Bigelow Expandable Activity Module

NASA originally considered the idea of inflatable habitats in the 1960s, and developed the TransHab inflatable module concept in the late 1990s. The TransHab project was canceled by Congress in 2000, With the cessation of Bigelow Aerospace activities, NASA contracted ATA Engineering, a former Bigelow subcontractor, for engineering support on the BEAM. == Deployment and status ==

In early 2015, BEAM was scheduled for deployment on the next available ISS transport vehicle, SpaceX CRS-8, which was scheduled for launch in September 2015. Due to a rocket failure during the SpaceX CRS-7 launch in June 2015, the delivery of BEAM was delayed. In July 2019, an engineering assessment certified BEAM's ability to remain attached to the station until 2028, as it has exceeded performance expectations and become a core cargo storage module on the volume-constrained station. A contract extension will be required to allow BEAM to serve its extended operational lifetime. == Objectives ==

The BEAM is an experimental program in an effort to test and validate expandable habitat technology. If BEAM performs favorably, it could lead to development of expandable habitation structures for future crews traveling in deep space. The two-year demonstration period will: • Demonstrate launch and deployment of a commercial inflatable module. Implement folding and packaging techniques for inflatable shell. Implement a venting system for inflatable shell during ascent to ISS. • Determine radiation protection capability of inflatable structures. • Demonstrate design performance of commercial inflatable structure like thermal, structural, mechanical durability, long term leak performance, etc. • Demonstrate safe deployment and operation of an inflatable structure in a flight mission. == Characteristics ==

in April 2016 BEAM is composed of two metal bulkheads, an aluminium structure, and multiple layers of soft fabric with spacing between layers, protecting an internal restraint and bladder system; it has neither windows nor internal power. The module was expanded about a month after being attached by its Common Berthing Mechanism to the space station. It was inflated from its packed dimensions of long and in diameter to its pressurized dimensions of long and in diameter. The module has a mass of , and its interior pressure is , the same as inside of the ISS. BEAM's internal dimensions provide of volume where a crew member will enter the module three to four times per year to collect sensor data, perform microbial surface sampling, conduct periodic change-out of the radiation area monitors, and inspect the general condition of the module. The hatch to the module will otherwise remain closed. Its interior is described as being "a large closet with padded white walls", with various equipment and sensors attached to two central supports. Radiation shielding The flexible Kevlar-like materials of construction are proprietary. The multiple layers of flexible fabric and closed-cell vinyl polymer foam in the BEAM structural shell are expected to provide impact protection (see Whipple shield) as well as radiation protection, but model calculations need to be validated by actual measurements. In a 2002 NASA study, it was suggested that materials that have high hydrogen contents, such as polyethylene, can reduce primary and secondary cosmic radiation to a greater extent than metals, such as aluminium. Vinyl polymer may also be used in laboratories and other applications for radiation shield garments. == Gallery ==

File:BEAM mock-up interior.jpg| Interior of BEAM mock-up File:BEAM development unit undergoing burst test.jpg| BEAM development unit undergoing burst test File:BEAM (25916886442).jpg| BEAM being loaded into SPACEX Dragon's trunk in February 2016 == See also ==