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A prototype
module for a private space station has passed an orbital milestone after
completing its 10,000th trip around the Earth.

Genesis 1,
an inflatable
module built by the Las Vegas, Nev.-based firm Bigelow Aerospace, passed
the 10,000-orbit mark as it nears the beginning of its third year of unmanned
operations, its builders announced late Thursday.

Bigelow
Aerospace launched
Genesis 1 atop a converted intercontinental ballistic missile on July 12,
2006 to test its ability to self-inflate and operate in Earth orbit.

Now, more
660 days later, the spacecraftÂ’s exterior cameras have taken some 14,000 images
that include snapshots of all seven of EarthÂ’s continents. Its solar panels
have also continuously powered electrical systems for about 15,840 hours,
Bigelow Aerospace officials said.

Led by businessman
Robert Bigelow, owner of the Budget Suites of America hotel chain and other
enterprises, Bigelow Aerospace followed Genesis 1 with a successor, Genesis 2,
in June 2007. That module also continues to function as designed.

With a length
of about 14 feet (4.4 meters) and a diameter of 8 feet (2.5 meters), the
Genesis modules are one-third scale versions of Bigelow AerospaceÂ’s planned
BA-330 modules for manned missions.

“Since it
was lifted into orbit, Genesis 1 has continued to perform its main mission to
test and verify systems to be used in future
manned space habitats,” Bigelow Aerospace officials said in a statement. “Genesis 1 has traveled the equivalent of more than 270
million miles, which would take it to the Moon and back 1,154 times.”

Bigelow
Aerospace hopes to begin assembling its first crewed station using its Sundancer
module in about 2011.

While
10,000 orbits is a major milestone, Genesis 1 has a long road ahead if it wants
to catch up to the International Space Station, which is currently manned by a
crew of two Russian cosmonauts and one U.S. astronaut as it circles the Earth.
NASA and its international partners plan to launch the labÂ’s largest
laboratory, JapanÂ’s Kibo module, later this month.

The
ISS celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and its oldest component -
RussiaÂ’s Zarya control module - surpassed the 50,000-orbit mark in August 2007
to complete what was then a 1.3 billion-mile (2.3 billion-kilometer) trek.
When fully assembled in 2010, the ISS is expected rival a U.S. football field
in length, include enough living space as a five-bedroom home and carry a crew
of six astronauts.

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