Bigelow Aerospace’s first inflatable space habitat prototype launched into orbit was Genesis I.
Genesis I was launched on 12 July 2006 aboard a Russian Dnepr rocket from the Dombarovsky launch area. The mission tested technologies for expandable habitats, which are launched in a compact configuration and expanded once in orbit.
After reaching orbit, Genesis I deployed its inflatable structure and transmitted images and engineering data. Bigelow Aerospace used the mission to study materials, deployment systems, environmental control, and the ability of an expandable module to withstand the space environment.
Genesis I was an uncrewed demonstration vehicle, not a crewed space station. Bigelow later launched Genesis II in 2007, another test article with additional experiments. NASA’s Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, was a separate later project installed on the International Space Station in 2016.