On April 16, 2016 at 06:15 UTC the International Space Station’s robotic arm, under the control of engineers on Earth, extracted an experimental inflatable habitat from the trunk of the "Dragon” SpX-8 spacecraft and attached it to the orbiting complex. Berthing to the docking port of the US “Tranquility” module was completed at 09:36 UTC. Made by Bigelow Aerospace private company, the new module will spend two years on the space station to prove the novel design’s worthiness for future commercial orbiting research labs and expeditions to deep space. Unlike the space station’s other modules, which are made of metal alloys, BEAM is made of reinforced fabric designed to be resistant to radiation and bombardment by tiny flecks of space junk and micrometeoroids. The module will be inflated around May 26, expanding to four times its current volume until it reaches the approximate dimensions of a family-sized tent. After the module is inflated, astronauts will enter the habitat to install sensors to monitor conditions inside the module, tracking temperatures, radiation levels, and impacts from tiny micrometeoroids and space junk.