THIS IS COOL:

A converted missile blasted off Wednesday carrying an experimental inflatable spacecraft for an American entrepreneur who dreams of some day building a commercial space station, officials said. . . .

The launch was a first for Bigelow Aerospace, founded by Las Vegas real estate mogul Robert Bigelow, who owns the Budget Suites of America hotel chain.

Bigelow envisions building a private orbiting space complex by 2015 that would be made up of several expandable Genesis-like modules linked together and could be used as a hotel, or perhaps a science lab or college. He has committed $500 million toward the project.

“We’re ecstatic. We’re just elated,” Bigelow said in a telephone interview from Las Vegas. “We have a sense of being on a great adventure.”

Despite the successful launch, the spacecraft still faces challenges.

No kidding. I hope it works, though.