Volume 8, Number 6     November/December 2000

Exploring the Capabilities of the ISS

The International Space Station (ISS) provides a diverse range of possibilities for commercial research and development.

The 1998 Commercial Space Act promotes commercial space opportunities and established the construction of the ISS as a priority goal of national policy in the economic development of Earth orbital space. To this end, NASA has created a process for working with companies to make ISS economic opportunities available.

The International Space Station (ISS), against darkness of space, photographed by STS-97 crew members onboard the approaching Space Shuttle Endeavour. The Soyuz spacecraft, which taxied the Expedition 1 crew in late October, is partially out of the frame at left.

The strategy is for NASA, in partnership with the private sector, to initiate a set of pathfinder business ventures that can achieve profitable operations over the long run without public subsidies. These business pathfinders will break down public sector and market barriers in the near term and lead to economic expansion over the long run.

In a speech to the International Astronautical Foundation in October, NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin noted that NASA is willing to commit part of its share of the Space Station's resources to commercial undertakings because, "We believe that market-driven research is one of the best uses of the station.

"But I strongly believe that every nation—whether they are part of the Space Station or not—could benefit from developing space commercialization programs of their own."

With the signing of several commercial agreements, NASA and industry have opened a new era of space economic development. NASA and industry are forming partnerships to create new markets and provide economic benefits to people on Earth.

Dreamtime Holdings, Inc., is bringing high-definition television (HDTV) to the space program. HDTV will offer NASA engineers and scientists the most detailed look ever at scientific experiments conducted on the ISS. StelSys will use NASA's bioreactor technology on the ISS to conduct biomedical research. These commercial agreements illustrate the broad spectrum of opportunities available aboard the ISS.

But commercialization is not the only foreseen use of the station. The ISS will serve as a testbed and springboard for further exploration of space. The station will provide an orbital laboratory for long-term research, where gravity, one of the fundamental forces of nature, is greatly reduced. Conducting research in microgravity, a state of very weak gravity one-millionth of what is felt on Earth, gives scientists a unique opportunity to study processes that are obscured by gravity on Earth, test existing theories and make new ones.

The STS-97 astronauts and the Expedition 1 crew members pose for a historic portrait onboard the International Space Station (ISS) shortly after hatches were opened between the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the station. In front, from the left, are Sergei K. Krikalev, Brent W. Jett, Jr., William M. Shepherd and Joseph R. Tanner. In back, from the left, are Marc Garneau, Carlos I. Noriega, Yuri P. Gidzenko and Michael J. Bloomfield. A pre-set digital still camera was used to record the scene.

In addition, world class research in biology, chemistry, physics, ecology and medicine can be conducted using the most modern tools available.

The medical benefits of conducting science in space could lead to new drugs and a new understanding of the building blocks of life. Researchers also expect a thorough understanding of the effects of long-term exposure on humans in microgravity.

"We are excited about the station," Administrator Goldin said, "because it will be our primary means for conducting the long-term space-based research that will help us ensure the continued health and safety of our astronauts, so that they will be able to leave low-Earth orbit to travel to Mars or beyond."

"We hope to make great progress in astronaut health. The station will allow us to study the long-term debilitating effects of the space environment on human health and performance from the micro level of cells to the macro level of the entire human organism. As we learn more about the effects of radioactivity and weightlessness on the human body, we will be better able to develop effective countermeasures, which will enhance our ability to leave low-Earth orbit and improve live on Earth."

Industrial benefits may lead to stronger, lighter metals and more powerful computer chips. The absence of convection—the currents that cause warm air or fluid to rise and cool air or fluid to sink—in space will allow different materials to be studied more thoroughly in orbit than on Earth. Fluids and flames will behave differently in microgravity as well.

While some experiments will take place inside the Space Station, others will take place externally. These experiments will help reveal the effects of long-term exposure to the external space environment. Understanding phenomena such as extreme temperature and micrometeorites will guide engineers toward enhancing spacecraft design. Earth observations will allow researchers to study changes to the environment, both natural and human-caused. Other benefits may lead to advanced weather forecasting systems and the most accurate atomic clocks.

The term "microgravity" will become more commonplace in the era of the ISS. The specific disciplines of microgravity science that will be studied aboard the station include biotechnology, combustion science, fluid physics, fundamental physics and materials science.

The station also offers possibilities in the development of advanced robotics and in studying the complex interactions of the space environment with materials and protective coatings. Additional research topics will include advanced power generation, thermal management and advanced communications concepts.

Commercialization of space research will allow industries to explore new products and services. Finally, the result of such innovation will create new jobs here on Earth and in space.

For more information, visit the International Space Station web site at http://commercial.hq.nasa.gov/

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