number 6, september 2001 on station The Newsletter of the Directorate of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity http://www.esa.int/export/esaHS/ SSppecialecial IIssue:ssue: ISSISS FFororumum 20012001
This issue of On Station is devoted to the ground-breaking ISS Forum 2001.During 5-7 June ,Berlin became the focal point for the International Space Station (ISS) when 800 leaders of industry, government officials and scientists from 22 countries gathered at the first international conference on Station utilisation. They discussed R&D, industrial applications and commercial opportunities, explored the Station’s potential and explained the opportunities available to users. NASA, Rosaviakosmos, NASDA, CSA and ESA outlined for the first time their approach to commercialisation of the Space Station. A live TV link-up with the Expedition 2 crew aboard the Station was a highlight of the Forum, and showed potential users the extensive facilities already in orbit. Participants also met the Station ‘builders’ – the companies developing the modules and other hardware – and current ‘users’ – companies in areas ranging from hi-tech to media that are already benefiting from being onboard.The final day was largely devoted to roundtables on access policy for institutional users and commercial customers, and the handling of payloads.
A Successful Utilisation Milestilestone Antonio Rodotá ESA Director General
I have been asked if the goals of ISS Forum 2001 have been achieved. I feel very confident that these have indeed been successfully accomplished primarily because of the number of participants attending, the high interest in the many presentations made and, last but not least, in the extent and quality of the exhibition displays about potential Space Station Mrs Edelgard Bulmahn,Germany’s Minister of utilisation. I am still receiving very positive reactions to the Education and Science,is welcomed to ISS Forum but, in the final analysis, the best demonstration will be Forum 2001 by ESA Director General Antonio the clear build-up in the number of Station users. Rodotà and (right) DLR Chairman Walter Kröll. We have started very early in preparing for Station utilisation in order to make potential users aware of its features – exactly as we have done for other scientific programmes – as a fundamental objective. Certainly the Forum was another important step in that familiarisation process and now we have a large consensus about the scientific and industrial utilisation of the Station, and that will be our planning basis for the next few months. As far as the application of education to utilisation, we will begin to seek a concept for educational activities so that we can make younger people aware of what contents they can do onboard. Such a new line of activities could, in due course, become another important utilisation discipline of the The contents for this special issue are Station. So far, education has not been one of our first listed on the back cover priorities, but we are gradually paying greater attention to it. The Station is indeed a very useful tool because it has an intrinsic appeal of its own, so people are already interested. Directorate of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity Direction des Vols Habité et la Microgravité foreword
After all, it is basically a flying outpost for us to live and work in, and this provides an ideal opportunity for youngsters to see how they can use the Station and even how they can become the next generation of scientists, engineers or even space travellers in this new and exciting field. As far as attracting new users, ISS Forum 2001 provided a very good first step in ‘bonding’ traditional developers and users with potential new users who are reflecting on how they can use it.The newcomers were not in the majority at the Forum but I think that they should be at the next. Enthusiasm is building and we as an Agency need to devote more attention to these newcomers in order to produce more Edelgard Bulmahn successes for Station utilisation. German Minister of Education and Science Shortly after the Forum,I was honoured to receive a letter on behalf of ESA and the other Today, the industrial and commercial utilisation Station Partners from Their Majesties the King of the ISS begins. Since the beginning of and Queen of Spain informing me that we had mankind, we have gazed up to the sky to won the celebrated Prince of Asturias prize! understand the secrets of the stars.The beauty This is the highest prize in Spain, awarded of our own planet, however, became clear to yearly to a select number of personalities in many of us only after we were able to see the different fields. ‘blue planet’ with all its fascination, but also all We have been its vulnerability. so honoured Our Earth is an ecologically, economically as a sign of and politically closed system.We have to international understand this system and the interactions cooperation – between the various factors better if we want it is testimony to conserve and shape it not only as a to the fact that habitable place, but also as a place worth living the Station is in.We rely on a politics that is global and becoming a lasting, that secures the foundations of life for reality. It is generations and that improves the quality of very much life for all of mankind.
on Station appreciated Our knowledge-based society depends on that we have the ability to receive information independent received one of place and time. Increasingly, communication of the most uses satellite-driven systems. Live TV coveted prizes transmissions via satellite and intercontinental 2 - in the world. mobile communications are only the first This is further important steps. Mrs Bulmahn with ISS confirmation to my colleagues in D/MSM for all The same is true for satellite-based Expedition-1 crew their years of hard work in preparing for the navigation, which has a huge potential.With (from left) Sergey Station. It is also a sign to our citizens of what the development of the Galileo civilian Krikalyov,Yuri Europe can really achieve in space – and that is European satellite navigation system, which we Gidzenko and Bill Shepherd. second to none! vigorously support, we will be able to improve the navigation of ships and cars, and the flow The Forum was opened by Edelgard Bulmahn, of traffic so that traffic jams do not emerge in Germany’s Minister of Education and Science, the first place. followed by keynote addresses from Prof. Alain If full use is to be made of the opportunities Bensoussan, President of CNES and Chairman of offered by space exploration and research, then the ESA Council, and Prof. Dr.Walter Kröll, science and industry must be given planning Chairman of the Board of Directors, DLR.These security and a reliable framework in which to speeches are presented in the following pages. work – something they did not have in the
on Station no. 6, september 2001 of you have one thing in common: you will hear terms at this Forum that you know from everyday business.Terms such as ‘end-to-end service’ and ‘customer service’ belong to your daily vocabulary. In the past, these terms were unknown in industrial utilisation of manned spaceflight. Now there is a change of paradigms that tells us: customer orientation is very important for the future industrial and commercial utilisation of the ISS! Where scientific use of the ISS is concerned, we intend above all to focus on projects directed at solving specific problems on Earth and with a potential for new products and applications.This will involve tying space 1990s.This is why the German government research projects into the wider area of approved a new space programme three terrestrial research and the particular mother weeks ago.This is the first German national disciplines concerned.The ISS has to space programme for almost 20 years. For the demonstrate its specific capabilities in next four years alone, space and space science competition with terrestrial scientific resources. will receive DM8 billion, DM7 billion of which utilisation of the Space Station must be will come from the Ministry of Education and science-driven, not glamour-driven. Research. Here in Germany, we are looking above all to Since November 2000 we have had a public-private partnerships to take ISS permanently manned laboratory in space – the utilisation forward and seek in so doing to help International Space Station (ISS).The ISS is industry increase its share of worldwide mankind’s largest scientific and technical scientific use of the space resource. Small & project of collaboration.The 15 nations involved will develop the ISS further, and Mrs Bulmahn is presented Europe’s Columbus module will dock to the with copy #1 of ESA’s new Station in 2004. book on microgravity Here at the ISS Forum 2001,discussion in the research by Mr Jörg Feustel- Büechl (ESA Director of next few days will centre on the kind of Manned Spaceflight and opportunities the ISS can offer science and Microgravity; right) and Mr industry and how its potential can be exploited Antonio Rodotà. for scientific progress, economic development and the creation of new jobs. One very promising field is research under microgravity conditions.We are talking here about laboratories ‘transferred’ to space in on Station order to carry out experiments that cannot be performed on Earth. Our scientists also have - 3 great hopes for experiments in the life Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in sciences.They are confident that new particular are well placed to occupy discoveries will be made about the workings of attractive niche markets – which is why cells and organs, providing us with a basis for they are given special encouragement. new diagnostic and therapeutic developments You will not find it too surprising in medicine. perhaps that I, as Research Minister, give State-funded human space activity is a priority to scientific use of the ISS. But even service provided to users – nothing more and outside the research domain, many parties nothing less.The challenge now is to make use have an interest in utilising the ISS – in the of the facilities developed in this way. media, the entertainment industry, the world of I know that many of you come from art, and marketing.The development and companies for whom space practically lies in market potential is enormous.That is why I their backyard. Others consider space and believe we should leave scope for non- spaceflight mostly as unknown territory. But all scientific commercial ISS utilisation, as long as on Station no. 6, september 2001 foreword
Prof. Alain Bensoussan President of CNES and Chairman of the ESA Council
I am very honoured to say a few words during the opening ceremony of this forum devoted to utilisation of the International Space Station. I would like to thank the authorities of the city of Berlin for their welcome.We all follow with great interest the evolution of this newly reborn capital of Germany. My thanks go also to ESA and DLR for the Prof Alain Bensoussan (left) outstanding organisation of this with Mr Antonio Rodotà (centre) and Prof Walter symposium, as well as to all the Kröll. important personalities I see here. I say hello in particular to our colleagues it does not hamper the scientific effort. from the other space agencies, partners in the I can also well imagine the ISS being used Space Station programme. for educational purposes.We should be using The topic of this symposium is particularly the fascination exercised by space to get relevant since the Space Station is now a young people interested in scientific questions. reality.Today, the ISS is the only permanently- Schoolchildren should have the opportunity to manned orbital infrastructure, and while we are ask space travellers and researchers questions still building it the time has come to optimise about their work. Many youngsters will give up its utilisation. I would like to underline some of their dream of becoming astronauts once they the essential aspects linked to this important have seen the reality from closer up. But many process. others – once they have ‘got the bug’ – will look First of all, the biggest world-class for and find their professional futures in space, technological project ever undertaken is under space science or the natural sciences in close scrutiny by the media. Every project general. carried out onboard the Station will be highly Some members of the first ISS crew have visible to the public and policy-makers all over already visited a number of schools. Here in the world. Covering the whole spectrum of Germany, DLR has opened its doors to school space activities – scientific and technological groups.This gives me great pleasure and I very research, space applications for everyday life, much hope this initiative will be taken further. discoveries and human endeavours – the Space Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you three Station, well utilised, may represent a fantastic
on Station eventful and informative days here in Berlin, promotional tool for space as a whole. In this and many new ideas and proposals for projects regard, what is at stake with Space Station for the ISS. utilisation is much more than the future of manned spaceflight. Secondly, the Space Station will be used by 4 - men and women from various countries working together in orbit, and it is a fact that such a human endeavour unites people much more than any other type of cooperation in science and technology.Thus, using the Space Station together is a way to strengthen international cooperation on space activities, and a source of progress and enrichment. Europe made a commitment to participate in the ISS programme. For the ten participating states, this means a tremendous amount of money: more than €3 billion has already been spent. ESA’s manned spaceflight and microgravity programme is one of the agency’s biggest.We must now benefit from this
on Station no. 6, september 2001 Prof.Dr.Walter Kröll Chairman of the Board of Directors,DLR
I would like to welcome you on behalf of the German Aerospace Center DLR, one of the organisers of the ISS Forum 2001. Recently, a new star has appeared in the sky and is constantly gaining visibility: the ISS. Almost two years ago, the directors of the space agencies involved in the ISS had the idea of holding a global conference about the industrial and commercial utilisation of the ISS. It was intended to be a conference that would transmit an international signal; a new ‘market investment made by European taxpayers, place’ offering a wide spectrum of new beyond the political benefit that we can get business opportunities is opening up with the from Europe’s active participation in an ISS. international space endeavour. We want to firmly establish industrial- Along this line, the European Space Strategy, commercial utilisation in parallel to the jointly elaborated by ESA and the European research financed by public resources.We have Commission, and adopted on 16 November last gained a leading position in research in year by the European space ministers, states weightlessness with the Spacelab missions D1 that Europe should now optimise the use of and D2 and through the partnership with our the ISS as a European research infrastructure American friends.We have also carried out for all disciplines in space science – especially missions to the Mir station with life and physical sciences, applied research, our Russian colleagues.What is technology development and validation – more, we have built up and as a powerful educational tool and a infrastructures and gathered testbed for the ‘next step’ in human space management expertise (control exploration: the exploration of the Solar centres, user support, payload System. processing).We would like to These potential applications will be make this vast expertise, which discussed during the next three days.You will we have gained through public also discuss the opportunities offered by the investment, available to the Space Station to private companies that would private sector.We have to change like to use this infrastructure on a commercial paradigms: we have to change basis.This topic should not be taboo – business our orientation from a publicly activities on the ISS might even represent a financed aerospace infrastructure powerful tool for development of the space to one of satisfying demand.The programme.We have to talk about it and space agencies have to develop, on Station quickly establish ‘rules of the road’ in order to by integrating potential users, go ahead in this direction. services that are interesting not - 5 I am personally convinced that this type of only to science and space industry but also to symposium, where specialists from all over the non-space industries. If we want to world gather to discuss Space Station’s commercialise Station resources, we have to utilisation, is a very good opportunity to pave create clear general legal and user-oriented the way for new developments. I am sure that access conditions: easy, fast, safe and the results of your work will provide precious affordable. input for the decisions to be made on During this spring’s meeting of German 14/15 November in Edinburgh, during the next industry, we began a dialogue with various session of the ESA Council at ministerial level, organisations, including the Federation of when Europe has to decide about the next German Industries (BDI) and the German phase of the Space Station exploitation Association of Chambers of Industry & programme. Commerce (DIHT).Through this we have I wish you an excellent symposium and I started, here in Berlin, to build the bridge thank you for your attention. between public research and market-oriented on Station no. 6, september 2001 foreword
