According to Leonard David's space.com article found here, Australia is one of six nations that has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bigelow Aerospace. Whilst there are currently no details of what the memorandum of understanding may involve, it is a very interesting move for Australia - prior to the release of the upcoming National Space Policy. At this point, I can only speculate that it might be a way to develop Australian Astronauts or Australian Space research, at a fraction of the price involved in signing up to the International Space Station.
Bigelow Aerospace, which was founded in 1998 by Robert Bigelow owner of the Budget Suites of America aims to put inflatable habitable modules in space, and rent that space to governments, scientists and tourists alike at a price far below those of the International Space Station.
The other nations that have signed up to memorandums of understanding with Bigelow Aerospace include Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
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