Awesome Video Shows NASA’s First Expandable Habitat Inflating On Space

An ISS video has shown successful deployment of NASA's first expandable habitat on the International Space Station on Saturday. As seen on the video, it is a round module that produces popcorn-popping sounds as it reached its full size.  

According to reports, NASA astronaut Jeff Williams started to inflate the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module at around 9:04 am ET. The valve was opened 25 times to inject enough air into the module in brief bursts as confirmed by the space agency. The inflation went at a glacial rate, which is a safety measure considering that the BEAM is the first of its kind, as William notes that he heard some popping noises with nearly every short burst of air that he fed into the module via the manual valve, Space reported.

The time in between has allowed the BEAM - the new space room - to be expanded and later stabilize, while Bigelow Aerospace and the NASA teams kept an eye on the internal pressure of the module. The BEAM was successfully expanded to its full size after seven hours, at 4:10PM ET.

NASA's initial attempt to inflate the habitat was supposedly on May 26, but was cancelled when it hit a few high forces during its expansion. Two days after, on May 28, the operation was resumed, and this time it became successful. For now, the BEAM will remain attached to the ISS for two years in order to test the technology in space. Based on reports, the astronauts will come into the module three to four times only for each year to collect data on how the expandable habitat can safeguard against space debris, solar radiation and extreme temperatures, according to Maslam.

Meanwhile, Bigelow hopes to place expandable habitats on the moon in the near future. The company has also confirmed sending one of its vast B330 modules into orbit by 2020, with the help of a private spaceflight provider United Launch Alliance.