NASA will attach a private inflatable space station model to the International Space Station

The Bigelow component will remain attached to the space station for about two years to test its durability

NASA revealed this week (January 16) the first details of a plan to add the first commercial component to the International Space Station - an expandable room built by Bigelow Aerospace.
The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module or BEAM for short is scheduled to arrive at the station in 2015 for a two-year technology demonstration.

The inflatable component will be brought up there by another commercial company - SpaceX, in the eighth supply mission to the space station by the private Dragon spacecraft and a Falcon 9 rocket. The astronauts who will then be on the station will use the station's robotic arm to install the component on the back of the American Tranquility module. NASA Deputy Administrator Laurie Graver allocated $17.8 million to Bigelow's BEAM production.

"Today we are reporting a technological advance essential to the continuation of long-term manned spaceflight," said Greiber. "NASA's partnership with Bigelow opens a new chapter in our ongoing work to provide innovation to the space industry, to salute the cutting edge of technology that will allow humans to thrive in space safely and affordably."
BEAM is a cylindrical component, like all the other components of the space station, and it is similar in size to the American Harmonic component - about 4 meters long and 3.2 meters wide. However, its weight is much lower. Harmony weighs 14,288 kilograms, while the weight of the BEAM component is only 1,360 kg. This is the great advantage of inflatable structures in space: their mass and volume are relatively small during launch, thus reducing launch costs.
Leonard David reports on the space.com website that the BEAM component will also be much quieter than the rest of the station's components because it is not made of metal.
After connecting the BEAM to the tranquility component, the station staff will operate a pressure system to inflate the structure to its final size using the air stored inside the packaged component.
During the two-year trial, station staff and engineers on the ground will collect performance data on the component, including its structural integrity and leak rate. A suite of devices integrated within the component will also provide important insight into the response of the component to the space environment - including radiation and temperature changes - compared to traditional aluminum components.

Watch a simulation of the docking of the inflatable space component to the International Space Station. NASA film

The experiment will also be used to evaluate BEAM's ability to serve as a human habitation on long-duration space flights, says Bill Gersenmeyer, NASA's assistant administrator for manned flight and operations at NASA.

Bigelow Aerospace says that the BEAM 330 component can function as an independent space station or that several such components together can connect together in a modular fashion to create a larger and more complex space complex.
Bigelow also claims that the component's radiation protection system is equal to or better than the rest of the International Space Station's components and it reduces the risk of secondary radiation damage, as well as the protection against micro meteorites and space fragments can provide protection that exceeds that of the station's 'aluminum can' today . This was stated on the company's website.

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