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CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA — The International Space Station crew is getting their first attachable, "expandable" room when an unmanned SpaceX spacecraft takes off on Friday afternoon from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's launch complex. When SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launches from Florida on April 8, it'll be sending the Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station with 7,000 pounds of supplies, reported CNN. A prototype expandable space habitat called the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, will be included in the cargo. The BEAM will be attached to one of the docking ports on the International Space Station for two years. According to Bigelow Aerospace, the Las Vegas-based company that manufactures the inflatable rooms, once the BEAM is attached to the space station, air stored inside will inflate the habitat to up to 13 feet long and a diameter of 10 feet. While the BEAM could fit one crew member comfortably, crew members won't be living in the prototype yet. Instead, they will be running tests on its structural durability, as well as its ability to withstand variations in pressure, temperature and radiation. Made out of Kevlar-type material, the BEAM offers protection from outside space debris, such as small, asteroid-like objects. Inflatable habitats could be essential to future missions to deep space. On these long journeys, crew members will need more room to store supplies as well as conduct research. If the upcoming BEAM experiments prove successful, the prototype will lay the groundwork for future space habitats. ----------------------------------------­--------------------- Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off. Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f Get top stories delivered to your inbox everyday: http://bit.ly/tomo-newsletter Stay connected with us here: Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/ Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus