Commercial Development of the International Space Station

Abstract

The Commercial Space Act of 1998 was signed into law by President William Clinton on 21 October 1998 (Public Law 105–303). Section 101 of the Act addresses Commercialization of the Space Station and establishes the economic development of Earth orbital space as a priority goal of the space station, while encouraging the fullest possible engagement of commercial providers and users in order to reduce government operating costs. The Act also requires NASA to submit to the Congress a series of reports delineating potential commercial opportunities, specific policies and initiatives to stimulate economic development, and an independent market study.

In response to the law, NASA has produced a Commercial Development Plan for the International Space Station which proposes a range of actions to be undertaken in pursuit of the Legislative and Executive Branch objectives. These actions fall into three broad categories: (1) completion of an internal study on potential pathfinders for economic development, to be complemented by the independent external market study; (2) approval of an Organizational Work Instruction (OWI), under the auspices of the agency-wide ISO-9000 certification initiative, to establish a clearing house function at NASA headquarters for the dispositioning and auditing of commercial proposals; and (3) development of the concept for a Non-Government Organization (NGO) to manage utilization and economic development of the United States stake in the International Space Station.

These actions are currently in the nascent stage; however, they are anticipated to grow in terms of their impact on space station utilization and operations as the assembly sequence and economic development plan progress.