Genesis I and II

Abstract

That lofty pronouncement was made in 2006, when Bigelow Aerospace launched its Genesis I habitat into orbit on board a Russian Dnepr rocket, of all things. Not a bad accomplishment for a company that had been founded only seven years previously. But, while Bigelow Aerospace was founded in 1999, it wasn’t until 2004 that the company’s high-stakes business plan to develop commercial habitats became widely known. With public attention focused on the International Space Station (ISS), Bigelow quietly went about his business developing a mini-Skunk Works for NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC). At the time, it was hoped that with technical assistance from JSC, Bigelow would be ready to launch his inflatable modules by the end of the decade. But, realizing there was no affordable way of launching his clients to their modules on orbit, Bigelow was spurred to create the US$50 million space launch competition called America’s Space Prize in 2004. The goal of the prize was to drive development of affordable manned launch vehicles capable of ferrying up to seven astronauts to low Earth orbit (LEO), and do it by the end of the decade. The winner, apart from winning US$50 million, would be guaranteed first rights on a contract from Bigelow for orbital servicing missions to the company’s Nautilus modules (later renamed the BA-330). It was anticipated the Nautilus would be launched on a Proton-class booster and be ready for launch sometime in 2008