Far away from the Las Vegas Strip, a small company in North Las Vegas has just launched itself into the heavens.
Bigelow Aerospace, located on north Eastern Avenue, engineered an inflatable room that is now attached to the International Space Station in Earth’s orbit.
George Knapp, a longtime reporter for KLAS Channel 8, has known founder Robert Bigelow for years, documenting stories about the billionaire's fascination with space.
"He has always had an interest in life in space, and he's always had an interest in hotels because of his businesses here Budget Suites, and that sort of combination has sort of culminated with the idea of Bigelow Areospace," Knapp said.
At one time, Knapp said Bigelow wanted to create hotels in space, but that isn't his main objective.
"The main idea is to create his own space stations," Knapp said, "He came up with a very Vegas-y proposal for NASA. The idea that he would a BA-330, which is the next generation of these space craft he wants to build, give it to NASA for free."
The space craft would be attached to the ISS. NASA would get two-thirds of the space and the other third would be Bigelows to use or lease out.
Knapp said Bigelow's space station attachment has the potential to propel North Las Vegas' economy the way electric car-maker Faraday Future and others do not.
"I think it is a really big deal," Knapp said. "It says that North Las Vegas, Southern Nevada really are on the cutting edge of something amazing."
For one, Knapp noted, Bigelow's endeavors are almost entirely self-funded. He has received just a $14 million NASA contract to create the space station attachment.
And if Bigelow Aerospace proves the attachment is viable in space, Knapp believes the company will create thousands of new jobs.
George Knapp, reporter, KLAS Channel 8
