Coming to low Earth orbit Bigelow Aerospace

Space just keeps getting bigger. Bigelow Aerospace, which just sent an inflatable room to the International Space Station (ISS), wants to do it again in 2020 – on a much larger scale.

Last night the firm announced a partnership with rocket supplier United Launch Alliance (ULA) to launch two of its B330 expanding habitats into orbit in 2020.

One of these may follow in the footsteps of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which arrived at the ISS this week.


“We are exploring options for the location of the initial B330 including discussions with NASA on the possibility of attaching it to the International Space Station,” said company founder Robert Bigelow in a statement. “The working name for this module is XBASE or Expandable Bigelow Advanced Station Enhancement.”

Commercial space station

The B330 is 20 times larger than BEAM, and would boost the internal volume of the ISS by 30 per cent. At a press conference last night, Bigelow stated that he would like the XBASE to increase commercial traffic to the ISS, allowing researchers to visit and use the facility on a “timeshare” basis with NASA.

Just one B330, whether free-flying or attached to the ISS, would double existing demand for commercial launches from the likes of SpaceX and Boeing, says the company.

Bigelow Aerospace’s partnership with ULA is preliminary and no contracts have been exchanged, but the companies say they are keen to work together. If NASA doesn’t want a B330 for the ISS, Bigelow says he would also be interested in seeking commercial sponsorship.

“We would love to see Disney have a Disney space station,” he said last night. “Wouldn’t that be cool?”