AstroKomrade Randy Bresnik posted a pic yesterday of him
entering the BEAM module on the International Space Station for the first time. BEAM stands for Bigelow Expandable Activity
Module, which is an expandable habitat on the ISS. Expandable components that can be used for
living spaces require minimum payload volume and weight for liftoff, but once
in space, and can be inflated to provide a comfortable place for astronauts to
live and work.
BEAM launched in April 8, 2016. It was extracted from the space capsule’s “trunk”
by a robotic arm and attached to the rear port on the Tranquility node. In May, astronaut Jeff Williams inflated BEAM
over the course of 7 hours. While packed
for launch, BEAM was 7 feet long and a little over 7 ½ feet in diameter. Inflated to capacity, BEAM is over 13 feet
long and 10.5 feet in diameter.
Although it is meant for habitation, it is closed off to the
station and astronauts will enter periodically to collect data on how it reacts
to radiation, micrometeoroids and orbital debris. As of May 2017, crewmembers have entered BEAM
nine times in the last year. They swap
out passive radiation badges and collect microbial air and surface samples, all
of which are sent back to Earth for analysis at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in
Houston.
Halfway into its two-year demonstration, BEAM is showing
soft materials can perform as well as rigid materials for habitation areas in
space. So far, researchers have found
that cosmic radiation levels inside BEAM are comparable to other areas of
ISS. They have witnessed probably
micrometeoroid debris impacts but its shielding has prevented penetration and
exceeded space station shielding requirements.
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