Bigelow Aerospace launched its second successful inflatable spacecraft yesterday. The Denper rocket carrying the Genesis II spacecraft, launched from the ISC Kosmotras Yasny Cosmodrome in the Orenburg region of Russia at 8:02AM PDT (Bigelow is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada). Mission control first made contact with the spacecraft, in its 64-degree orbit, at 2:20PM PDT.
The Genesis II, like its Genesis I predecessor, is approximately 15 feet (4.4 meters) in length and 6.2 feet (1.9 meters) in diameter at launch. What sets it apart from other spacecraft is that, once in orbit, its diameter expands to 8 feet (2.54 meters). Like other Bigelow spacecraft, Genesis II employs a unique architecture with an expandable outer surface that was wrapped around a central core at launch and expanded through air inflation in orbit. Bigelow believes that inflatable spacecraft, can be much more durable than rigid vessels, and provide much more volume for living and working without requiring significantly larger launch vehicles.
The Bigelow web site offers mission updates, pictures from the vehicle (Genesis II carries 22 cameras), and opportunities to participate, commercially, in future missions.