Model, Space Station, Bigelow Aerospace, 1:30

Bigelow Aerospace is one of several commercial ventures entering the human spaceflight arena in the early 2000s. Their signature concept, represented by this model, is inflatable modules that can be assembled to form a space station. These compact, lighter-weight-than-rigid-metal modules can be launched without a crew and automatically expanded to full size, with onboard air, in orbit, to serve as living quarters and space laboratories. Two test modules were placed in orbit and successfully inflated in 2006 and 2007. As the commercial launch vehicle and crew transport vehicle entrepreneurial efforts mature, Bigelow plans to develop a multi-module space station complex as depicted in this model provided to the Museum in 2009.