Genesis 2

Launch data: Designation  31789 / 07028A Launch date  28 Jun 2007 - 15:02 UT Launch site  Yasny Cosmodrome (Dombarovsky) Launch vehicle  Dnepr-1 Mission  Commercial: Technology development LEO Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  553 x 564 km Eccentricity  7,94E-04 Inclination  64° Period  95.82 min

Spacecraft data:

Mission details:

• Bigelow Aerospace's Genesis-2 spacecraft was launched into orbit on Jun 28, 2007 by a Dnepr rocket from the Yasniy spaceport in Russia, at the former Dombarovskiy ICBM base, from silo 1-1.
• The mission should have taken place within weeks of Genesis I, but was repeatedly postponed due to technical and scheduling problems. Rather than having a single gas inflation tank, Genesis II benefited from several tanks to improve reliability and enable more finely-tuned controllability.
• Genesis-2 inflated from an initial diameter of 1.8m to 2.5m and deployed 4 solar panels; the pressurized vehicle is a 1/3 scale model of a proposed space station module. The spacecraft is in a 555 x 562 km x 64.5 deg orbit. As is normal with Dnepr launches, the nose fairing ended up in a higher 545 x 1792 km x 64.5 deg trajectory.
• It ferried a life sciences payload into orbit, with another group of Madagascan hissing cockroaches, together with South African flat rock scorpions and seed-harvester ants. The module also carried photographs, later posted on Bigelow’s website, and an interactive “Space Bingo” game. Like its companion, Genesis II has proven hugely successful, taking over 4,000 photographs and maintaining its internal pressure between 10.1 and 10.5 psi, dependent upon variations as it moves in and out of direct sunlight. It, too, is expected to endure in space for around 12 years.