3-day stay in this spatial hotel is estimated at 5 million dollars. In April 2016, Bigelow's BEAM module was launched to the International Space Station on the eighth SpaceX cargo resupply mission. In March 2020, Bigelow Aerospace laid off all 88 members of staff and halted operations after over 20 years of business, in a move that was partly caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In March 2021, he sued NASA for US$1.05 million, alleging he was not paid according to contract for product testing and development. Anomalies research In 1995, Bigelow founded the National Institute for Discovery Science to fund the research and study of various fringe sciences and paranormal topics, most notably ufology. The organization researched cattle mutilation and black triangle reports, ultimately attributing the latter to secretive advanced aircraft operated by the military. The institute was disbanded in 2004. In 1996, Bigelow purchased Skinwalker Ranch, a 480-acre cattle ranch located in Utah that is the site of purported paranormal phenomena, such as inter-dimensional shape-shifters. In December 2017, Bigelow was reported by the New York Times to have urged Senator Harry Reid to initiate what became the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, a government study which operated from 2007 to 2012 tasked with the study of UFOs. According to the New York Times, Bigelow said he was “absolutely convinced” that extraterrestrial life exists and that extraterrestrials have visited Earth. Consciousness studies In June 2020, Bigelow founded the Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies to support investigations into life after death. In January 2021, he put up an award of US$1 million for anyone who could demonstrate the existence of a life after death. Personal life Bigelow was married to Diane Mona Bigelow for 55 years until her death in 2020. Political contributions Bigelow has made political donations to conservative Republican candidates. In July 2022, he donated $10 million to Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, which was the single biggest donation of his re-election bid. Bigelow has contributed over $25 million to groups and causes supporting Joe Lombardo's candidacy for governor of Nevada. Campaign finance experts believe this may be the most a single donor has spent on a statewide race in modern history. References Further reading External links Bigelow Aerospace website Bigelow Institute Place of birth missing (living people) 1944 births 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American aerospace businesspeople American chief executives of travel and tourism industry companies American