Author Topic: NASA ISS Commercialization  (Read 52035 times)

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 47936
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81287
  • Likes Given: 36800
NASA ISS Commercialization
« on: 06/07/2019 03:48 pm »
Quote
June 7, 2019
RELEASE 19-044

NASA Opens International Space Station to New Commercial Opportunities, Private Astronauts

NASA is opening the International Space Station for commercial business so U.S. industry innovation and ingenuity can accelerate a thriving commercial economy in low-Earth orbit.

This move comes as NASA focuses full speed ahead on its goal of landing the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, where American companies also will play an essential role in establishing a sustainable presence.

NASA officials, including the agency’s Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWit, will discuss details of the five-part near-term plan in a news conference at 10 a.m. EDT today. The news conference will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

NASA will continue research and testing in low-Earth orbit to inform its lunar exploration plans, while also working with the private sector to test technologies, train astronauts and strengthen the burgeoning space economy. Providing expanded opportunities at the International Space Station to manufacture, market and promote commercial products and services will help catalyze and expand space exploration markets for many businesses.

The agency’s ultimate goal in low-Earth orbit is to partner with industry to achieve a strong ecosystem in which NASA is one of many customers purchasing services and capabilities at lower cost.

NASA’s plan addresses both the supply-side and demand-side for a new economy, enabling use of government resources for commercial activities, creating the opportunity for private astronaut missions to the space station, enabling commercial destinations in low-Earth orbit, identifying and pursuing activities that foster new and emerging markets, and quantifying NASA’s long-term demand for activities in low-Earth orbit.

Commercial Activities Aboard the Space Station

More than 50 companies already are conducting commercial research and development on the space station via the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory, and their results are yielding great promise. In addition, NASA has worked with 11 different companies to install 14 commercial facilities on the station that support research and development projects for NASA and the ISS National Lab.

This effort is intended to broaden the scope of commercial activity on the space station beyond the ISS National Lab mandate, which is limited to research and development. A new NASA directive will enable commercial manufacturing and production and allow both NASA and private astronauts to conduct new commercial activities aboard the orbiting laboratory. The directive also sets prices for industry use of U.S. government resources on the space station for commercial and marketing activities.

Pricing released Friday is specific to commercial and marketing activities enabled by the new directive, reflects a representative cost to NASA, and is designed to encourage the emergence of new markets. As NASA learns how these new markets respond, the agency will reassess the pricing and amount of available resources approximately every six months and make adjustments as necessary.

To qualify, commercial and marketing activities must either:

require the unique microgravity environment to enable manufacturing, production or development of a commercial application;
have a connection to NASA’s mission; or
support the development of a sustainable low-Earth orbit economy.
NASA’s directive enabling commercial and marketing activities aboard the space station addresses manufacturing, production, transportation, and marketing of commercial resources and goods, including products intended for commercial sale on Earth. NASA astronauts will be able to conduct coordinated, scheduled and reimbursable commercial and marketing activities consistent with government ethics requirements aboard the station.

To ensure a competitive market, NASA initially is making available five percent of the agency’s annual allocation of crew resources and cargo capability, including 90 hours of crew time and 175 kg of cargo launch capability, but will limit the amount provided to any one company.

Private Astronaut Missions

NASA also is enabling private astronaut missions of up to 30 days on the International Space Station to perform duties that fall into the approved commercial and marketing activities outlined in the directive released Friday, with the first mission as early as 2020. A new NASA Research Announcement focus area issued today outlines the path for those future private astronaut missions.

If supported by the market, the agency can accommodate up to two short-duration private astronaut missions per year to the International Space Station. These missions will be privately funded, dedicated commercial spaceflights.  Private astronaut missions will use a U.S. spacecraft developed under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

The commercial entity developing the mission will determine crew composition for each mission and ensure private astronauts meet NASA’s medical standards and the training and certification procedures for International Space Station crew members. Market studies identified private astronaut missions to low-Earth orbit as a key element to demonstrate demand and reduce risk for future commercial destinations in low-Earth orbit.

Commercial Destinations in Low-Earth Orbit

In the long-term, NASA’s goal is to become one of many customers purchasing services from independent, commercial and free-flying habitable destinations in low-Earth orbit. A robust low-Earth orbit economy will need multiple commercial destinations, and NASA is partnering with industry to pursue dual paths to that objective that either go through the space station or directly to a free-flying destination.

As a first step, NASA is making one space station port and utilities available for industry to attach a commercial module to support commercial activities, and today is releasing a synopsis as Appendix I in NASA’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) 2 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). NASA expects to release the solicitation June 14, with awards made by the end of the fiscal year. The forward port of the station’s Harmony module will be available to industry for a finite period of time.

NASA will follow up with a synopsis for NextSTEP 2 Appendix K in July to partner with industry in the development of future free-flying commercial stations in low-Earth orbit.

Stimulate Sustainable Demand

NASA continues to seek and pursue opportunities to stimulate sustainable commercial demand in low-Earth orbit and, to that end, has added two new focus areas to the NASA Research Announcement soliciting proposals for commercial concepts. these focus areas include in-space manufacturing, regenerative medicine, bioengineering, and other fields that may lead to a scalable, financially self-sustaining demand for low-Earth orbit capabilities.

In addition, NASA is seeking targeted studies to better understand real and perceived barriers of potential new market entrants and to address broad ideas which could help stimulate demand. Successful proposals will define the path to broadly foster market growth, provide data-driven rationale to support the defined path, and lead to recommendations on which NASA, industry or other organizations could act. More details are available in the synopsis for NextSTEP 2 BAA Appendix J. NASA expects to release the solicitation for Appendix J on June 14 with awards made by the end of the fiscal year.

NASA also is working to increase the research and development community’s understanding of the potential value of microgravity research and the path to conducting research in low-Earth orbit by coordinating across the microgravity community to lower barriers to entry and refinement of research via drop towers, parabolic, and suborbital flights.

Quantify NASA’s Long-term Demand

NASA is providing a forecast of its minimum long-term, low-Earth orbit requirements, representing the type and amount of services that NASA intends to purchase when those services become commercially available. The goal is to reduce uncertainty for commercial destination providers about NASA as a customer, and to help them make decisions about which NASA requirements they are interested in fulfilling.

NASA also is providing details and estimated quantities for NASA crew accommodation, human research, biological and physical science research, technology demonstrations, and hosted science instruments. In addition, NASA intends to continue purchasing services for a national laboratory capability in low-Earth orbit. For example, NASA’s strategy research in the areas of space biology, physical sciences, and fundamental physics is driven by recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Fundamental research and applied exploration research are not mutually exclusive, and advances in one area often enable advancements in the other. NASA’s Space Life and Physical Sciences Research Applications division has identified the highest research priorities for long-term use of low-Earth orbit: in life sciences, the priorities are studies of plants, model organisms, and of the microbiome of the built environment; and in physical sciences, the priorities are studies into combustion and phase change-associated energy transfer.

To improve the agency’s five-part plan and its effectiveness, NASA is seeking feedback from industry and others through a request for information, with responses due by July 3.

For more than 18 years, humans have lived and worked aboard the International Space Station, conducting thousands of experiments in areas such as human research, biology, and physical science, as well as advanced technology development. Many of these experiments, conducted via the ISS National Lab, have been research and development with commercial objectives.  New opportunities are needed to move beyond research and development, and the station will play an essential role in enabling those opportunities for new commercial markets needed to build a sustainable ecosystem in low-Earth orbit.

Learn more about opportunities for commercial activities aboard the International Space Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/leo-economy/low-earth-orbit-economy

-end-


https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-opens-international-space-station-to-new-commercial-opportunities-private

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 47936
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81287
  • Likes Given: 36800
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #1 on: 06/07/2019 03:53 pm »
Here’s NASA’s Plan for Commercial LEO Development released today.
« Last Edit: 06/07/2019 03:53 pm by FutureSpaceTourist »

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 47936
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81287
  • Likes Given: 36800
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #2 on: 06/07/2019 04:16 pm »
Bigelow one of the first to announce something on back of commercialization opportunity:

This would be quite an impressive step forward if/when it happens:

https://twitter.com/BigelowSpace/status/1137012892191076353

(Being discussed on Bigelow thread.)

Offline punder

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1238
  • Liked: 1826
  • Likes Given: 1434
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #3 on: 06/07/2019 04:34 pm »
HA!

Offline kevinof

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1594
  • Somewhere on the boat
  • Liked: 1869
  • Likes Given: 1262
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #4 on: 06/07/2019 04:37 pm »
Do we know if these are Nasa flights or private Space X flights? 

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 47936
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81287
  • Likes Given: 36800
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #5 on: 06/07/2019 04:45 pm »
Do we know if these are Nasa flights or private Space X flights?

I’d be very surprised if NASA is contracting the flights, seems to go against the whole ethos of what they are trying to achieve. Also the Bigelow tweet reads to me as Bigelow has paid deposits to SpaceX.

Offline kevinof

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1594
  • Somewhere on the boat
  • Liked: 1869
  • Likes Given: 1262
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #6 on: 06/07/2019 04:47 pm »
Interesting if that's the case. It's Space X starting to find customers outside of Nasa for Crew Dragon and make use of used D2's.

Do we know if these are Nasa flights or private Space X flights?

I’d be very surprised if NASA is contracting the flights, seems to go against the whole ethos of what they are trying to achieve. Also the Bigelow tweet reads to me as Bigelow has paid deposits to SpaceX.

Offline whitelancer64

Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #7 on: 06/07/2019 05:13 pm »
Bigelow had been notionally planning to use SpaceX to fly people to its space stations for many years, it's nice to see that come to fruition after so long. (image is from 2014!)
« Last Edit: 06/07/2019 05:16 pm by whitelancer64 »
"One bit of advice: it is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree -- make sure you understand the fundamental principles, ie the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to." - Elon Musk
"There are lies, damned lies, and launch schedules." - Larry J

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 47936
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81287
  • Likes Given: 36800
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #8 on: 06/07/2019 05:13 pm »
Interesting if that's the case. It's Space X starting to find customers outside of Nasa for Crew Dragon and make use of used D2's.

Yes, I think this announcement is a potentially a huge deal longer-term (way beyond SpaceX). For example, it could finally get Bigelow bootstrapped. It’s also not dependent on congress funding it, which is partly why I think this is likely to be more significant than Artemis.

Real echos of the past I think in this announcement:

https://twitter.com/dmoberhaus/status/1137031774805143552

Quote
The sight of senior NASA officials pitching the nation's premiere space asset to private companies at the Nasdaq stock exchange this morning is a Reagan-era dream come true:

wired.com/story/nasa-wen…

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 47936
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81287
  • Likes Given: 36800
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #9 on: 06/07/2019 05:40 pm »
Here’s the announcement and Q&A:



Offline yg1968

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 17256
  • Liked: 7112
  • Likes Given: 3061
« Last Edit: 06/08/2019 02:00 am by yg1968 »

Offline yg1968

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 17256
  • Liked: 7112
  • Likes Given: 3061
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #12 on: 06/08/2019 01:25 am »
Archived video of the announcement starts at 1h34m:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/122265204

Offline yg1968

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 17256
  • Liked: 7112
  • Likes Given: 3061
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #13 on: 06/08/2019 01:55 am »
Quote from: SN
NASA will also allow commercial crew providers to transport private astronauts to the station. The agency will allow two such astronauts per year on the station for missions no longer than 30 days each. Those astronauts will be charged about $35,000 per day by NASA for use of station resources, like life support, as well as the fees charged by the companies arranging the flights.

https://spacenews.com/nasa-releases-iss-commercialization-plan/
« Last Edit: 06/08/2019 01:57 am by yg1968 »

Offline yg1968

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 17256
  • Liked: 7112
  • Likes Given: 3061
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #14 on: 06/08/2019 02:16 am »
Actually, NASA said that it would allow two private missions per year. So she (Robyn) later said a dozen private astronauts per year would be allowed. 
« Last Edit: 06/08/2019 03:02 am by yg1968 »

Online mlindner

  • Software Engineer
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2902
  • Space Capitalist
  • Silicon Valley, CA
  • Liked: 2202
  • Likes Given: 814
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #15 on: 06/08/2019 06:57 pm »
Quote from: SN
NASA will also allow commercial crew providers to transport private astronauts to the station. The agency will allow two such astronauts per year on the station for missions no longer than 30 days each. Those astronauts will be charged about $35,000 per day by NASA for use of station resources, like life support, as well as the fees charged by the companies arranging the flights.

https://spacenews.com/nasa-releases-iss-commercialization-plan/

This is incorrect, as mentioned in the panel it's two private astronaut _missions_ per year not two astronauts. Those spacecraft can be completely full of private astronauts depending on how many seats are on the spacecraft.
LEO is the ocean, not an island (let alone a continent). We create cruise liners to ride the oceans, not artificial islands in the middle of them. We need a physical place, which has physical resources, to make our future out there.

Offline yg1968

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 17256
  • Liked: 7112
  • Likes Given: 3061
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #16 on: 06/08/2019 08:38 pm »
« Last Edit: 06/08/2019 08:44 pm by yg1968 »

Offline Steam Chaser

  • Member
  • Posts: 83
  • Liked: 23
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #17 on: 06/08/2019 09:19 pm »
Similar to the Bigelow twitter response, Axiom Space twitter noted "Today NASA publicly announced its plan to broaden access to the International Space Station through commercial partners.  Axiom, solely through private funding, has already made significant strides toward leading the charge.  Those include agreements to fly multiple flights to ISS starting in 2020, ..."

Offline MattMason

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1062
  • Space Enthusiast
  • Indiana
  • Liked: 772
  • Likes Given: 2011
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #18 on: 06/09/2019 01:53 pm »
I'll need to find time to read more of the official documents. But with Bigelow's involvement, I'm not clear on what will hopefully benefit them more. Getting seats paid for trips to station are fine. Given their business, is this going to be a push to add a private habitat of their design (customized for station mass and available ports) or just for funds to whet the whistles of tourists or private investors flying up and only using spacecraft and ISS resources?

Either way, it's a fascinating series of events.
"Why is the logo on the side of a rocket so important?"
"So you can find the pieces." -Jim, the Steely Eyed

Offline Lar

  • Fan boy at large
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13463
  • Saw Gemini live on TV
  • A large LEGO storage facility ... in Michigan
  • Liked: 11864
  • Likes Given: 11086
Re: NASA ISS Commercialization
« Reply #19 on: 06/09/2019 04:55 pm »
Soon we'll see rival stations posting up .. "your astros only pay 23,500 a day and power is a measly 29.95 per kwH instead of 42" :)
"I think it would be great to be born on Earth and to die on Mars. Just hopefully not at the point of impact." -Elon Musk
"We're a little bit like the dog who caught the bus" - Musk after CRS-8 S1 successfully landed on ASDS OCISLY

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
1