Posted: 6:19 AM Updated: 6:19 AM <\/p>\n
Hannah Dreier \/ The Associated Press<\/p>\n
LAS VEGAS NASA is partnering with a commercial space company in a bid to replace the cumbersome \"metal cans\" that now serve as astronauts' homes in space with inflatable bounce-house-like habitats that can be deployed on the cheap. <\/p>\n
click image to enlarge <\/p>\n
This artist's rendering provided by Bigelow Aerospace shows an inflatable space station. NASA is partnering with this commercial space company to test an inflatable room that can be compressed into a 7-foot tube for delivery to the International Space Station. NASA is expected to install the module by 2015. <\/p>\n
AP <\/p>\n
A $17.8 million test project will send to the International Space Station an inflatable room that can be compressed into a 7-foot tube for delivery, officials said Wednesday in a news conference at North Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace. <\/p>\n
If the module proves durable during two years at the space station, it could open the door to habitats on the moon and missions to Mars, NASA engineer Glen Miller said. <\/p>\n
The agency chose Bigelow for the contract because it was the only company working on inflatable technology, said NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver. <\/p>\n
Founder and President Robert Bigelow, who made his fortune in the hotel industry before getting into the space business in 1999, framed the gambit as an out-of-this-world real estate venture. He hopes to sell his spare tire habitats to scientific companies and wealthy adventurers looking for space hotels. <\/p>\n
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Continued here: Posted: 6:19 AM Updated: 6:19 AM Hannah Dreier \/ The Associated Press LAS VEGAS NASA is partnering with a commercial space company in a bid to replace the cumbersome \"metal cans\" that now serve as astronauts' homes in space with inflatable bounce-house-like habitats that can be deployed on the cheap. Continue reading
\nSpace station to get $18 million inflatable room<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"