BA To The Moon

Robert Bigelow, founder of Bigelow Aerospace, has said in an exclusive interview with SPACE.com that he foresees a private lunar base capable of supporting up to 18 astronauts and built using BA's inflatable structure technology fairly soon.

Before that can happen, however, the legal infrastructure to support and protect private investments and profits beyond Earth must be established. According to BA exec Mike Gold, the company is currently trying to deal with that by building a private consortium of "sovereign clients" to undertake projects in low Earth orbit. Once the legal precedent is established in LEO, so the theory goes, it can be extended to govern such projects on the Moon and beyond.

BA is also pursuing the development of a private, man-rated spacecraft-- with Boeing, no less-- that would get people to and from BA's orbital installations. The largest of those inflatable space stations currently being pursued would have living volumes equal to or greater than ISS, could be deployed more quickly at much less expense, and could be configured in a variety or ways, according to the needs of the client. Indeed, BA already foresees space hotels, laboratories, and possibly factories in low Earth orbit, using its technology, yet this decade.

It's a remarkable, exciting vision. We'll have to see whether BA and the governments and other private companies involved can actually turn that vision into reality.