There's alot of speculation that Rutan has been talking to Bob Bigelow about this. Bigelow Aerospace took NASA's TransHab inflateable space station module and plans on putting one up. But he needs some way to get people up there...
I don't doubt Rutan is thinking ahead to orbital craft.
Here's the latest piece on Bigelow I could find:
lasvegasmercury.com
Thursday, July 08, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury
The ultimate public-private partnership
Bigelow, NASA now working together on space hotel
By George Knapp
When a tiny, odd-shaped rocket contraption dubbed SpaceShipOne floated down to the Mojave Desert last month after a 62-mile-high jaunt into space, it was a milestone in the commercial development of the wild blue yonder. Aviation wizard Burt Rutan, the designer of SpaceShipOne, was proud to have achieved space flight without accepting any government dollars. Las Vegas businessman Bob Bigelow can relate.
A mere five years ago, Bigelow, owner of the Budget Suites of America hotel chain, announced his intention to get into the space race. Not many people paid attention, or gave him much of a chance. But 16 months from now, Bigelow's first creation is scheduled for blast-off into a low orbit above the earth. If it works as planned, the development of space will never be the same.
It shouldn't be a surprise that Bigelow received a VIP invitation to the debut of SpaceShipOne. He not only knows Burt Rutan well, but knows that the future of Bigelow Aerospace may be inextricably linked to the success of people like Rutan. Rutan and 25 other groups around the world are competing for the X Prize, a $10 million award that will go to the first team to build a private, reusable spaceship. Assuming that some of these spacecraft really do work, they will need someplace to go once they get into orbit. That's where Bigelow comes in.
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