SPACE After a failed first attempt Thursday, NASA succeeded this Saturday inflating its Beam Module docked with the international Space Station (ISS) …
Mission accomplished. After more than seven hours of painstaking efforts, the module known as “Bigelow Expandable Activity Module” or Beam deployed without problem, this Saturday, reaching a length of 170 centimeters at 4:10 p.m. (8:10 p.m. GMT).
“First inflatable human passenger who ever deployed in space”
Beam is part of NASA experiments to test inflatable habitats, which are lighter and less bulky, that could one day be used on Mars or the moon.
When the module has been fully inflated, astronaut Jeff Williams, who carried out this delicate operation, opened eight air tanks at inside the module, pressurizing it to a level close to the space station.
“the module is fully inflated now fully pressurized,” said the spokesman NASA Daniel Huot.
“a full day of success with the swelling of the first inflatable human passenger who ever deployed in space”, has he rejoiced.
first entry planned in a week
the astronauts will now conduct tests to check if the module has no air leaks and engage in other preparatory tasks before entering for the first time in about a week.
Since 1300 GMT, Jeff Williams opened the valve to inflate 18 times the module, for a total of 59 seconds, according to comments from NASA and broadcast live images of the international Space Station .
the maneuver has always followed the same sequence: opening the valve of a period determined by scientists on the ground, watching the progress of the deployment, stabilization of the pressure in the module and start again <. / p>
the slow proceedings have worn the nerves of many science journalists, who enjoy themselves on social networks. “Thank you for your solidarity space Twitter which is much needed in these difficult times,” joked and Miriam Kramer, journalist in charge of space at Mashable.
failed first attempt Thursday
Thursday, teams of NASA decided to prematurely end the first attempt to deploy after meeting a stronger than expected resistance. Rather than forcing things, engineers at the space agency preferred to postpone the operation.
On his side Bigelow Aerospace that built the module under a $ 17.8 million contract with NASA, said in a statement Thursday that “the Beam had been folded for much longer than initially expected”, fifteen months instead of five months.
This may have affected the flexibility of the material – Kevlar, an extremely resistant thermoplastic – which forms the shell of the module explains the firm
Beam, a mass of 1.4 tons, measuring four meters long. 3.23 meters in diameter when fully inflated with breathable air. Its volume is thus multiplied by 4.5 which provides a space of 16 cubic meters, the equivalent of a small room.
The test of this unit docked to the ISS will allow scientists and engineers to evaluate its performance and especially whether it can provide protection against solar and cosmic radiation and micrometeorites against space debris and other more extreme temperatures.
the astronauts currently in Space Station should return several times a year in the module during the two years provided for this experiment. They will report the data and measurements collected by sensors located inside the Beam and also regularly evaluate the state of the module.
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