Blasting equipment into space is a costly venture, so finding ways to reduce weight and size is crucial. Last year, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) was deployed to the International Space Station (ISS) to test how an inflatable habitat stands up to the harsh environment of space. Now, one year on, NASA has reported its initial findings.
Halfway into its planned two-year demonstration attached to the International Space Station, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, is showing that soft materials can perform as well as rigid materials for habitation volumes in space. The BEAM was launched and attached to station through a partnership between NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems Division (AES) and Bigelow Aerospace, headquartered in North Las Vegas, Nevada.
Developed by Bigelow Aerospace and NASA, the BEAM was attached to the ISS on April 16 last year. After a false start, it was fully inflated on May 28 and astronauts entered it for the first time on June 6. Over its two-year lifespan, astronauts will assess how well this softer structure stands up against radiation, micrometeoroid impacts and microbial growth, to help inform designs for future deep space missions. When it's all over, the module will be jettisoned from the station to burn up as it reenters Earth's atmosphere.
The project is currently at the halfway point, and so far, the future of inflatable habitats looks promising. Since it was first expanded, astronauts have entered the BEAM nine times to collect air and surface samples of microbes and swap out radiation monitors, which were then sent back to Earth to be studied. So far, the prototype has performed well: dose rates of Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCR) are about on par with other, more rigid space station modules, and the external walls have managed to keep debris from penetrating through, despite multiple possible collisions with micrometeoroids.
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 47 Flight Engineer Jeff Williams of NASA opened the hatch to the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) June 6 to collect an air sample and set up equipment to monitor its status during its two-year lifetime attached to the aft port of the Tranquility module. Williams was the first astronaut to enter the habitat, which was expanded to its full capacity a week earlier.
Since late April, the researchers have been conducting a more detailed radiation experiment. Using the specially designed 3D printer onboard, the space station crew printed a half-sphere shield and installed it over one of the two Radiation Environment Monitors in the BEAM.
Astronauts aboard the space station 3-D printed a shield to cover one of the two Radiation Environment Monitors inside the BEAM. The shield, the white hemispherical shape at the center of the photograph, is shown above inside the BEAM module. In the coming months, the crew will print successively thicker shields to determine the shielding effectiveness at blocking radiation.
Credits: NASA
The idea is to compare how well the shield performs at blocking radiation compared to the unshielded sensor, and over the coming months, new, thicker shields will be tested too. The first is just 1.1 mm (0.04 in) thick, but the second will be 3.3 mm (0.13 in), with thickness increasing to 10 mm (0.4 in) for the third test.
The BEAM technology demonstration is helping NASA to advance and learn about expandable space habitat technology in low-Earth orbit for application toward future human exploration missions. The partnership between NASA and Bigelow supports NASA’s objective to develop a deep space habitat for human missions beyond Earth orbit while fostering commercial capabilities for non-government applications.
Ultimately, the results of the BEAM project will guide NASA and other organisations in developing modules that are more protective and compact, for future deep space exploration and an eventual manned mission to Mars.