ESA Astronaut Thomas Reiter industrial research, between research on Earth Of course, other areas such as the services and cosmonauts Sergey and the integration of the ISS as an efficient sector or advertising and entertainment could Krikalyov and Yuri Gidzenko laboratory under the specific conditions of be opened up as long as they do not impair (on stage,with moderator Claus Kruesken at right) link space. the Station’s primary research function. up live with the ISS.The The representatives of trade and industry Commercial use of space with its tantalising Expedition-2 crew are (from among you will ask how involvement in the ISS potential is possible only in a reliable and left) Yuri Usachev, Susan can be useful, what competitive advantage it uniform legal frame.The space law treaties of Helms and Jim Voss. has, and what the cost-bebefit ratio would be. the 1960s and 1970s are still valid today and It is the aim of this conference and of our efficiently regulate state activities in space. But promotion programme to provide convincing the increase of space utilisation by private answers to these justified questions. parties means they need to be updated by Industrial-commercial utilisation of the ISS rules at international and national levels, and will aim mostly at optimising commercial especially by harmonised licensing processes. processes and developing better products For this goal we have – in collaboration with using the specific conditions in space, the Institute for Aviation and Space Law of especially weightlessness. Switching off gravity Cologne University – run an international also means switching off effects such as project with the title ‘Legal Frameworks for the sedimentation, convection and hydrostatic Commercial Use of Outer Space – Project 2001’ pressure. Under these circumstances, specific for the last three years. More than 100 of the phenomena can be made visible which are most distinguished experts from almost 20
on Station masked on Earth.What is more, researchers will countries have sketched the future path of use the Space Station as a testbed for systems space law in different themed workshops. and technologies destined for spacecraft that The formulation of a ‘code of conduct’ for ISS cannot be serviced, such as telecommunication commercial activities has been proposed, satellites. linking settlements of competition law with 6 - The market place still needs to be developed measures for the protection of intellectual and the market segment opened up.This is property and establishing an arbitration possible only if we manage to overcome the mechanism. understandable scepticism and caution among More than 30 years ago, Stanley Kubrick non-space industries. Market studies and created a cult with his film masterpiece 2001: A analyses show a good potential for this Space Odyssey.It is a search through our Galaxy development.Without anticipating future for alien life.Today, in the year 2001 of space- results, one could imagine important faring reality, the mission of our outpost in developments: for example, of material science space, the ISS, is much more Earth-bound: a or life sciences, where many experiments have new ‘star’ close to Earth, integrated in our already been run successfully. Let me just point terrestrial infrastructure, to enrich life on our to the growth of large protein crystals for planet. crystal structures or experiments on water I am happy that you all want to take part in distribution in the human body in connection and co-create the ‘liftoff’ of the industrial- with the development of oedemas. commercial use of this mission. ■
on Station no. 6, september 2001 TThehe ISSISS isis OpOpenen fforor BBusinessusiness
Liz Wright Senior Consultant,The Cranfield Marketing Planning Centre,Cranfield University School of Management,UK Email: [email protected]
The International Space Station has arrived. A from investing in space.The commercial rare combination of technology, human conditions include shorter lead times, regular endeavour and cooperation has turned the access flights, the potential for continuous use dream into a reality. But we are only at the and protection of Intellectual Property Rights. beginning of the story. Huge investments have Although ESA’s main facility, the Columbus been made and many problems laboratory, will not be available have been overcome to get to The ISS is a until 2005, earlier this point. Now we must major achievement and opportunities may see that it achieves its it is time for industry to become available, so full potential. It is time participate, reap the benefits and now is the time for for industry to contribute to improving life on Earth. industry to plan for participate, to make ESA is allocating 30% of its resources on commercial use of this the Station to industry for commercial use activities in space. extraordinary and has developed commercial What does the resource to improve conditions that meet industry’s needs. Station have to offer the lives of ordinary Opportunities include R&D, businesses? Firstly, people on Earth. marketing, entertainment and there are the impressive service provision... research facilities and the Opportunities for Business microgravity environment on At the beginning of the 20th Century the Station.Together, these make it Tsiolkovsky wrote,‘Mankind will not remain on possible to do things that cannot be done on Earth forever. It will penetrate beyond the Earth. R&D in space has the potential to atmosphere and conquer all the space around improve terrestrial production processes, to the Sun.’ His prediction came true in that contribute to the century.Today, at the beginning of the 21st development of new Century, we are at the forefront of a new advanced materials and challenge – using space not purely for science to help design and test and research but for commercially viable new drugs in the battle on Station investment that will benefit humankind. against disease. In the past, industry has not made The ISS also offers -7 significant investments in space-based opportunities for programmes, partly because there have been introducing new services few opportunities for industry to participate on a commercial basis, but also because the conditions have not been for example for attractive to industry. Investing in space-based communications and research has been considered a risky business navigation, imaging and with a long payback time.The Station is set to environmental change this pattern.The International Space monitoring.The watch Station is open for business. ESA is allocating manufacturer, Fortis, is around 30% of its resources on the Station to planning to use the business for commercial use. It has recognised Station’s Global the need to become more industry-friendly Transmission Service to and has set up commercial conditions that will develop an accurate time-setting service for its ESA astronaut Claude make it easier for industry to reap the benefits watches. Nicollier at work.(NASA) on Station no. 6, september 2001 iss commercialisation ESA/D. Ducros
Clearly, R&D is the primary purpose for the from space – an opportunity to see space- Station, but its existence in space opens up based science as it happens. opportunities for businesses to use the Station The companies that use the Station will in other ways.The eyes of the world will be on need support services, and a number of the Station as it develops and contributes to companies are investing in developing society. Companies can associate their name commercial services for the Station’s industrial with the biggest achievements in our time. users. Intospace (R&D and marketing There are many possible ways for companies to opportunities) and Astrium (communications) get involved, perhaps through placing are two of the first companies to introduce products on the Station, through sponsorship such services. Other companies are already of research or through support of educational investing in the development of facilities on programmes linked to the Station. One of the Station for commercial users. top-10 global communications companies, Bikker Euro RSCG, is setting up a programme to Conclusion match sponsoring companies with research The International Space Station is an projects.The extraordinary resource that has the potential to
on Station programme make a significant impact on the lives of will allow the ordinary people on Earth. ESA has listened to companies to industry and has set up conditions that will use public make it attractive for industry to make use of relations the facilities offered by ISS. It is now time for 8- opportunities industry to play its part in realising the full to maximise potential by investing in space-based business the benefits opportunities. from an The human achievement of putting the association Station into space is enormous.The dream has with ISS. become a reality.What happens now is up to The Station us.The International Space Station is open for
ESA/D. Ducros could also be business and some companies have already a focus for seen the potential for using it to grow their entertainment and education. It is the perfect own business. setting for attracting and fascinating large For further information on the opportunities audiences. Broadcasters could transmit from of doing business on ISS, visit the ISS space making use of stunning images of Earth commercialisation web site at and deep space. Other possibilities include
on Station no. 6, september 2001 RResearesearchch onon thethe InIntterernanationaltional SSpacpacee SStatationtion
Ulf Merbold Manager,Utilisation Promotion,Microgravity Promotion Division,D/MSM,ESTEC,Noordwijk,The Netherlands Email:[email protected]
The International Space Station (ISS), with its highly stressed parts strongly depend on their permanent human presence in space and its microstructure, including grain boundaries, numerous research facilities, offers a wide texture and segregation of alloys.The scope of opportunities to microstructure in turn is research institutes and industry The ISS provides unique determined by the as well as for services and conditions for research... solidification process. innovative commercial use. Computer-based simulations Here, I focus on research and development, as are now commonly used to optimise this ISS is a laboratory with unique features: process and hence the microstructure.The quality of these simulations strongly depends –microgravity (physical sciences, life science, on how accurately we know the synergetics); thermophysical properties such as surface –no atmosphere (astrophysics, plasma tension, viscosity, density, specific heat and physics); thermal conductivity.The experiment of Prof –a global view (Earth observation); Hans Fecht at Ulm University (D) to measure –a testbed and an engineering workshop in the thermophysical properties in microgravity orbit. will be ready to fly in 2004.The samples will be held away from the container walls by In order to illustrate what can be done on electromagnetic levitation to avoid the ISS for science and technology, I would like contamination and thus reduction in data to present a few research projects planned for accuracy. Microgravity is ideal for these the new station. measurements because high-temperature metals react with most materials. Improvement of Casting Processes Even today, a significant part of the world’s Plasma Crystals in Microgravity on Station economy is built on the casting of metals. For There are numerous kinds of plasmas, such as instance, European steel production alone stellar atmospheres, the aurora borealis, -9 yields a financial turnaround of €18 billion fluorescent light tubes, cometary tails, annually. Although casting was invented at ionosphere and arc discharges (plasma least 3000 years ago, its technology has been welding).The sizes of the charge carriers – improved considerably in recent years. Despite electrons and ions – mean that their motions that, progress calls for more cannot be observed reliable and more directly. Prof Gregor specialised materials.The Morfill of MPI Garching challenge and economic (D) discovered that implications make this one microparticles with of the most active fields of diameters of several research.Turbine blades microns injected into a are a high-value example. plasma can be used to The mechanical and visualise it. Owing to the Plasma crystals can form in thermal properties of such much higher mobility of microgravity. on Station no. 6, september 2001 r&d
Sergei Krikalev with the performed by Sergei Krikalev. A second run in plasma crystal unit – the first May could be followed by another in October. European experiment aboard A deep knowledge of plasma physics is the Station. important for many high-technology processes. It is expected that the know-how garnered from the ISS will advance plasma and colloid technologies on Earth.
Diagnostics of Heart and Lung Performance Microgravity produces significant effects on the human body. Almost immediately after orbit insertion, extracellular liquids such blood and lymph fluids shift upwards from the lower body. Blood circulation changes considerably, the electrons, the microparticles are struck by as the heart no longer has to fight gravity. electrons far more often than by ions, so they To find out how the heart works in charge up negatively (1000 to 10 000 electron weightlessness is of fundamental relevance charges) and move like charge carriers. and important for the health of astronauts. Illuminated by laser, they become visible. Cardiac output is one of the most important At high density, the microparticles begin to parameters, but high-accuracy measurements interact. Under the influence of electric and have so far required invasive techniques. magnetic forces they form a ‘complex plasma’ Research groups in the US and Europe (Dag in which a 3D lattice structure equivalent to a Linnarsson, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, S; crystal can be formed. In these ‘plasmacrystals’ Manuel Paiva, Univ. Libre,Bruxelles, B; J.B. West, the microparticles are separated typically by Univ. California at San Diego, US) have 100 µm. Even solid-liquid phase transitions are developed a non-invasive method based on observed. rebreathing a gas mixture. It will be tested in Because the microparticles are 50 billion October 2001 during a parabolic flight times heavier than the plasma ions, gravity is a campaign for space application. Although dominant force in complex plasmas. In fact, measuring gas concentrations is a gravity significantly disturbs the formation of sophisticated process (the heavy mass the structured state. In order to eliminate this spectrometer is replaced by a novel photo- effect, the experiment is being performed acoustic method), it is fast and simple for the aboard the ISS under microgravity conditions – test subject.The apparatus is light and power- the first European experiment on the Station, efficient. For these reasons, this innovative under a German-Russian agreement. It was technique is now used in hospitals. In other The initial XEUS observatory on Station (right) is expanded by adding delivered by Progress on 28 February 2001 and words, on top of the new system’s high mirror segments while first activated 3 March in Zvezda’s aft transfer potential for human physiology research attached to Zvezda. compartment, with most of the work aboard the ISS, there is an interesting spin-off for health care on Earth. Considering that heart diseases are the primary cause of death (>50%) 10- in most industrialised countries, the system’s importance is evident. Developed over several generations within ESA’s Microgravity Programme, the equipment is being commercialised through Innovision.
XEUS – ISS takes Astrophysics into a New Era Although it is fortunate for life on Earth that ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma-rays are blocked by the atmosphere, it is a serious constraint for astrophysicists. For them, only spaceflight opens the window to the Universe. XEUS is Europe’s latest and most ambitious X-ray astronomy project. One objective is the detection of black holes in the early Universe.
on Station no. 6, september 2001 XEUS will be launched with a primary mirror 4.5 m in diameter, the largest that can be carried by current launch vehicles. Later, XEUS will dock with the Russian Segment of the ISS and mirror segments will be added to grow it to 10 m.The ISS is a cost-effective assembly site for this exciting upgrading job.
ARES – An Air Revitalisation System Each human needs 2 litres of drinking water per day to keep the body going, so six people aboard the ISS require 1 t every 100 days. Oxygen, food, spare parts and clothing also have to be supplied, and carbon dioxide and water vapour have to be removed from the cabin atmosphere continually. It is a logistics challenge and a significant contributor to the SMILES is currently planned for launch in operations costs. For these reasons, operating a August 2005 for operation from the Exposed space station as a closed-loop system is highly Facility of NASDA’s Kibo module. attractive. On Mir, water was recycled from ‘condensate’ and oxygen from urine. ARES is Atomic Clock even more sophisticated: it recycles oxygen Today, atomic clocks provide the international from waste water and carbon dioxide.This ESA- time standard. Specifically, the frequency of an funded project is being performed by Astrium, emission line of atomic caesium is the basis for with the intention of demonstrating it in space the time measurement. Accuracy is improved in about 2006. by using lasers and atom-photon interaction to For the future exploration of space, like the cool these atoms to very low temperatures, mission to Mars, closed-loop life support slowing them to a few mm/s. But weight injects systems will be indispensable. a major perturbation: the atoms fall like any other object under gravity and in 0.1 s acquire SMILES: Superconducting Submillimetre- a velocity more than a hundred times larger Wave Limb-Emission Sounder than cancelled by laser cooling. On the ISS, Given that there are now 6 billion people on gravity forces are reduced by a factor of Earth, space technology has an important role 100 000, so the Atomic Clock Experiment in to play in supporting and cleaning up our Space (ACES) will provide unprecedented planet. Spaceborne systems help us to monitor accuracy. Launch is currently planned for the environment and throw light on global November 2005 on UF-6.The Principal processes such as the effects of greenhouse Investigator is Prof Christophe Salomon of gases on our climate, the problem of ozone Univ. Pierre et Marie Curie (F). depletion, and the question of why many Accurate clocks are the key element for the on Station forests are in bad condition.The ISS orbit with new methods of global navigation: GPS and an inclination of 51.6° covers most of the Galileo. New ways of using satellite navigation -11 globe’s inhabited areas, making it ideal for data emerge almost every day.With more Earth observation. precise clocks, the higher navigational accuracy The major cause of atmospheric changes make it conceivable to predict volcanic like global warming and ozone depletion is the eruptions and earthquakes. ACES will be a release of man-made gases into the unique platform for testing fundamental atmosphere. NASDA’s SMILES can monitor physical laws with enhanced precision, such as critical trace gases and radicals in the the equivalence principle and the physics stratosphere day and night. By looking at the behind Bose-Einstein condensation. For long- Earth’s limb, it provides altitude profiles of baseline interferometry, one of the most molecular abundances for many species. Since powerful methods of modern astronomy for it works by observing the thermal emission, it resolving distant objects, the precise can monitor the stratosphere irrespective of its synchronisation of the clocks in two widely orbital position relative to the Sun. It will survey separated observatories is of paramount the latitude range between 65°N and 38°S. importance. ■ on Station no. 6, september 2001 iss owners TThehe ‘ISS‘ISS OOwnerswners’’
The panel of ‘ISS Owners’ comprised Dr. Kathie now – 18 biomedical and radiation Olsen, NASA Acting Associate Administrator, experiments. Representatives from all the Office of Biological & Physical nations are working on these projects. ISS Forum 2001 allowed Research and Chief Scientist; Mr. Dr. Gunther Reitz of Germany has an the five International Valery Alaverdov, Rosaviakosmos experiment on dosimetry mapping and we Partners to describe their First Deputy Director General; have a Japanese colleague working on the roles in the ISS. Here are Mr. Kaname Ikeda, NASDA Bonner Ball neutron radiation experiment. edited highlights of the ‘ISS Executive Director, Mr. Mac Evans, These experiments Owners’ roundtable... President of the Canadian Space (
Mr. Alaverdov, looking back at the long experience that Russia has with space stations, how do you see the ISS? Naturally, ISS activities are taking into account
on Station no. 6, september 2001 the vast experience gained in 15 years of flight of the Mir orbital complex.This covers technological continuity, in particular modular construction, and the delivery and return of cargo to and from orbit. Reparability in orbit is of the utmost importance, as are cosmonaut EVAs – they spend a lot of hours out there.With Mir, we assembled and tested large-scale constructions in a very elegant manner.This is very important for the assembly of the ISS. It is worth mentioning here that our scientific, technical and manufacturing experience allowed us to develop and launch the Zarya and Zvezda modules as the core of the ISS. Also, our biomedical support allowed a super- long stay in space – over one and a half years. The second aspect is our experience of international cooperation. It is about joint training of the cosmonauts and flawless joint operations of the international crews. Just as important, it is about coherent operations of the ground infrastructure of the participating countries – Houston, Moscow and other flight control centres. It is mainly about the flight we are acquiring the technology and know- control. Equally important is a good working how of human space activities. relationship between the experts who handle We also would like people to get interested situations and take decisions in real time. in our activities aboard ISS.We have already The Station is expensive. It is important to started public campaigns in Japan looking for have return. From the very beginning we have proposals to carry out in space, using to select the fundamental-science experiments equipment like high-definition TV.We have and research to obtain qualitatively new already sent to the Station the neutron knowledge for humankind, hopefully up to the detection device mentioned earlier, and we are level of real discoveries. For applications about to send up a facility to examine micro research, it is necessary to select experiments particles in space.We would like to send a that solve problems that we cannot solve on high-definition camera to the Russian segment Earth. Another area is commercialisation. It is even before Kibo’s launch. By this sort of clear that everybody should have the activity we hope to attract people’s interest in opportunity for access.The issues of what we are doing in space. commercialisation are critical. We also think it is quite important for us to play the leading role in Asia, paving the way for on Station Mr. Ikeda, what is the purpose and motivation of Asian countries to take part in the ISS.We want Japan’s participation in the ISS and what is the to exchange views and share accumulated -13 schedule of future Japanese missions? experience. It can be categorised into three areas: to In addition to the Kibo module, we are strengthen the base for our space activities; to developing a logistics vehicle – the HTV, to advance high-technology developments; and send cargo to the ISS. In order to realise this to contribute to society and the economy.We programme, we need to have a successful are developing Japan’s ‘Kibo’ pressurised launch of the first H-IIA rocket this summer.We module where we can carry out scientific are also developing a centrifuge module for life research and development. Additionally we science experiments, using the very precise would like to see applied research for industry. artificial gravity for experiments on mice and There is also an exposed deck for Earth and other animals to examine the influence of space observations and various technology microgravity. developments like robotics. And we also have a This is a very difficult task, a challenge for us logistics supply module.Through this and our community, but we are proud we are development and the flights of our astronauts, being part of the ISS. on Station no. 6, september 2001 iss owners
Mr. Evans, Canada was one of the original ISS industry for commercial purposes. Recently, we partners.What was Canada’s motivation for had a major conference in Canada where we taking part, what is its contribution and how do offered to the world’s industries the you foresee the future as regards Canada’s opportunity to make a proposal to us on how utilisation? they would pursue the commercialisation of This venture and its utilisation is a major those resources. milestone in humanity’s exploration in space. Canada was honoured to be invited to be part Mr. Rodotà, what will Europe gain from its of this programme for two reasons. Firstly, we participation in the ISS programme? believed we had something to contribute, Some of the gain that Europe can get from this based on the robotics we developed for the Station is yet to come.This Station is a big Shuttle’s famous Canadarm. So we undertook instrument for scientists, for industrialists.We the critical function of providing the new hope that big, big science will come from the robotic arm, which is essential for the Station’s Station and quite a number of new continuing construction.This arm was improvements to benefit industry and delivered in April and it is being checked out employment. Space Station is part of the
on Station now. In about a year, we will provide the mobile tradition of the European space sector in base that will allow the whole arm to move up general where, in addition to science and and down the Station. In a couple of years, we applications, we have access to space and will add the two-arm robot for very dextrous staying there.Those two pillars have been activities, such as changing out units that need implemented on the launcher side – with the 14- to be replaced. So it will be essential for Ariane family – and initially with Spacelab and maintenance of the Station. now with the ISS.This has created a high level The second reason we are very pleased to of competence and allows Europe to play an part of the ISS is its utilisation.We have a important role commercially and in preparing unique laboratory in space and since about technologies for use not only in the space field 1984 Canada has been preparing for this day. but also in other sectors. Since then, we have had quite an aggressive Europe’s early participation in the Station microgravity programme in our country, aimed focused on very specific items, but now we are at getting our scientific and industrial using our competence to contribute hardware community used to doing research in that that was not originally foreseen – such as the environment. Now the Station is up there, we Nodes, Cupola and possible participation in the have long-duration access and we will be able Crew Return Vehicle. So I think we have already to do a lot more than on the Shuttle.We have gained much from the Space Station, and we adopted the policy of making 50% of our hope that we will gain increasingly in the Station utilisation resources available to future. ■
on Station no. 6, september 2001 TThehe ‘ISS‘ISS BBuildersuilders’’
The panel of ‘ISS Builders’ comprised Mr. Josef regular basis.We paid a lot of attention to Kind, President of the Space Infrastructure preparing the crews on the flight units and Division, Astrium GmbH; Mr. Sergey Shaevich, simulators, plus mission control centres and Director of the ISS-FGB Programme, Khrunichev launch facilities. Of course, we State Research and Production Space Centre; had to overcome language ISS Forum 2001 allowed the Mr. Brewster Shaw,Vice President/General problems and technical cultural main contractors to describe Manager International Space Station, Space differences. Many joint their roles in the ISS. Here are and Communication Group,The Boeing documents were created, edited highlights of the ‘ISS Company; Mr. Saverio Lioy, Space Station- including a huge volume of Builders’ roundtable... related Projects and Future Development, standard documentation. It Alenia Spazio. took a lot of work but you can see the good results today. Our joint experience can be used Mr. Shaevich, the Russian and US elements had for other international projects in the future. never met before they were mated in space but they work perfectly together. How much Mr. Shaw, industry works under contract to the coordination was necessary to achieve this? respective space agencies. How much ISS history began in Crystal City,Washington coordination and cooperation is there among DC in August 1993.The initial step of our joint these industries and how did you achieve it? activity was to define the requirements, Cooperation and communication is essential in particularly of the Zarya and Unity first an international project of this magnitude – elements.The current configuration has an with several space agencies, dozens of almost equal number of Russian and American companies and thousands of workers all over elements, totalling 140 t from seven Russian the world contributing to the ISS. Keeping the and nine US launches.These elements had teams all heading in the same direction is imperative.The cooperation we have had to achieve the success we have seen so far is outstanding, fed by the efforts of the agencies in keeping their teams together to agree on the requirements and have everyone focusing on the common goal. In industry we do the on Station same thing. Clearly, we can build the ISS but the question is, what are we going to do with it -15 now? Boeing, along with several of our industrial partners, has bilateral and multilateral memoranda of understanding towards helping the agencies resolve the issues associated with operations, utilisation and commercialisation of the ISS.The Station will be judged over time on what it accomplishes. Certainly, government-funded research and supporting further exploration of never met before.We organised many technical our solar system will be key, but I personally teams to prepare the right requirements and believe that, for the Station to be judged a the right approach for verifying the interfaces. great success overall, it will have to contribute We continue to have many meetings – significantly to the development of space teleconferences and face-to-face meetings on a commerce. And by space commerce I mean the on Station no. 6, september 2001 iss builders
The ‘ISS Builders’(from left): Mr. Kind (Astrium), Mr. Shaevich (Khrunichev), Mr. Shaw (Boeing),Mr. Lioy (Alenia) and moderator Claus Kruesken.
commerce that is generated by teaming an these ISS elements? With this in mind, we are intelligent human and an intelligent machine responsible for major microgravity facilities: the to accomplish a goal. Fluid Science Laboratory, for which we are prime contractor, and the European Drawer Mr. Lioy, Alenia appears by the number of Rack.We are thinking now how to utilise the elements it has produced to be the world’s main Station, for which ASI and Alenia have created supplier of pressurised modules. How will Alenia the ALTEC Advanced Logistic Technology deploy its workforce once the ISS hardware is Engineering Centre (
on Station system of all the pressurised elements under strategy for Astrium to concentrate during the our responsibility. Under an ASI-NASA bilateral development phase on both the operational agreement, we developed the three flight units task and the utilisation task. One way is that we of the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM). offered ESA a high-level commitment to handle Two have already flown and the third is ready operations for the European elements via 16- to go. Our enthusiasm in Alenia for this job was industrial consortia.We are preparing this confirmed by the astronauts commenting that proposal with our integrated team in Bremen, they found our MPLM a comfortable where we are also integrating Columbus and environment. the ATV carrier.The second way is that Astrium After that, we have Nodes 2 and 3, a joint is investing a lot of money for commercial programme between ASI and ESA.We believe applications – in utilisation, experiments, our experience has been appreciated by NASA, facilities and marketing customer-orientated so we have started preliminary studies on the infrastructure.We therefore created the BEOS habitation module.Working with ESA has given centre in Bremen (
on Station no. 6, september 2001 TThehe ISSISS isis aa CClassrlassrooom!om!
Dr Kathryn Clark Chief Scientist,Human Exploration & Development of Space,NASA HQ,Washington DC,USA Email: kclark@hq.nasa.gov
People ask,‘Why use space for oxygen production are education?’The best reason is commonplace at events that the tools and technologies where astronauts are available pace exploration are exciting to to explain the intricacies of life students and can be used to in the microgravity grab their attention. Not only environment. can we use space exploration to Just to embark on the teach about the Universe, but greatest engineering project we can use it to engage ever undertaken by humans is students in mathematics, an engineer’s dream. It also science, physics, social studies provides teachers with images and languages – after all, it is that can be used to illustrate the International Space Station. physical principles, real-life We can use space to teach uses of mathematical about our home. concepts and the benefits of The unique perspective of Space exploration is teamwork. In addition, as we images from the ISS and an exciting tool for teaching continue to build the other space vehicles can students of all ages... massive structure, it becomes inspire students to become increasingly visible in the night rocket scientists, nuclear physicists or, perhaps, sky (
Me at the Station
autonomous roles in data collection. In the EarthKAM international project, high-school students have to write grant applications to receive images from a camera mounted in the window of the Destiny US Lab (
on Station every crew carries some limited only by education projects, complemented by what can fly on curriculum and demonstration materials on the the ISS.Thus ground.The DLR German space agency has students can produced an entire series of curriculum become 18- materials based on space images in order to engaged in engage students in physics and mathematics. astrobiology, Russia and Australia are working on the ‘Kolibri’ bioastronautics, project, for their students to collaborate on fundamental biology, gravitational biology, studying Sun-Earth physics and high-energy biotechnology, materials science, combustion, particles in the Earth’s upper atmosphere using fluid physics, fundamental physics, Earth a microgravity satellite that will be released science and space science. from the ISS. In Canada, the astronauts The unique International Space University in frequently visit classrooms to engage students Strasbourg (F) brings together students from in problems associated with spaceflight and diverse cultural backgrounds, both with respect creative thinking. Canada’s ‘Canolab’ project to nationality and to education.The students of uses their museums to spread education using business, engineering, policy, law and science canola seeds flown in space that are now will lead the next generation of space plants on Earth. explorers, entrepreneurs and researchers. Older students can be pressed into more That is our future. ■
on Station no. 6, september 2001 DDisciscoovvereryy InsideInside thethe SSpacpacee SStatationtion
Patrick Hörl Discovery Channel Betriebs GmbH,Robert-Buerkle-Str.2,D-85737 Ismaning,Germany Email: [email protected]
It is a great honour for me to speak in front of their science.We are looking for scientists who the people who are building the ISS. Let me can excite, people who can guide our share some of our industry’s thoughts with perception of the future, who can help us to you, because the key to any good science understand the implications of new content on TV is gaining a better developments.The scientists and researchers of understanding of each other’s perspectives on today are the adventurers of the 21st century. the world of science. Recent studies show that the appetite for As the leader in reality-based programming films about science and technology has grown. around the world, the Discovery Channel Recently, ARD,the German continuously has to re-evaluate and re-think its public broadcaster, researched The ISS provides a unique mission in a changing world.What the genres that meeting point for the worlds of can we do for the audience? people like on space and television... How can we appeal to their TV,and you curiosity? It is our privilege might be surprised to hear to take viewers seriously – that they prefer films television is more than dealing with science and entertainment. Even if technology against we use the tricks of any films on regional issues, good entertainer, we and even against believe that TV first and popular music channels foremost has its like MTV.They prefer potential in the science and technology opportunity to enrich your against game shows, lives. If we succeed, television against films on politics and, on Station can give you a better nowadays, certainly against understanding of where you come business channels. -19 from, and where our world is going. What conclusion should we draw from Whatever your idea of the future is, and that? We started to look into the potential of wherever you want to be in the future, the ISS as early as two years television has a bigger impact than any other ago, and Discovery was medium on forming these perspectives. probably the first channel For us, it is your world of space research and worldwide to dedicate a exploration that provides the building blocks high-budget documentary for an accurate picture of our future. For the special to the ISS.We aired world of science television, the number of stars Inside the ISS in December attending the ISS Forum might be bigger than 2000 in 150 countries in 32 the number of stars currently involved in languages. filming new movies in the studios of Television was not made Babelsberg at the other end of town.We for space, just as astronauts depend on communicators, who can talk about were not.Taking cameras into on Station no. 6, september 2001 media
space requires a huge effort well beyond the typical budget of a TV film, and of a non-fiction film in particular. So, if we really want to bring some of these great stories down to Earth, a joint effort is needed.TV companies, broadcasters, the space industry and space agencies need to team up.We must face this reality.Television from space is not a likely revenue source in business models for the commercialisation of space. It is rather a precondition for such a commercial approach. Any perspective for commercialisation is minimal if nobody understands and knows what the ISS is good for. But once we agree journalists to identify gripping supjects, dealing that there are relevant stories to be told about with the ISS and the people living and working the scientific and up there.The films we are planning to industrial efforts commission should ensure that the ISS stays in in space, we will the mind of the public, and that it will be be able to catch perceived as an interesting place in space, as an the attention of a interesting outpost for learning and the quest large audience. It for understanding, and for new discoveries in is really a the world around us. question of what Many proposals have already been we want to tell submitted. It is obvious there is a keen interest and how it can in your work. Help us, so that the adventure be told. It has to doesn´t stop with the experience of become our penetrating your large organisations. Allow us common goal to outsiders to become part of your efforts. In figure out new return, we will help you to identify stories in ways capturing your midst that can become valuable the imagination of a bigger audience.What you experiences for a wide audience. can do in space has a lot to do with what You are the people who take the astronauts ordinary people believe you can do up there. up there. Consider us as your partner when it The Discovery Channel has begun two comes to bringing them down to a wider initiatives in Europe, which will help us to tell audience. ■ stories about the ISS on a more continuous
on Station basis.We are running the regular Aerospace TV magazine dealing solely with aviation and space issues. Its studio host show is ESA Astronaut Thomas Reiter. A reason we began this show is because we are deeply convinced 20- that the ISS will continuously deliver interesting stories about manned spaceflight, science, progress in science, interesting research and all the imagination that goes into what ESA and the other space agencies and the industry are coming up with.We regard Aerospace as a contribution to the overall effort that ISS represents. And a new initiative has just started.We are asking independent filmmakers in Europe for proposals on subjects relating to the ISS.We want to encourage young storytellers and
on Station no. 6, september 2001 TThehe MMirir EExpxpererienciencee andand CCommerommercialisacialisationtion ofof thethe RRussianussian SSegmenegmentt ofof thethe ISSISS
Prof.Nikolai A.Anfimov Director of TsNIIMash (Central Research Institute of Machine Building),Korolev-city,Moscow Region,Russia Email: [email protected]
The 40-year history of space exploration, surface and in the atmosphere were studied. beginning with mankind’s first spaceflight – by Our scientists achieved promising results in Yury Gagarin – is a vivid illustration that detecting ionospheric precursor events a day manned space exploration is a driving force for before powerful earthquakes. all space activities. Manned flight is a rather In life sciences and expensive area of space activity, so commercial biology, Mir research Russia offers a wealth of activities aboard a space station should be a revealed the mechanisms experience in manned spaceflight major incentive for its further development of how the human body and orbital facilities... and a means for covering costs in the near adapts to space and future. allowed us to create a medical support system to support flights of up to 1.5 years. In The experience of Mir’s utilisation particular, these results allow us to support Assembly of the unique Mir station began in flights by non-professional astronauts and to February 1986 with the launch of its core form a basis for missions to Mars. module. Mir operated in orbit for 15 years, achieving a final configuration of six principal modules. A large integrated research programme was performed aboard Mir, resulting in valuable practical applications that are also of interest to 4 non-space industries. More than 20 countries participated in research aboard Mir. Many 1 organisational and technical approaches required for international collaboration were developed and tested there. Because of this, 2 Mir was actually the first international space 5 station and the first phase of the ISS on Station programme. The most important achievements in Mir’s 3 -21 utilisation are outlined below. In space technology and material sciences, Russian specialists have achieved pilot-scale 6 production of different materials with improved properties. More than 100 experiments developed the processing technology for the materials required for highly integrated chips, solid-state lasers and highly The Mir space complex.1: Kvant astrophysical module.2: Core efficient radiation detectors. module.3: Kristal docking & technology module.4: Kvant-2 resupply Extensive data on Earth’s ionosphere and module.5: Priroda remote sensing module.6: Spektr research magnetosphere were gathered during Mir’s module.Orbital mass ~130 t, power ~26 kW, pressurised volume ~300 m3,2-6 crewmembers.Number of research sessions >22 000; geophysical studies. Interaction of the basic expedition crews 28,international visiting crews 26,total ionosphere and magnetosphere with the solar crewmembers103 (including 62 foreign), total time of international wind and their relation to processes on Earth’s crews onboard >3 years. on Station no. 6, september 2001 mir/iss commercialisation
Studies of Earth’s natural resources and also being taken during the initial deployment ecological monitoring included detection of of the ISS Russian Segment. volcanic eruptions, forest and grass fires, contamination of the land, ocean and Commercial Perspectives of the Russian atmosphere, and natural and man-made Segment of the ISS disasters. Numerous technical studies and The ISS allows us to expand commercial experiments produced new space opportunities and stimulate private technologies, including repair techniques. investments in different areas of space The state of Russia’s national economy activities. Implementation of the first during the last decade meant that Mir’s commercial projects on the Russian Segment
on Station commercial utilisation was limited to seeking has already started, during the first two non-governmental financial resources – mainly Expedition missions. Zvezda, Docking funding from international partners interested Compartment-1, the Science & Power Platform in project implementation.This approach is and the Universal Docking Module can accommodate about 180 items of scientific 22- equipment totalling more than 3000 kg. About 160 experiments are proposed in 11 areas, including commercial contracts and international cooperation:
–Space biology and life sciences –Space biotechnology –Space technology and materials –Geophysical studies –Earth remote sensing and ecological monitoring –Extra-atmospheric astronomy –Studies of planets and small bodies of the Solar System –Studies of cosmic rays
on Station no. 6, september 2001 The planned Russian Segment of the ISS.Mass 133 t (out of ISS total 408 t), including 26 t of science equipment.Number of planned experiments 295, power supply 19 kW,crewmembers 3-6.
–Technical studies and experiments the most interesting activities for business –Space power and propulsion users can be in the ‘non- traditional’ areas of –Programme integrated analysis and space utilisation.They may include formation. advertising, branding, sponsorship, entertainment, and educational and Of the highest interest to industry and business outreach programmes.We expect that the are: most advanced telecommunications and multimedia tools will be used for these Biotechnology. Space biotechnology provides a commercial projects. solid base for producing substances that greatly exceed the quality of their terrestrial We believe that ‘guest’ missions of non- equivalents or that have no terrestrial professional astronauts to the Station should equivalent at all. be possible. Spaceflight is a dream for many people who chose other professions. Of course, on Station Production of advanced materials. The goal is these flights must be regulated by specific small-scale production of complex documentation approved by all of the -23 monocrystals for micro- and optoelectronics, International Partners. doped garnet monocrystals for lasers, and We are ready to provide the resources, general materials with properties that hardware and other opportunities offered by cannot be obtained on Earth, as well as the Russian Segment, as well as to offer our optimisation of ground-production unique experience for projects proposed by techniques. the users themselves. Of course, we will create Earth remote sensing. It is planned to develop a user-friendly environment by providing: and apply methods for natural-resource –minimum time from user’s proposal to exploration and early forecasting of disaster project implementation, phenomena and their spatial and temporal –simple and clear process for proposal review scales and consequences. and selection, Non-traditional utilisation areas. During these –transparent pricing policy; early days of the Station, when the project is –confidentiality and intellectual property attracting the attention of the whole world, rights, etc. ■ on Station no. 6, september 2001 commercial centres TThehe NASANASA CCommerommercialcial SSpacpacee CCenenttersers
Dr Frederick Best Director of Center for Space Power,A&M University,Texas,USA Email:[email protected]
The 17 US Commercial Space Centers (CSCs) development for commercial products. unite industry, universities and NASA for With a combined total funding from NASA, commercial product development. This industry and universities of $96 million, this industry-driven programme uses leading programme has fostered spin-off companies, research professionals from and developed commercial technologies that The US Commercial Space their host institutions, other encompass many different fields. Centers play an important role universities and the The Center for Biophysical Sciences and in developing space products. industry affiliates to Engineering, University of Alabama at They are poised for major develop technologies. With Birmingham, is partnered with pharmaceutical expansion now that the ISS is over 163 industry affiliates companies that are developing drug available for full-time orbital currently working in the treatments of cancer, immunological, research... programme, the CSCs have inflammatory and viral diseases. access to researchers and The Center for Advanced Microgravity and facilities that would normally be out of reach. Materials Processing’s research involving Cash and in-kind investments from industrial ambient-condition hydrogen storage could partners allow the CSCs to leverage their NASA impact the transportation market and base grant funding, which provides for a more significantly reduce pollution and dependence robust research and product development on foreign oil. Fire suppression technology is organisation. When required, space-oriented being developed by the Center for Commercial research and technology development Applications of Combustion in Space. This new activities are supported with existing flight water-mist fire suppression technology will
on Station hardware, tested in zero-gravity using NASA’s provide an inexpensive, non-toxic alternative to KC-135 aircraft and, if programme criteria are Halon.The Center for Space Power at Texas met, provided with access to space. A&M University is developing magnetic Commercial Space Centers are: bearings for aerospace flywheels. These –non-profit organisations that lead consortia bearings will provide increased energy storage 24- of commercial, academic and/or density to save mass, and the long cycle life government entities in space research and enables low Earth orbit missions (reducing development projects; cost of ISS).The Commercial Space Center for –established by cooperative agreements with Engineering (CSCE) is working with industry to NASA. NASA provides base funding at about develop, design and prove space technologies $1 million per centre per year plus ISS that enhance commercial markets.The Express funding for hardware. Industrial partners Pallet testbed on the ISS will provide industry with cash and in-kind investments are with short- and long-term access to space for required; testing products and processes in zero-gravity. –providing an interface to space for industry. The Wisconsin Center for Space Automation They market the advantages of space and Robotics partnered with International research, provide expertise and flight Flavors and Fragrances to identify the new hardware to support industry-driven ‘Space Rose’ fragrance for a rose in zero-gravity. research, cooperatively execute the research, The fragrance has been incorporated into Zen and cooperate in mutual technology perfume and marketed.. ■
on Station no. 6, september 2001 pilot projects
‘K‘Kibiboo’’ andand itsits DDiviverseerse UUtilisatilisationtion
Hideshi Kozawa Space Utilisation Promotion Department,NASDA Email: [email protected]
The construction of the International Space –symposia for new communities.The first Station (ISS) began in November 1998, and the symposium on Kibo diversification was held assembly of the ‘Kibo’ Japanese Experiment this March, and the Module in space will start in 2004. At last, concept of the first pilot Japan’s ‘Kibo’ module will host utilisation of the space environment is project was unveiled; a range of pilot projects... becoming a reality. –a network of future user NASDA wants to make full use of Kibo, not communities in various fields; only promoting it as a traditional onboard –using pilot projects to highlight the range of laboratory but also diversifying its utilisation to possibilities for using Kibo; users in various fields, including private companies. As part of this effort, NASDA is creating more friendly user guidelines. Possibilities for the non- traditional utilisation of Kibo include space movies, on-air events, educational experiments, experiments using the airlock, sponsorship of commodities for living aboard the ISS, and an external video camera viewing the Earth. NASDA is beginning a on Station series of a new type of pilot project to widen the scope -25 of Kibo’s utilisation.The first project began in mid-2001, based on an idea proposed by the public to make use of NASDA resources aboard the ISS.These resources include a high-definition TV camera delivered –practical experiments through a series of to Russia’s Zvezda Service Module in August. pilot projects to help develop user-friendly NASDA will develop each pilot project in guidelines. turn to gather data to help establish a user- friendly approach for future Kibo utilisation. NASDA believes that the diversification of To promote diverse utilisation, NASDA is Kibo’s utilisation will help to open the door on emphasising the following public relations mankind’s use of the space environment and activities: the creation of new culture. ■ on Station no. 6, september 2001 industrial users TThehe PPrromotionomotion ofof IndustrIndustrialial UUserssers bbyy DLRDLR
Hartmut Ripken Coordinator for Space Station Utilisation Preparation,German Aerospace Center (DLR) Email: [email protected]
In the past, the German Aerospace Center partly supported by national or international (DLR), acting as the German Space Agency, has promotional programmes. In contrast, the term conducted extensive market studies in ‘commercial users’ refers to fully paying Germany’s non-space key business areas, in customers predominantly unconcerned with order to measure the awareness and research. perception of exploiting the International The DLR initiative to promote industrial use Space Station (ISS) and microgravity. It was of the ISS will focus exclusively on industrial generally found that research using the Station as a testbed or DLR has developed a concept for microgravity research exploiting its microgravity conditions. In order promoting German industrial and the use of in-orbit to overcome the strong bias of this user group utilisation of the ISS. Close infrastructure was largely against a manned space infrastructure, DLR has cooperation with non-space unknown. ISS utilisation developed a concept for ISS utilisation offering industrial mediators, outsourcing clearly is an solutions that can be implemented by of marketing activities and the underdeveloped market non-aerospace companies. best possible customer care are segment. key elements of the DLR initiative. Evaluating the The Concept of Pilot projects by German industry research advantages and Industrial ISS are in their definition stages... potential of the ISS, DLR Utilisation Promotion found indications that a Key elements of the strong interest in using Station resources can, if concept are: nurtured properly, emerge in key business –addressing potential areas worldwide within the next decade. Also, industrial customers via
on Station Station utilisation for private-sector research industrial mediators, and will be a high priority. In anticipation of this –focusing strongly on market change, DLR has developed an initiative industry-standard to promote industrial ISS utilisation nationally customer care (key account,‘one face to the and to assist German industry in customer’). 26 - accessing ISS for research purposes. This promotion concept is atypical not only for government space agencies, but also for The ISS User Community space companies. European ISS users will be Industrial mediators charged with market predominantly researchers in basic development include contractors (outsourcing science, gaining access to the Station of tasks), Chambers of Commerce, industry via ESA’s peer review process associations and transfer centres.They are in a NASA (principle of ‘best science’). Further uniquely qualified position to perform user groups include public service providers customer analyses, to address market-relevant and users in applied research. Industrial and terrestrial topics and to establish a dialogue commercial users and non-scientific between space representatives and potential enterprises will form approximately a third of industrial users. DLR has selected Kesberg, the ISS user community. Bütfering and Partners to be the prime Here,‘industrial users’ are customers contractor for industrial promotion and engaged in potentially profit-making research, promotion project management.
on Station no. 6, september 2001 The prime tasks are the description of intend to use the Station as a testbed, in order Station utilisation potentials, the clarification of to develop miniaturised diagnostic tools and relevant boundary conditions and access thus reform terrestrial and spaceborne point- procedures, and the initiation of necessary of-care diagnostics. cooperation in the area of user support.Tools to perform these tasks are the ‘Information Funding Policy and Access Conditions for Service ISS’ with newsletter and website Industrial Users (
onboard the Station is contemplated. their definition stages. A funding NASA In the field of biotechnology and medical policy for an interim promotion diagnostics, DLR is assisting three medium-size phase is intended to strengthen the enterprises in forming a research consortium. engagement of the private sector. In a ‘bundling of performance’,project In this way, although it is not one of the IISS development, scientists, user support and partner agencies, Germany strives to be part of financial specialists are brought together to the global effort to create a ‘New Marketplace’ implement a pilot project.The three companies in space. ■ on Station no. 6, september 2001 services/initiatives
MMararkketableetable SSerervicviceses andand CCommerommercialcial InitiaInitiativtiveses
ISS Forum 2001 allowed different business sectors to discuss marketable services and commercial initiatives for the ISS.
Public Private Partnerships in Space activity, and the likely growth and size of that Paul A.T. Davies, PricewaterhouseCoopers market cannot be forecast with any degree of accuracy. For the past few months, Also, in theory, with the opening of the ISS, PricewaterhouseCoopers has there is a unique opportunity for commercial been working with ESA to research and development. But again, in develop Public Private practice, the market is very uncertain.There are Partnerships (PPPs) to maximise a large number of studies that examine why. In the commercial utilisation of the essence, the problems preventing ISS.Why is commercial utilisation commercialisation boil down to two: needed? Although the ISS infrastructure itself is funded, –structural impediments, including the high there is no committed public cost of research in space, long lead times sector funding in place to ensure and the long time between R&D and the full utilisation of ESA’s available realisation of commercial profits back on ISS resources.Viewed narrowly, Earth; ESA needs commercial utilisation –an undeveloped market – potential users are to ensure that the ISS is used to unaware of the ISS opportunities, the the full. But ESA’s real motivations are much benefits of a microgravity environment for wider than that.The ISS offers commercial research, or the price of accessing the opportunities that are the springboard for far Station. wider economic development – a development that can only go ahead with the full ESA intends to introduce PPPs to remove or participation of the private sector. ESA’s mitigate these two problems. Consequently,
on Station objectives therefore are much more far- two forms of PPP are under development: reaching.They want to: –a Cooperation and Services Framework; –maximise commercial utilisation of the ISS; –a European Business Developer (EBD). –develop a wider commercial market in 28 - space; The Cooperation and Services Framework is –encourage the competitiveness of Europe’s an overarching framework in which key space industry; industry players, both public and private, work –promote industrial research in life and together to offer services to reduce those physical sciences in space. structural impediments.These services will make it cheaper, faster and easier for each user In ESA’s view, therefore, the ISS opportunities to access the Station. are the beginning of much wider commercial Under the framework, specific PPPs will be development in space. established to offer joint services. In the short But does a commercial market exist? In term, the most significant of these will be a theory, space is the ultimate commercial ‘Partnership for Promotion’ between ESA and market, with limitless opportunities and ISS industries.This is intended to be an potential. In practice, the commercial agreement under which funds and services can development of space is in its infancy. Satellites be made available on attractive terms to aside, there has been very limited commercial promote R&D projects of high potential.This
on Station no. 6, september 2001 could prove to be a substantial contribution to getting commercial research and development underway. Further down the line, a European Business Developer will be a new PPP specifically incentivised to develop the market and seek out commercial opportunities. It will have an explicit objective of promoting the European space industry and use of the ESA portion of the ISS. There is already a growing number of regional and independent commercial agents whose business is promoting and arranging the commercial utilisation of space.The Centre with all the required Simulation and European Business Developer will work closely Diagnosis Facilities. In addition, the Centre is with them to ensure the most efficient open to the public and already attracts more development of the market, acting as a central than 20 000 visitors per year. mouthpiece of ESA policy, and in return giving The final setup of Astrium/BEOS will be centralised private sector feedback.The key international in order to be competitive in the decisions going forward for ESA to resolve are, global market for utilising and commercialising first, the current balance between the the ISS.This imminent new market can be resources needed in the EBD to complement divided into three main sectors: the activities of the commercial agents, and, second, the best time and method to introduce – New Institutional Markets:education, Earth private sector skills, experience and capital into observation and Station enhancements, with the EBD. public funding; The ISS is up there and the commercial – Industrial R&D Applications:engineering opportunities exist. Using the skills and know- research, technology development, life how of both the private and public sectors, ESA sciences, materials science, fluid science and intends to reduce the structural impediments combustion science, with a mixture of public to commercial utilisation and ensure the and private funding; market is developed to the full.The – Commercial Utilisation:Earth observation development of the Cooperation and Services services, communication services, space Framework and the PPPs sitting under it, as tourism, advertising and media, with purely well as the European Business Developer, will private funding. create structures to do precisely that. To prepare Astrium/BEOS to serve its customers, the partners early on started BEOS: an International Gateway for numerous projects in technology R&D. Astrium already has more than 60 projects under way ISS Operations and Utilisation on Station Manfred Jaumann,Head of Astrium BEOS to strengthen the capabilities needed to serve Operations & Utilization Center and CEO BEOS GmbH future customers in ISS - 29 utilisation and BEOS was born as a joint initiative between commercialisation. Astrium, OHB System and ZARM to combine The business architecture the unique capabilities of space industry, must establish a front-end that science and research facilities in Bremen, acts as the only partner for Germany.This endeavour began in 1996 with commercial customers and takes the objective of improving services to care of all their needs.To customers by combining the different guarantee excellence, this front- capabilities of the BEOS partners.The BEOS end needs a strong backbone – GmbH legal entity was founded in 1998 and a powerful network of the first pathfinder projects were set up.With cooperation with the Space the strong support of the Bremen local Agencies, external investors and authorities, Astrium and its partners partners inside and outside the established the BEOS Operations & Utilization space community to provide the on Station no. 6, september 2001 services/initiatives
necessary rights of access, use of ISS facilities ALTEC operates in Torino, Italy, on the and equipment, the necessary funding and premises of the Centro MultiFunzionale additional know-how. Spaziale (CMFS), realised by Icarus, a Astrium and its partners developed BEOS as Consortium of Local Government Entities and this front-end partner for commercial Alenia Spazio with an initial investment of customers.This is reflected by the investment about €20 million; additional investments are of more than €50 million in technology R&D, planned, under ALTEC responsibility, to begin and by the numerous activities and initiatives operating. ALTEC’s core business covers: around the world in setting up partnerships and cooperative efforts. –operation and logistic engineering support BEOS provides a ‘one-stop’ service for to ISS related to MPLM and Italy’s share of commercial customer by providing the Columbus and of all the other ESA-provided necessary logistics/administration, flight elements. opportunities, optimised lead time, –technical and engineering support to users confidentiality, verification, technical for integration of the Italian payloads consultancy and cost-effectiveness.Through its originated by ASI and the Italian share of industrial characteristics and its strong European payloads originated by ESA. relationships with the Space Agencies and –commercialisation of the Italian industrial partners around the world, opportunities for ISS utilisation. Astrium/BEOS is an international gateway for ISS operations and utilisation. ALTEC’s strategic plan foresees enlargement For further information, see
ALTEC: the Italian Gateway to ISS –technology and application initiatives, Ernesto Vallerani, President, ALTEC –education and recreation initiatives, for developing activities that will also interest Early this year, the Advanced non-space professionals. Logistic Technology Engineering Centre (ALTEC) was established The user support services that ALTEC to support ISS activities and to intends to offer are: offer a full range of services to its users and customers. ALTEC is a – marketing of ISS opportunities for users and Public Private Partnership, with customers, Alenia Spazio, a Company of –provision of ISS-related information,
on Station Finmeccanica, as majority –project management, including financial shareholder (51%) and the and legal advice, Italian space agency (ASI, 29%) –flight activity definition, manifesting and and Icarus (20%) as strategic planning, partners. –flight and ground system development and 30- The decision to create a verification, ground centre dedicated to –ground operations and logistic support, supporting onboard activities, logistics and including launch and landing site activities, maintenance complements the major –flight/ground crew and user training, participation of Italy in ISS construction. –mission operations, including infrastructure In addition to its ISS involvement through set-up and validation, access to control ESA, ASI agreed with NASA to provide the centres, participation in mission planning Multipurpose Logistic Pressured Modules activities, troubleshooting, etc, (MPLMs) to service the ISS. In exchange, ASI –data acquisition, processing & distribution, acquired rights to utilise the Station for its own –PR management and organisation of media scientific and commercial activities. At the events. industrial level, Alenia Spazio is the leader in pressurised module design and manufacture, For further information, see with 30 years of industrial experience in
on Station no. 6, september 2001 Spacehab: We Mean Business in Space Michael Kearney,President,Spacehab
In the early 1980’s, when aerospace companies were content with bidding on cost-plus government contracts, Spacehab, Inc. took an unprecedented path by leasing products and providing services while maintaining ownership of flight assets. Seeing a growing government and commercial need for more research capability onboard NASA’s Space Shuttles, Spacehab raised $100 million to design and develop flight hardware to satisfy this need. And this was only the beginning. Today, with more than $100 million in annual revenue and over $250 million in private assets, Spacehab is a leading provider of commercial space services. Offering a fleet of research and logistics carriers, the company has anticipated the needs of NASA and the space community as commercial and industry demand for space access has increased. And Enterprise will include habitability systems with the development of Enterprise, a that can support additional crew in orbit. With commercial module that will be attached to cancellation of the US Hab module, this private the International Space Station (ISS), Spacehab initiative will enable the ISS to maintain a crew will establish the first permanent commercial of six instead of the potentially reduced presence in space. capability of only three.This doubling of crew Spacehab research and logistics services support, through the use of Enterprise, means bolstered the ability to reach out to a larger that foreign space agencies and potentially customer base and make huge strides in space other visitors to space can be accommodated. commerce. In 1999, Spacehab announced an This commercial platform also offers a variety historic agreement with RSC Energia of Korolev, of marketing, advertising and content Russia, to establish the first commercial outpost development options currently unavailable on in space.This partnership is the first big step off the US side of the ISS because of government Planet Earth for private restrictions. enterprise in space, once again Spacehab is setting the independent of government pace for space commerce funding, with expected initiatives. Private citizens investment costs of about and private enterprise will $150 million. use this somewhat on Station Enterprise will become part uncharted territory for of the ISS configuration on the private purposes. Space -31 Russian segment, replacing will be a venue for the Docking & Stowage commercial activity, a site Module.This module is being for recreation and developed to meet research, entertainment, and a stowage, crew support, wellspring of prosperity in habitation and multimedia ways that are not currently needs.The partners approved imagined. Spacehab is the the baseline design following bridge from the current a joint review concluded in December 2000. age of public space exploration and Spacehab and Energia are already at work on experimentation into this future of private detailed design and procurement of long-lead- space utilisation. time materials and components.The partners For further information, see plan to launch Enterprise to the ISS in 2003 on
15 years of Intospace Space Services product placement projects for customers with Jürgen K.von der Lippe,President,Intospace consumer goods, medical instruments, tools and measurement equipment by providing the The Integrated ISS Marketing Programme full range of onboard activities, preparation Intospace draws its experience from marketing support, space certification, and support for manned and unmanned space systems for press conferences and industrial fairs, including utilisation by industry over the last 15 years. complementary merchandise. Sales and services have been provided for Spacelab, Eureca, Spacehab, Mir, Foton and Flight Opportunities Texus/Maxus and dedicated experimenting The Intospace business section ‘Infrastructure facilities. Sales and Services’ has flown hardware on The focus is now on the ISS, which presents European, American, Russian and Chinese a high-tech research centre and a most space platforms.We are committed to attractive media platform. Using and providing the most cost-effective flight services maintaining this for commercial business is the and related ground services, including the objective of the ‘Intospace Integrated ISS utilisation of facilities for science and Marketing’. technology development. Although we now The use of the ISS focus on ISS for industrial utilisation, we also research requires a offer business complementary environment that flight must also allow for opportunities on product placement sounding rockets, and advertising. In capsules and turn, commercial micro-satellites. product placement and advertisement The Business must not interfere Environment with the ISS being Although it used for top science benefits from the and high-technology exceptional development. Non- media interest R&D (media, and the consumer goods Mr Von Der Lippe (right) and Mr Jörg Feustel-Buechl,ESA Director of Manned microgravity presentation, etc.) Spaceflight & Microgravity,sign the €2million contract for the Agency to environment, the
on Station and R&D activities supply a proportion of its Station resources to Intospace. Space Station need to be faces strong compatible and to support each other. competition from terrestrial opportunities. Therefore: Research Management –commercial access conditions must be at 32- The origin of commercial space activities least user-friendly, if not competitive with aboard manned vehicles lies in the utilisation the terrestrial approach; of microgravity for applied research, developed –the astronauts must be familiar with by Intospace with the concept ‘Microgravity, a commercial activities; Tool for Research’.Our experts analyse –programmatic constraints (schedule, risk, industrial research for processes involving proprietary rights) must match the needs of gravity, with the objective of implementing the terrestrial programmes. projects with industry making use of microgravity. Intospace picked up the business opportunities provided by the ISS as soon as Marketing and Sales they became available and has implemented Its attractiveness to the media makes the ISS the first industry-financed projects.The an ideal platform for presenting new consumer company has entered into an agreement with goods to the public by including them in the ESA for purchasing ESA resources and services crew’s daily activities. Intospace develops for commercial utilisation of the ISS.
on Station no. 6, september 2001
iss payloads
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Thomas Reiter ESA Astronaut,European Astronaut Centre,Cologne,Germany Email:[email protected]
To date, implementing research projects on onboard systems determine the suitability of manned space missions, either on the US Space the space infrastructure as a research platform, Shuttle or the Russian Mir station, has required and consequently the effort the crew has to a considerable number of steps. In general, make in order to keep this infrastructure these steps were: operating. ISS systems exhibit a high level of –the definition of a research project, redundancy and are integrated into a complex –its selection by a peer-group, command and control structure. Consequently, –the ground processing of the experiment, onboard systems can be operated including development of the hardware and autonomously to a large extent, mainly by the software, its production, integration into the Mission Control Centres (MCCs). space vehicle and functional check-out, Additionally, a ‘new’ maintenance concept –the crew training, has been introduced, based on the modular –the research activities during the mission, design of onboard systems: Orbital –and,finally, the processing of the experiment Replacement Units (ORUs).The maintenance data and production/publication of the concept foresees the replacement of ORUs that experiment report. show off-nominal behaviour or have failed, rather than performing on-orbit repair.This Against the background of a growing, high- concept saves crew-time to the benefit of tech research facility in space, payload operations. Optimum utilisation of the ISS it is the objective of all ISS resources for payloads Partners to reduce the time Payload characteristics requires careful planning... and organisational overhead The integration of research facilities into racks to bring an experiment from significantly alleviates their handling by the
on Station conception to execution aboard the ISS. In crew, as compared to the standalone design of addition to public-funded research projects, payloads used during European missions the Partners want to attract commercial aboard Mir. Some laboratory equipment can be customers. used for a wide range of experiments and ESA has gathered technical and operational different ‘users’,thus increasing operational 34 - experience from its participation in short flexibility. Once the crew is trained on these missions aboard the Shuttle and longer Multi-User Facilities, the training time required missions aboard Mir (Fig. 1). Based on this for preparing multiple experiments can be experience and in view of ESA’s contribution to significantly reduced. the ISS programme, the agency is ready to make full use of the research capacities. Communications Payload operations in orbit are influenced Communications are a key asset for successful by various factors (Fig. 2).These factors operation of payloads and the Station as a determine mainly how efficiently the whole.With three US TDRS geostationary astronauts do their work and how much time satellites in operation today, and three more they have available for all the different types of systems to be installed (ESA’s Artemis, Japan’s activities. DRTS and Russia’s Luch), the coverage for the downlink of telemetry data, uplink of Onboard systems commands, and the exchange of voice and Functionality, reliability and maintainability of video will improve.
on Station no. 6, september 2001 Fig. 1 Fig. 2
Ground segment Finally, crew time is one of the most critical The network of MCCs, Payload Operations and resources, as payload operations depend on Integration Centres, User and Support Centres crew interactions.Three generic areas of crew – with all the specialists distributed around the activities can be distinguished: world – supports the Station’s efficient –the operation and maintenance of the orbital operation. Instead of moving into mission infrastructure (i.e. the onboard systems), operation centres, investigators on Earth can –an ‘operational overhead’ such as time for stay in their usual working environment but housekeeping, work-preparation, operation still have access to all the information of Station systems (e.g. during rendezvous & necessary to operate their payloads. docking), physical fitness and meals, –the time allocated to research tasks (i.e. Transport payload operations). Three vehicles for uploading hardware are in service: Shuttle, Soyuz and Progress.The first Allocation of crew-time to the different day- two also provide to-day activities download. Currently requires intensive under development, coordination between Japan’s HTV and ESA’s the Partners ATV will increase the operating the upload capacities and infrastructure, and the frequency. Reducting scientific community. the current reaction The daily scheduling time (the time aims to generate a between the demand flawless crew-activity for a specific item plan that makes best aboard the ISS and its use of their work Fig. 3 on Station delivery) requires capacity. access to the ferry vehicle as close to launch as Despite their numerous and complex tasks in -35 possible. activating, checking out and validating ISS systems, the Expedition-2 crew may spend up Onboard resources to 10% of their working time on payload Besides resources like electrical power, thermal operations. In total, the crew has worked on 18 control, data processing, technical gases, US and 12 Russian research projects. Compared vacuum and pointing support for external with a long mission aboard Mir (Fig. 3), even payloads, microgravity is a very elementary with a crew of only three members, this is resource for research projects in orbit. It is already a clear indication of the Station’s foreseen that the Station will be maintained in capacity as a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary a ‘torque equilibrium attitude’ for a total of laboratory. As assembly approaches 180 days per year in 30-day increments, thus completion, crew tasks will increasingly shift granting undisturbed conditions for towards payload operations, thus making full microgravity experiments of the order of weeks use of the Station as the research facility in rather than hours or days. space. ■ on Station no. 6, september 2001 iss payloads
ISSISS PPaayloadyload AAccccommoommodadation,tion, InInttegregraationtion andand PPrrooccessingessing
The ‘Roundtable on Physical Accommodation, have a lot of experience gained during Integration and Processing of Payloads’ experiments on the Shuttle and Mir. It varies brought together Mr. Richard Nygren, Head of from location to location and I can give you Space Station Payloads Office, NASA; Mr. Rolf- numbers like 10-6-10-5 g but they do not mean Dieter Andresen, Head of anything. In reality, you Space Station Utilisation ISS Forum 2001 allowed the have to assess the effect of Division, ESA; Mr. Susumu partner agencies to describe microgravity for different Yoshitomi, Deputy Director, the process of flying types of experiments.We Space Utilisation Research payloads on the Station. will have good conditions Centre, NASDA; Mr. Lawrence Here are edited highlights of depending on the location Vézina, Manager, Payloads & the roundtable discussion... in the module, and when a Integration, CSA; Mr. Valery payload requires better Panchenko, Head of Payload Department, RSC- conditions then you can always use isolation Energia. systems that each Partner is developing.
Mr. Nygren, what is the selection process for non- Mr. Nygren, what about refrigeration, freezing commercial payloads? and the general support aboard the ISS? And the There are different ways but all of the Partners multi-user facilities? use similar approaches.We all start with A number of refrigerators/freezers are being Announcements of Opportunity, where developed.They start at +10°C and go down to anybody interested in flying a payload can cryogenic temperatures of –180°C. ESA’s MELFI apply. After going through that selection, they has +4°C and –80°C capabilities. And smaller are peer-reviewed to make sure they have ones go from +10°C down scientific merit.Then a feasibility assessment to –20°C and –30°C.There makes sure that the payload is safe for the is a wide range to support vehicles and crews, what hazards it might the science community.
on Station present, the resources required and whether Almost all the ISS there is a flight opportunity.The Safety Review facilities are multi-user. On Panel, chaired by NASA, is responsible for the US side we have eight certifying that payloads are safe. planned multi-discipline Express Racks.Then there 36- Mr. Vézina, what product assurance requirements are multi-user experiments are applied? in combustion, human Some vary between Partners but essentially we research and so on where apply industry standards. Because space you are looking at specific experiments are a very expensive business, we disciplines. In the Russian we also make risk and benefit analyses. Maybe modules, where the facilities are not yet the cost of developing a piece of equipment is developed, all of the capabilities are multi-user too much for the benefits it would bring.The and can support almost any discipline. risk analysis makes sure that whatever money is invested in the development, it works. Mr.Yoshitomo, how many pressurised and external payload locations are there, and what What microgravity disturbances will a payload resources are provided for the payloads? experience? There are currently 38 allocations for the The environment you see on the Station is, at International Standard Payload Rack (ISPR). this moment, determined by analysis. But we NASA has 13 in Destiny, we have 10 in JEM,
on Station no. 6, september 2001 The roundtable on payloads. From left: Richard Nygren (NASA), Rolf-Dieter Andresen (ESA), Susumu Yoshitomi (on screen; NASDA), Lawrence Vézina (CSA), Valery Panchenko (RSC-Energia) and moderator Claus Kruesken.
Columbus has 10 and the Centrifuge Mr. Panchenko, how long does it take from Accommodation Module (CAM) has five. payload selection to flight? How late can I deliver Externally, we have 19 on the Truss, 10 JEM, four my payload to the launch site, and how soon Columbus and four Zvezda.The Russians are after a flight can I get my samples? planning to add 20 locations on the future Payload complexity is the most important module, so there will be 57 locations on the factor. For simple payloads, 12-18 months is Station. For the pressurised payloads, most of reasonable, while the development can take the locations will be provided with power, several years for very complex payloads. vacuum/venting, video, data and thermal For the Shuttle, payloads are delivered to the capabilities. For external payloads, resources launch site typically 6-9 months before launch, are more limited – they will have power, video, but some can be processed in a few days. For data and passive thermal capabilities. Progress, a payload is delivered to Baikonur a month before launch, although for biological Mr. Andresen, how will the small items it can be as short as 1-2 days. payloads be exchanged Payloads returning on the Shuttle middeck at the different locations? can be returned to their experimenters within For the pressurised hours after landing.Those returning in the modules, the crew is the Shuttle cargo bay can be retrieved in a few key resource for days depending upon complexity, size and exchanging payloads. location. For Soyuz, those payloads with special on Station For external payloads, handling requirements can be accessed within the non-Russian a few hours and returned to their investigators -37 payloads go up with the within 2 days, while non-time-critical payloads Shuttle and are are handed over between a week and a month transferred robotically to after landing. their ISS destinations. Russian payloads are exchanged by the crew Mr. Vézina, what kind of payloads are currently via EVAs.The consequence is that we are onboard the ISS? What is the principal mode of limited to certain payload sizes and certain ISS payload operations? attitudes. There are about 30 payloads on the Station Payloads can be moved. On Columbus we covering a wide range of scientific experiments use the Express Pallet system and adapter, so in biology, medicine and other branches. Each we can move.The key point is not really the Partner is responsible for operating its own specific location, but the resources you get out payloads. At the moment, there are only of the module, and there are slight differences Russian and US payloads aboard, so their between locations. centres are the focuses of operations, but each on Station no. 6, september 2001 iss payloads
being compromised. And when they are sent from the control centre to the user, they have a standard type of Internet protection. It is like buying something securely on the internet with a credit card.
Mr. Andresen, what are the launch vehicles that can bring the payloads to the ISS? How are the payloads moved to their final ISS locations? We will have three main routes for delivering payloads to the Station.The Shuttle is already moving a lot of cargo up and down. ESA’s ATV will enter service in 2004 and Japan’s HTV is also in development. For downloads, the key vehicle is the Shuttle and the Soyuz has a limited capability. Progress, ATV and HTV will be destroyed deliberately on reentry. Once they arrive, pressurised payloads are handled by the crew.The crew unpacks each Partner is planning or building an operations payload and transfers it to its destination. For centre. external sites, the Shuttle and ISS robot arms Payload data come via two routes. On the grapple the payload and Russian Segment, data go straight to Moscow, position it. On the Russian but data flow for the other Partners is handled side, the crew first handles an by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Data external payload inside the are routed back to Japanese or ESA centres for Station and then uses an EVA further processing. For the CSA, we have an to take it to its destination. operations centre for the robotic arm. That is a very flexible system.
Mr.Yoshitomo, where does the experimenter have What facilities are available to process the to be during the operations of his experiment? payloads at the various launch sites? In our case, our current operations centre is at Mr. Panchenko: we have equipment to perform Tsukuba some 60 km north of Tokyo. Of course, checkout, gas and liquid servicing. experimenters want to operate from their own Mr. Nygren: we have an extensive set of laboratories but, for the moment, we have payload processing facilities at the Kennedy centralised payload operations at Tsukuba. Space Center.We can handle animals, plants
on Station From there, they can access our ISS data link. and biomedical processing.We can check things out functionally, and service them with Mr. Vézina, can experimenters operate from their gases and fluids during acceptance checks own institutes? before putting them into the payloads.We Each Partner has in mind a concept where data have a number of carriers to move large cargo 38- are centralised in its own operations centre in and out of the payload bay. A major before distribution to remote locations and difference from the Russian side is that we can access by the scientists.We cannot expect provide payloads with power during ascent. people to spend a lot of their time at They are powered almost continuously even centralised centres waiting for their before the experiment begins on the Station. experiments to be run.They want to stay at home and monitor their experiments, maybe Mr. Vézina, are payloads retrieved from space are even sending commands and interacting they destroyed after their operational lifetimes? directly with their payloads. At the moment, most are returned to the ground. But this is a very expensive business, so Mr. Nygren, how are my payload data protected? you might negotiate with the Partners to leave True encryption is the responsibility of the your payload in space or put it in a Progress payload developer but, practically, we are and destroy it to save the return cost. It is a shipping megabits of raw data down to the trade-off. If it is intended to fly on a regular ground so there is minimal chance of them basis, then you want it back. ■
on Station no. 6, september 2001 ISSISS AAccccessess PPolicolicyy fforor InstitutionalInstitutional UUserssers andand CCommerommercialcial CCustustomersomers
The ‘Roundtable on Access Policy for Mr. Knott, during this conference we are talking Institutional Users and Commercial Customers’ a lot about commercialisation of the ISS, but a brought together Mr. Jason Steptoe, Associate significant percentage of the Station is allocated General Counsel Commercial and International to institutional utilisation, isn’t it? Law, NASA; Mr. Martin Lebeuf, Manager of ISS ESA currently has 70% of its resources Commercialization Office, CSA; Mr. Alexei allocated to this institutional utilisation Krasnov, Deputy Director, Department of and 30% for commercial use. NASA has ISS Forum 2001 allowed the International Cooperation, Rosaviakosmos; a similar figure in mind and Canada is partner agencies to describe Mr. Hideshi Kozawa, Space Utilisation looking at a 50/50 share.The their policies on Station Promotion Department, NASDA; Mr. Jochen proportion is not fixed for all time, and access. Here are edited Graf, Head of Exploitation Preparation I expect it to change as business highlights of the roundtable Department, ESA; and, for institutional develops. discussion... utilisation, Mr. Karl Knott, Head of Microgravity The best discriminator between and Space Station Utilisation Department, ESA. institutional and commercial utilisation is the funding source. Everything funded from public money, from taxpayers’ money, you can label as institutional utilisation. All the utilisation funded via industries, entrepreneurs, companies and so on is commercial.There is a possibility of combining the two – certainly in the beginning. Public funding requires the user to fulfil two main on Station conditions.The first is that he has to pass a -39 peer review by independent experts and/or scientists.The second is that the resulting data must be shared.The investigator has the exclusive right to the data for one year, but then it must be published and shared with the public. There can also be a mixture, such as a on Station no. 6, september 2001 iss access
capabilities in low Earth orbit.This complements the institutional R&D activities. We recognise that public funding will not necessarily be sufficient to fully utilise the Station, and we are optimistic that these activities will create revenues in the long run that can be used to support further scientific R&D. The roundtable on access public-private partnership. In ESA, if any public policy.From left: Jason money is involved then we consider it Mr. Steptoe, what Steptoe (NASA), Martin institutional utilisation. For commercial resources are allocated Lebeuf (CSA),Alexei Krasnov, utilisation, the entire funding must be from for the commercial user? (Rosaviakosmos), Hideshi Kozawa (NASDA),Jochen Graf private sources. All the details are in our new At the Forum, we have (ESA), Karl Knott (ESA) and European Users Guide,available online at published sheets from moderator Claus Kruesken.
Mr. Kozawa, are the ISS Partners working together on commercialisation? Each Partner has the autonomy to ‘sell’ the
on Station Station in its own way as long as it is compatible with the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA), but sometimes we need to discuss new situations and for that we have established the Multilateral Consultative 40- Working Group for Commercial Programmes.
Mr. Krasnov, why is consultation and coordination of commercial use among the Partners desirable or even necessary? The ISS is an integrated structure, so the activities of one Partner may affect all the others. Resources could be required not only from the sponsoring Partner, so there is clear need for mutual arrangements and a time plan. Coordination establishes the guidelines on how to provide the best access for commercial entities. For public acceptance of the ISS, it must be an accessible resource, perform commercial programmes along with federal
on Station no. 6, september 2001 programmes and generate additional resources for the ISS cooperating agencies.
Mr. Graf, what is allowed aboard the ISS and what is not? What about logos, advertising, the whole field of entertainment, filming and space tourism? It is important to recognise the right of every Partner to exercise its autonomy to place and support commercial activities as it wishes, as long as it is consistent with the IGA. Logos, branding, Partners will waive part of the ISS access costs. advertisement and In the early years, there will be very interesting entertainment are pricing arrangements. Potential users can find allowed. But how will more information on ISS pricing policy in the they be allowed? We are new brochure on ISS Commercial Programs working on establishing prepared with the collaboration of all Partners. the criteria.There are Any Partner can accommodate users from some high-level criteria other countries. For instance, a Canadian – an activity must not adversely affect the company could negotiate an agreement with utilisation activities of another Partner. It should Rosaviakosmos. Flexibility is very important. not impact the institutional research, because that is the Station’s primary purpose. It must be in good taste, although this criterion is subjective. It must not reflect negatively on the image of the Station.We intend to have as few rules and restrictions as possible in order to attract people. Rather than spending a year or two in working groups to decide on the rules, we invite commercial entrepreneurs to come forward now and we will learn together what we want to allow and, in the end, what to restrict.
Mr. Knott, perhaps it would not hurt an institutional experiment to be partially funded by an advertisement. Is this something you are on Station thinking about? This is not at all excluded. An example might be -41 if a company wants to sponsor a specific research project on the ISS, or use the results of research. But it should not interfere with the progress of the research. If it is done in the right way, it can be profitable for both sides.
Mr. Lebeuf, how much will commercial access to the ISS cost? What will be included in the price? Are there price differences between the Partners? Each agency has the autonomy to determine its pricing policy. In Canada, we have our own, related to NASA’s policy. It will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.We want to stimulate the market, so, in the short term, most of the on Station no. 6, september 2001 iss access
Mr. Krasnov, what legal framework is required for a commercial deal on the ISS. How will confidentiality be protected? The legal structure is simple – an IGA among all the Partners. It outlines, for example, the sharing of onboard resources.The IGA already provides for commercial activities.The protection of intellectual rights and confidentiality is included in the agreement in general terms. It is also provided by the Crew Code of Conduct. If the customer wants, specific clauses can be included in the contract.
Mr. Steptoe, to what extent will crewmembers be involved in commercial activities, such as wearing logos on their clothing? In general, the crew’s commercial activities are in accordance with the directives and procedures of each agency. Each has its own commercial utilisation programme and the right to use a certain allocation of crew time for its purposes.The Partners do not want From left: Hideshi Kozawa,Jochen Graf,Karl Knott and moderator Claus Kruesken. crewmembers exploiting their personal situation – there are rather extensive provisions in the Crew Code of Conduct to deal with that. In the case of national policies, these differ. In NASA’s case, rules and federal laws prohibit government employees from endorsing commercial products, for example. So NASA would not be interested in a commercial project using astronauts this way. However, within those broad outlines of principles there is a great deal of flexibility – it will depend on what companies want to do.We are getting into new areas here. NASA has not yet decided on the question of logos on suits. Other
on Station Partners may have a different view. Issues of sponsorship, whether the Station as a whole has its own brand – all issues are under active discussion within the Partnership.There is a willingness among the Partners to engage in a 42- dialogue with commercial industries across the World in order to make this a successful endeavour for all.
