Bigelow Only Non-NASA Customer for Passengers to Low Earth Orbit Says New York Times

Hotel magnate and space entrepreneur Robert Bigelow is the only non-NASA customer for commercial human spaceflight to low Earth orbit according to the New York Times. The newspaper quotes Bigelow as saying that “nobody” is his competition.

Bigelow Aerospace has launched two experimental inflatable space modules already and plans to launch its first “real” modules in four years, creating the first private space station. In a rare interview about his spaceflight plans, Bigelow told the newspaper that his company plans to assemble a second space station in 2016. The two together could house 36 people “providing ample business for the private companies” championed by the Obama Administration is its plan for the future of U.S. human spaceflight. The newspaper adds that the “soundness of the business case is unknown to outsiders.”