Space station gets ready for expansion of inflatable capsule 'BEAM' today

The experimental expandable capsule BEAM that docks with the ISS was sent to space in April last year by NASA and Bigelow Aerospace.

Image credit: Bigelow Aerospace

New Delhi: NASA is all set to expand the new inflatable room on the International Space Station (ISS) known as Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) on Thursday.

The experimental expandable capsule that docks with the ISS was sent to space in April last year by NASA and Bigelow Aerospace. It will serve as an additional living and work space for the crew aboard the ISS.

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams performed leak checks and installed hardware to monitor and support BEAM expansion, which is scheduled to begin Thursday, May 26, at 6:10 a.m. EDT (10:10 a.m. UTC), although NASA says it could start earlier.

For those of you who are enthusiastic about space science and space exploration, you can tune in to NASA TV and NASA's official Facebook beginning at 5:30 a.m EDT to see the inflation as it happens.

Crew entry into BEAM, which has an expanded habitable volume of 565 cubic feet (16 cubic meters), is planned for June 2.

After docking, BEAM inflates to roughly 13 feet long and 10.5 feet in diameter to provide a habitable volume where a crew member can enter.

(Source: NASA)