Event:Bigelow launches Genesis II module

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[edit] Introduction

Genesis II, the second experimental pathfinder spacecraft by Bigelow Aerospace, has been successfully launched and inserted into orbit. The privately-funded space station module was launched atop a Dnepr rocket on June 28, 2007 at 8:02 a.m. PDT from the ISC Kosmotras Yasny Cosmodrome located in the Orenburg region of Russia. Genesis II features a number of improvements over the first pathfinder that was launched. In addition to the standard guidance control systems used on Genesis I, it has reaction wheel assemblies and a precision measurement system, which are used to affect the spacecraft's rotation rate and angular momentum without expending fuel. It carries 22 cameras—nine more than on Genesis I—for photographing and filming cargo and ship conditions both inside and out.