NASA's Commercial Space Centers: Bringing together government and industry for "out of this world" benefits

Abstract

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is making significant effort to accommodate commercial research in the utilization plans of the International Space Station (ISS). NASA is providing 30% of the research accommodations in the ISS laboratory modules to support commercial endeavors. However, the availability of resources alone does not necessarily translate into significant private sector participation in NASA's ISS utilization plans. Due to the efforts of NASA's Commercial Space Centers (CSCs), NASA has developed a very robust plan for involving the private sector in ISS utilization activities. Obtaining participation from the private sector requires a demonstrated capability for obtaining commercially significant research results. Since 1985, NASA CSCs have conducted over 200 commercial research activities aboard parabolic aircraft, sounding rockets, the Space Shuttle, and the ISS. The success of these activities has developed substantial investment from private sector companies in commercial space research.