New Scientist magazine has a brief note about plans by Bigelow Aerospace to launch its first test of its inflatable habitats, modules that could eventually be used for orbital hotels. A curious comment in the article: “The launch dates cannot be divulged because the use of an ICBM means the information falls under US arms trade restrictions.” That’s odd, because the launch dates of Dnepr rockets (the former SS-18 ICBM converted into a low-cost launcher) are often reported well in advance. In fact, you can see an official Roskosmos launch schedule that includes a “Genesis-1″ launch on June 13 from a new launch site, Dombarovsky. Uh-oh: did I just violate “US arms trade restrictions”?
Leave a Reply