Bigelow Aerospace has transferred ownership of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) to NASA. The company laid off all of its employees last year. Apparently, the enterprise finally ceases to operate.
The BEAM rights have been awarded to NASA's Johnson Space Center, which plans to contract with ATA Engineering to maintain the module, still on the ISS. As NASA writes on the government website, ATA Engineering partnered with Bigelow Aerospace during the design, development and testing of BEAM. Apart from Bigelow Aerospace, ATA is the only company that has access to BEAM's structural design, module data and analysis methods.
ATA support will include fixing breakdowns and malfunctions of metal and BEAM structures. The contractor will also assess the risks to the equipment and conduct a failure analysis, future life assessment and other work to keep the BEAM operational.
On March 23rd last year, Bigelow Aerospace, founded more than two decades ago, laid off its 88 employees. In part, this measure was caused by the pandemic: On March 20, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed an emergency directive ordering all "nonessential" businesses to shut down. A company spokesman confirmed on March 23 that the company had fired all of its employees due to the governor's order and that it would face fines, penalties and revocation of its license if it continued to operate.
Bigelow Aerospace was founded in 1999 by Robert Bigelow. The company launched two spacecraft, Genesis 1 in 2006 and Genesis 2 in 2007, both on Dnepr rockets. In 2013, the company entered into a contract with NASA for the creation of the BEAM module and its installation on the ISS. BEAM arrived at the station in April 2016.
Bigelow Aerospace later began developing a commercial module for the ISS B330 and planned to deliver it to the station in 2020, however, on January 27, 2020, NASA announced that it had selected Axiom Space to develop and install the module. On January 28, Robert Bigelow said in an interview that his company refused to apply to NASA due to funding problems.
During the competition, NASA announced that it plans to provide up to $ 561 million for the development of both the commercial module of the ISS and "a separate free-flying object." This amount did not suit the company. Bigelow said that while Bigelow Aerospace is interested in contracts with NASA, the agency needs additional funds to make this possible.
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