NASA Set to Launch SpaceX Inflatable

On Friday, SpaceX plans to launch the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module and attach it to the International Space Station’s Tranquility module for two years in order to prove that the technology can safely and comfortably house inhabitants. The launch program is part of a $17.8 million contract between SpaceX and NASA, and is the culmination of a three-year working relationship between the two companies. At the end of May or beginning of June, NASA will trigger the unit’s automated inflation, expanding the module to 13 feet long and 10.6 feet across, with a volume of 565 cubic feet. “You can imagine it’s the size of a small bedroom,” said Rajib Dasgupta, a project and technical integration manager at NASA.