Today in Space.com, there is a fairly detailed treatment of Bigelow's plans for construction of its inflatable private space stations. Interesting tidbits include the dimensions and weights of the various modules to be launched.
The heaviest production module to be launched would be the Nautilus, weighing in at a hefty 45,000 - 50,000 pounds (heavy weight class). This would be out of the weight range of both the Falcon V and Dnepr, so the question is begged of who would launch the module. Both Delta IV heavy and Atlas V heavy cost around $170 million per launch, which would probably price them out of Bigelow's range.
You could guess that if SpaceX launches the Falcon V successfully, that Bigelow might buy the first launch on a SpaceX heavy lifter. But the configuration shown in the article only has one Nautilus module. This is hardly the creation of a lucrative heavy lift market.
In any event, Bigelow's Genesis Pathfinder test modules that will fly on the Falcon V and the Dnepr will weigh about 3,000 pounds and have launch dimension of 15' long and 6.2' in diameter. Upon inflation, the modules' diameter will double. The Nautilus module inflated dimensions will be 45' long and 22' diameter (uninflated dimensions are not given). That's pretty roomy!
Comments