Moving out to space

At least one company is serious about getting humans into space.

GOLDEN, Colorado - Two privately-built prototype modules are circuiting the Earth - prelude technology to seed space with far larger orbital housing that support human occupants.

Lofting all that living room into Earth orbit is on the business agenda of Bigelow Aerospace of North Las Vegas, Nevada -- but the company faces significant challenges in attaining their sky-high goals.

The privately-backed Bigelow Aerospace Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 expandable sub-scale space modules were shot into orbit -- on July 12, 2006 and June 28, 2007, respectively -- via Dnepr boosters from the ISC Kosmotras Yasny Cosmodrome, located in the Orenburg region of Russia.

Both remain in excellent shape, providing valuable data on the use of expandable space structures for crews, not only in low Earth orbit, but on the moon and Mars, said Michael Gold, Corporate Counsel for Bigelow Aerospace in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Go Bigelow.