Bigelow Aerospace

Headquartered in Las Vegas, Bigelow Aerospace is a contracting, R&D company, primarily focusing on expandable habitat architecture for use in a variety of space applications that are low-cost commercial space platforms for low Earth orbit, the moon, and beyond. Expandable habitats decrease transport volume for space missions, but expand after being deployed in space to provide a comfortable area for astronauts to live while providing a varying degree of protection from solar and cosmic radiation, space debris, atomic oxygen, ultraviolet radiation, and other elements of the space environment. The company launched two subscale spacecraft, Genesis I & II into orbit in 2006 and 2007, respectively. After the successful launches of the expandable spacecraft through the Genesis programme, the company focused on human-rated habitats. In 2016, the company launched Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which is attached to the Tranquility module of the International Space Station (ISS), and became the first expandable module to reach the ISS.

The company was also developing the B330, a much larger module, which is an autonomous, expandable independent space station that gets to space in a single launch and can accommodate four people indefinitely and five people for many months. The space station is equipped with two galleys, two toilets, ample cargo space, and two dissimilar propulsion systems, making it suitable for a long duration space mission. 

However, in March 2020, the company laid off its entire workforce, citing restrictions imposed by the Nevada state government that closed nonessential businesses in the early stages of the pandemic. The company has not made any public comments about its future thereafter and transferred title and ownership of the BEAM to NASA Johnson Space Center.

Funding and financials

Bigelow’s founder and president Robert T. Bigelow has personally provided all financial support for the company since 1999, totaling over USD 350 million as of June 2022.