Astronauts Get Inflatable Room At Space Station

The world's first inflatable room for astronauts has been delivered to the International Space Station.

It was taken up on SpaceX's unmanned Dragon cargo ship which also carried cabbage seeds and laboratory mice.

Britain's Tim Peake said "it looks like we've caught a dragon," as he used a robotic arm to grab hold of the craft, which was carrying 7,000lb of gear.

The room, known as the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), can expand to 10ft wide and 13ft long.

It will be attached to the ISS next weekend and will be there for two years so astronauts can see how it copes with space debris and solar radiation.

SpaceX Dragon arrives at International Space Station

The BEAM is set to begin use in May, and NASA says astronauts plan to enter for a few hours several times a year to "retrieve sensor data and assess conditions".

The cargo also contains Chinese cabbage seeds which astronauts will grow in space, and lab mice that will test whether certain drugs can help prevent muscle and bone loss in microgravity.

Tim Peake Films Aurora Australis From ISS

There are now six spacecraft docked at the ISS - the most since 2011.

On Friday, the Dragon blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a Falcon 9 rocket.

Soon after launch, part of the rocket successfully landed on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.

Tim Peake Live from Space

SpaceX said the achievement was a big step forward in the effort to make rockets recyclable and deliver cheaper, more accessible space travel.

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