Expandable Habitats To Be Tested on ISS

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NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver announced Wednesday a newly planned addition to the International Space Station that will use the orbiting laboratory to test expandable space habitat technology.

The first capsule is scheduled to launch aboard the eighth SpaceX cargo resupply mission to the station contracted by NASA, currently planned for 2015. After the module is berthed to the station’s Tranquility node, the station crew will activate a pressurization system to expand the structure to its full size using air stored within the packed module.