 |
Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
|
 |
The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module Attached to ISS
Thanks to the successful launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9, the International Space Station (ISS) now has its very own Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM).

(Artist's rendering of BEAM attached to ISS
The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) hitched a ride to the space station on Friday's SpaceX launch. The module rode folded up in the trunk of the Dragon capsule, but after it gets attached to the space station, air from the ISS will expand the flexible structure into a room that's large enough for a person to stand up in--roughly 10 feet in diameter by 13 feet long.
Beginning on Saturday at 5:30 am Eastern, the station's robotic arm will pull BEAM out of the Dragon's rear end, then slowly attach it to a station port.
Update:

(BEAM installed! )
End update.
As far as I know, I'd go through the history of this idea in the following way. In Flatlander (1967), Larry Niven wrote about inflatable expansion bubble (scroll down).
In his 1961 novel Fall of Mooniest, Arthur C. Clarke described an Igloo Inflatable Moon Habitat.
Werner von Braun created a cool flexible inflatable space station idea in 1952.
In 1955, Philip K Dick described an Inflatable Lunar Resort in Solar Lottery.
In his 1951 Asteroid of Fear, Raymond Z. Gallun described an airtight tent.
Also in 1951, Murray Leinster wrote about an Inflatable Air Lock in Space Tug.
And finally, in 1939 Robert Heinlein described a valley roofed over with synthetic spider silk.
Via PopSci.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/16/2016)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.
| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories -
("
Space Tech
")
Solitary Black Hole Wanders In Space
'...the Hole is something like a vortex or a whirlpool?' - Frank K. Kelly, 1935.
Spaceplane From Virgin Atlantic
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
Taikonauts Exercise In China's Tiangong Space Station
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...' - Murray Leinster, 1953.
SpaceX's Starman Tesla Roadster In Space
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.' - Theodore Sturgeon, 1941.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
|
 |
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Robotic Barber Programmed With a Number of Styles
'He found a barber shop which, he thought, would be good for an idle hour.'
Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout!
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.'
Caterpillar Electric Mining Loader Not Yet Ready For Moon
'...the excavations were already in progress, for he saw gray slopes of rubble.'
Centipede Robots Down On The Farm
'...the walking mills of Puffy Products began to tread delicately on their centipede legs across the wheat fields of Kansas.'
Anthropic's Claude AI Creates Legal Citation From Whole Cloth
'Here is a Clerk that would work incessantly, and neither eat, sleep, want payment, or grumble.'
Students Vie For Lunar Regolith Mining Robot Prize
'About time you got here,' the astronaut said.
'They Erased My Memory' Says Ariana Grande
'...using a neutralizing electronic impulse.'
Solitary Black Hole Wanders In Space
'...the Hole is something like a vortex or a whirlpool?'
Spaceplane From Virgin Atlantic
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
DARPA Wants 'Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures'
'These are your rudimentary seed packages... Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures.'
Robot Hand Creeps Along, Separate From It's Owner
'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
Taikonauts Exercise In China's Tiangong Space Station
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...'
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
'Better late than never.'
Have AI Researchers Given Up On 'Bio-Babies'?
'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
Bunker Busters and Bore-Pellets
'The first revelation of the new Soviet bore-pellets.'
'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
More SF in the News Stories
More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories
|
 |