Update on Genesis-I

PRIVATE SPACE MODULE ORBITING IN "TIP-TOP SHAPE"

IEEE Spectrum Online -- February 12th, 2007

http://spectrum.ieee.org/feb07/comments/1709

By James Oberg





Seven months into its open-ended orbital shakedown cruise, Bigelow
Aerospace's inflatable test vehicle Genesis-I is performing smoothly, a
company official has advised IEEE Spectrum. As previously reported in this
month's issue, the mission was to test variations of spacecraft systems for
future vehicles leading to the development of an inhabitable orbital outpost
for a wide range of functions, potentially including tourism, in the next
decade.

"We have been monitoring all of the onboard systems many times a day,"
says Jay Ingham, deputy program manager at the Bigelow Aerospace plant, in
North Las Vegas, Nev. "We have been very pleased with both the initial
operational success, as well as the continued reliability of virtually all
of the onboard systems," he continued, in a press statement planned for
release on February 14.