and at Mars.

Bigelow said what he plans to spotlight in April are categories of destinations that transform space from just being a place of curiosity to being a place of absolute global necessity.

“I think we’re going to be a very good customer for the spaceport community … a very good customer for the launch folks as well," he said. "In detailing our plans, you’ll see a very, very solid terrestrial corollary to the real estate world that is huge. All we’re doing is adapting that entire structure to space.”

MORE FROM SPACE

Space Section Front

Stars and stripes in space Volcanoes on Mercury solve 30-year mystery Mars lander’s next whiff could be its last Space probes trace solar system’s dent Mission to Saturn goes into overtime Scientists eager to see Hubble’s facelift Pentagon is in the market for spy satellites 100 years later, Tunguska still mysterious   See the cosmos on your computer Test your science and space smarts Space Section Front   Add Space headlines to your news reader: