INFLATION FACTOR

China is eyeing participation in new privately funded U.S. space ventures, such as the Bigelow Aerospace inflatable habitat for biotech or other space-business endeavors.

A Chinese role in these ventures could challenge the U.S. government to focus more attention on space cooperation with China. This is especially so, since the U.S. State Dept. would have to rule on such commercial cooperation.

Bigelow is receiving substantial technical assistance from the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), which developed the original TransHab inflatable concept considered earlier for use on the International Space Station (AW&ST Dec. 8, 1997, p. 39).

Bigelow has taken over part of the TransHab technology under Space Act and other agreements with NASA, and space agency managers speak highly of the Bigelow. As part of these activities, Bigelow and NASA have just completed a second exclusive licensing agreement--this one for debris shield-related technology to be transferred from JSC to the company.

The Bigelow project involves more than two dozen established aerospace subcontractors and nearly 60 full-time Bigelow employees.

The team is working in 120,000 sq. ft. of floor space on a 50-acre site in North Las Vegas, Nev. These efforts have gone virtually unnoticed by the broader aerospace community. The company is preparing to add an additional 40,000 sq. ft. of space and several additional subcontractors.

It is well into the development of 25% and 45% scale inflatable flight test modules for a series of four privately funded unmanned orbital test flights during 2005-07. It has already developed substantial full- and reduced-scale inflatable ground test hardware.

THE ORBITAL demonstrations and ground test hardware are aimed toward the launch of a man-tended commercial "Nautilus" module between 2008 and 2010. The watermelon-shaped Nautilus would weigh 20-25 tons and, once inflated in orbit, measure 45 X 22 ft. with 330 cu. meters of volume. This is larger than the 25 X 27-ft. tractor-tire shaped TransHab and substantially bigger than any individual ISS module.

China Great Wall Industries managers recently visited Bigelow facilities in Nevada. They sounded out the company on the possible launch of Bigelow test or operational modules on Long March boosters or the in-orbit support of Nautilus by Shenzhou Chinese manned spacecraft.