Bigelow Inflatable Space Station: Downsizes Dramatically

Hang Time: in Earth orbit courtesy of Bigelow Aerospace expandable modules.

The company unveiled a business plan to populate space with habitable complexes for international space agencies and multinational corporations.

CREDIT: Bigelow Aerospace

Bigelow Aerospace, which is developing inflatable space habitats for commercial use, confirmed they had laid off some 40 of its 90 employees Sept. 29.


"We are proceeding with a core group of fifty plus engineers, managers and support staff," Mike Gold, Bigelow Aerospace's director of Washington operations and business growth.

"This core group allows us to retain key human capital and capabilities, with which we are continuing to aggressively pursue the development and eventual deployment of the BA 330 system."

The BA 330 is a six-person inflatable space station Bigelow Aerospace of North Las Vegas, Nev., is developing to serve commercial and government human spaceflight markets.

The BA 330 is one of the proposed commercial platforms Boeing Co. intends to serve with the CST-100 space capsule it is developing with financial assistance from NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program.