http://www.livescience.com/blogs/author/leonarddavid

Bigelow Module: Orbital Updates

Posted on July 12, 2006 @ 18:57:51 EDT

Author Leonard David

Robert Bigelow, head of Bigelow Aerospace has confirmed that the Genesis-1 spacecraft has successfully expanded. “We have also confirmed that all of the solar arrays have been deployed,” he noted.

At the firm’s mission control center in Las Vegas, Nevada, information has been acquired from Genesis-1. “The ISC Kosmotras Dnepr rocket has flawlessly delivered the Genesis-1 into the target orbit of 550 kilometers altitude at 64 degrees inclination,” Bigelow said.

An early look at the telemetry indicated that the module’s internal battery is at a full charge of 26 volts – indicating that the solar arrays were deployed.

“The internal temperature of the spacecraft is reported to be 26 degrees Celsius and we have acquired the spacecraft’s Global Positioning System (GPS) signal that will enable us to track the ship in flight,” Bigelow reported. “We have initiated communication with the ship’s onboard computers and expect to download more information over the next few hours.”

Mark Pierson a key Genesis-1 architect told SPACE.com late Wednesday that “Genesis-1 is alive and well…and it’s talking…and we have a valid ground track.”

“The telemetry tells us that we’re inflated and deployed,” Pierson said. The expandable module has reached 8 feet in diameter under an automated sequence.

“It’s going better than we would have anticipated,” added Mike Gold, corporate counsel for Bigelow Aerospace in Washington, D.C. Both he and Pierson, and other Bigelow Aerospace personnel were on hand for the Dnepr liftoff that placed Genesis-1 into Earth orbit.