So it is an open invitation to ask questions, to come to you with ideas, and you will be as flexible as possible? Yes. It is a dialogue.There is already extensive trading in resources between the Partners, with regard to crew time, provision of elements, subsystems and outfitting the laboratories. There is an extensive web of agreements and relationships going on for many years.The commercial operators will not see this and do not need to worry about it. It will be there, in
on Station no. 6, september 2001 place and ready for business. How they exploit We do not want to subsidise these activities Karl Knott (on screen) discusses the opportunities is in the first instance the forever – we want to achieve self-standing a point on institutional decision of the companies.The agencies will commercial activities on the Station. ■ utilisation of the ISS. consult with each other and quickly arrive at an answer to satisfy the mutual interests of all the Partners.That is the model we are working on, and we hope it is the prescription for success.
Mr. Lebeuf, now that so many agencies are involved, are there plans for a single organisation for all ISS commercialisation? There is a multitude of entrances to the Station – each agency is a door and there are others. For instance, within the US there is NASA headquarters, NASA centres and the 13 Commercial Space Centers.
Mr. Graf, how do agencies plan to stimulate commercial development in the short run? In the near-term, we want to support and on Station stimulate the commercial activities. In the beginning, we may provide direct financial -43 contributions, provide services in kind and negotiate different prices.The price lists published here for the first time are not hard prices for every case.We have to look at the benefit of any commercial venture to see to what extend we have to negotiate on the prices.We must make it attractive for the user to exploit and explore what they can do on the Station. At ESA we are looking at pathfinder projects.These are co-financed activities, which are useful for us to find the right route to follow. In the long run, it is clear that we want the commercial activities to stand up on their own, creating revenues for themselves and us. on Station no. 6, september 2001 humanity TThehe HumanHuman EExpxpererienciencee inin SSpacpacee
Prof.Hisayasu Nakagawa Vice-Director of International Institute for Advanced Studies,Professor Emeritus of Kyoto University,Japan
In the past, two types of hardships have been the prime contributors to human suffering: natural disasters, such as earthquakes, drought, famine and illness, and catastrophes created by humans, such as war. In the modern age, however, we might add to this list the category of second-hand disasters, such as the destruction of the ozone The ISS Forum 2001 was not layer or the onset of global only about institutional and warming, which originate commercial utilisation of the with human actions but Space Station, but also offered have an impact far beyond this more philosophical our immediate control. approach... While we have not yet figured out how to solve these fundamental problems of life on Earth, from this facility what might be the most however, the world of science is advancing in valuable information of all for the future of leaps and bounds, as evidenced by the humankind: an understanding of why people launching of the International Space Station. In of different backgrounds fight and how they the controlled environment of space, a variety can learn to coexist peacefully.To this end, we of scientific experiments will be conducted in must consider the Space Station as a place to
on Station areas such as medicine, the life sciences and conduct international, or rather cosmopolitan, materials science. meetings about the future of our planet. There is still a large gap, however, between What the Space Station has to offer to this our great achievements in space and our quest for peace is the same kind of closed and failures on Earth. How might we bridge this controlled environment that recommends it for 44- gap? In the eighteenth century, the German scientific investigations.The ability to pare philosopher Immanual Kant told us that in away extraneous factors makes the prospects order for people on Earth to achieve lasting of finding peace in space much greater than peace, we must establish a cosmopolitan law to would be possible amidst the complexities of be followed by all humankind. In the life on Earth. In order for the Space Station to International Space Station, I would suggest function as a small-scale model of the world, that we have the ideal laboratory in which to however, it is necessary that the people chosen develop the kind of law that Kant mentions. to ride on it comprise not only representatives Life on the Space Station will necessitate the of the European Union and nations who are long-term cohabitation of people with financing the project, but also representatives different nationalities, different religions and of all regions of the world. If such factors are different languages, leading to every possible fulfilled, the International Space Station may type of misunderstanding, conflict and, at provide the only remaining chance to resolve times, perhaps even violence. In addition to the conflicts among nations and to provide natural sciences, we should consider reaping everlasting peace on Earth. ■
on Station no. 6, september 2001 TThehe AAstrstronautonaut RRoundtableoundtable
The Astronaut Roundtable brought together a happens. Of course, I could also help the rest of cross-section of space-farers. Japan’s Chiaki the crew with any medical problem. I was the Mukai performed extensive microgravity only medical doctor, so I wondered who would research during her IML-2 Shuttle mission in help me! But I was happy to see 1994, followed by STS-95 in 1998. Umberto another doctor on my second flight. ISS Forum 2001 allowed Guidoni became the first European astronaut the astronauts to describe aboard the ISS, during STS-100 in April 2001. Mr. Guidoni, during your flight their roles in the ISS. Here ESA astronaut Reinhold Ewald flew an 18-day 2months ago,what experiment are edited highlights of the mission to Mir in 1997 and is now involved in hardware did you bring up to the ISS? Astronaut Roundtable... building the training infrastructure in Cologne We delivered four experiments, for ESA Station elements and payloads. NASA’s mostly biological growth experiments. One was William Readdy is a veteran pilot astronaut, particularly interesting because it was one of flying first in 1992 on STS-42 and docking with the first commercial applications, from a private Mir during STS-79, his third mission, in 1996. company.They limited the time it was Julie Payette, during STS-96 in late 1999, unpowered to 30 minutes because the became the first Canadian aboard the Station. temperature had to stay constant – and we did ESA astronaut Frank De Winne is in training for it in 5 minutes.The ISS crew had the Express his first flight, aboard a Soyuz mission to the rack ready waiting for it. It went very smoothly Station. and we were really pleased how easy it is to work in the Lab. It is a really clean environment Dr Mukai, how valuable was your professional and we paid particular attention to keeping it background as a medical doctor during your that way.We had very little Station training on mission? the ground, but when we were aboard we It helped me a lot on various aspects. For really worked like a 10-astronaut crew.The example, I used my knowledge of the human Station crew was busy troubleshooting the body to help me understand the very computer problems so we did the complicated space systems and hardware.The housekeeping for them, cleaning the Station brain is like the computer, the neural system is and transferring items. On Shuttle missions you the electrical system and the heart is a have only a few days to complete your work, hydraulic system.When you go into space, your but on the Station they have all the time they on Station body adapts to the new environment, and I want.The schedule is more relaxed and that is used my medical expertise to understand what important for doing science. -45
Mr Ewald, what is the primary use of the ISS and the astronauts’ role in it? This Forum has shown that the ISS is primarily The Astronaut Roundtable devoted to putting the (from left): Chiaki Mukai environment – (NASDA; on screen),Umberto microgravity, radiation Guidoni (ESA),Reinhold and so on – to the best Ewald (ESA), Bill Readdy (NASA), Julie Payette (CSA) use. Astronauts are an and Frank De Winne (ESA).At intelligent resource: far right is Forum moderator you interact with them Claus Kruesken. on Station no. 6, september 2001 astronauts Umberto Guidoni during the STS-100 mission to the ISS in April 2001.(NASA)
and explain the experiment and its underlying principles to them.To understand an experiment, you have to follow the research team in their reviews and after the flight. For my 1997 Mir mission, we finally produced a number of journal articles in December 2000. I was deeply involved and literally gave my blood, so I was interested to see the results published.
Mr Readdy, what are the challenges you face used like cranes to assemble the infrastructure flying with an international crew? and help to manoeuvre equipment and crew It is an embarrassment of riches! I was lucky in members during space walks. Space robotics is all three of my flights to have international a complex business which relies heavily on crews, international experiments, investigators, human skills, both on orbit and on the ground. control centres and so. Such talent and Canada is proud to have contributed the main enthusiasm really dominate any kind of control robot arm to the Station, as well as the or language difficulties.When you are flying for expertise of its engineers, trainers and only 2 weeks, you rehearse everything, all the operators. But our technology is only a part of nominal procedures and the emergency this extraordinary project and it is the procedures.You must be highly choreo- continued collaborative effort that makes the graphed, because you have a very limited time International Space Station truly unique. to do the research and housekeeping.You must be focused and the training reflects that. For Mr De Winne, what are the major training phases long Station missions, we focus on skill-based for astronauts before they can fly? training so that we can really understand the The first part is the basic training where you experiment.You have time to deal with any learn all the basics of spaceflight.You learn situation and you can interact with the how to operate, live and function in space.You investigator and the control centre. It is really a study the space engineering that produces a luxury, a different emphasis in the training. facility like the ISS. Finally, we have to train in research techniques so that when we are Ms Payette, you were involved in assembling the confronted later in our careers with specific
on Station Station.What is the role of robots aboard the ISS? research or engineering tools, then we have I had the privilege of going to the ISS very early the background knowledge.The second part of in its construction, when it was still very small the training is to learn everything about the ISS and empty.There was nobody onboard, no in 18 months – how it functions, its resources, windows, and the how experiments are conducted.This includes 46- systems to sustain science, robotics and housekeeping. Finally, life had yet to be when you are assigned to a mission, you train launched. Only for specific experiments, repairs and mission 2years later, we activities. It is different to a Shuttle mission, have a fully where you rehearse everything on a very operational Station restricted time-line. On the Station, you have with three more time.You can communicate more with permanent the investigators and you have more time to crewmembers.This solve problems.When you are up in space, you is quite an must relate to the researchers to do a good job. achievement. The initial training to make you eligible to fly Space robotics to the ISS takes 2-3 years, although spread out Frank De Winne makes a is critical to the construction of the ISS. by other duties. Once you are selected, training point. Operated by the astronauts from within the for a specific Station missions takes another Station or the Space Shuttle, robot arms are 18 months. ■
on Station no. 6, september 2001 conclusion ISSISS FFororumum 2001:2001: AA SSuccuccessess
Prof Bachem,is there sometimes conflict between commercial and institutional use? There is absolutely no conflict.The ISS was built primarily for scientific work and we are happy that many of the projects are done jointly with industry – this is an excellent advertisement for the Station’s commercial use.We also welcome Prof Achim Bachem (right), multi-media projects, because they are Mr Jörg Feustel-Büechl excellent opportunities for promoting public (centre) and moderator awareness of what we are doing aboard the Claus Kruesken Space Station. Mr Feustel-Büechl, how are the agencies Mr Feustel-Büechl, have we reached the coordinating themselves on commercialisation commercial community at this conference? and are they all following the same path? I hope sincerely that we have reached that Of course, this Forum shows that we have a community and triggered their interest.We coordinated approach. In the round tables, you have had about 500 participants from have seen that we are following common governments, agencies and the space industry, objectives, procedures and principles.We do and about 300 from other industries and not always have the same detailed approach, media, banks and private investors.The Forum but we have a very good understanding on the was also broadcast on the principles and objectives.We have Internet, and on the second Prof Achim more work to do, but we day alone we had 5000 Bachem, DLR Executive Board have the mechanism in ‘hits’.I am sure there member, and Mr Jörg Feustel- place to achieve were also newcomers Büechl, Director of ESA Manned optimum coordination. among them who will Spaceflight & Microgravity, brought I am pleased we have push not only for the the ISS Forum to a the first entry in our order Station’s scientific use but book by signing the contract conclusion... on Station also for its commercial use. with Intospace, and we have opened the call for commercial proposals -47 Prof Bachem, how important is the Station for
The Newsletter of ESA’s Directorate ESA Publications Division/SER-CP of Manned Spaceflight & Microgravity ESTEC, Postbus 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk,The Netherlands. Fax: +31 71 565-5433 This newsletter is published by ESA Publications Division. Editors: Andrew Wilson ([email protected]) and It is free to all readers interested in ESA’s manned Brigitte Schuermann ([email protected]) spaceflight and microgravity activities. It can also be Contributing Writer: Graham T. Biddis seen via the website at http://esapub.esrin.esa.it/ ESA Photographer: Anneke van der Geest Design & Layout: Eva Ekstrand & Carel Haakman Editorial Assistance: Leny Ouwehand
lished Pub Contents A World Without Gravity Foreword 1 The ISS is Open for Business 7 This latest book from ESA Publications and MSM highlights the activities and Liz Wright results of ESA’s past microgravity research, hardware development and Research on the ISS 9 programmatic aspects, and provides an outlook on utilisation of the International Ulf Merbold Space Station. The ‘ISS Owners’ 12 The ‘ISS Builders’ 15 Chapter 1 explains why this The ISS is a Classroom! 17 kind of research is of increasing interest, and how many questions Kathryn Clark with far-reaching implications for Discovery Inside the Space Station 19 mankind can be answered in Patrick Hörl laboratories in space.The nine The Mir Experience and 21 life-sciences and ten physical- Commercialisation of the sciences sections of Chapter 2 are Russian Segment of the ISS written by more than 30 Nikolai A. Anfimov European scientists.They outline The NASA Commercial Space 24 the past achievements, current Centers status and the future importance Fred Best of space in their research fields, ‘Kibo’ and its Diverse Utilisation 25 with emphasis on Industrial Use on ISS recommendations for future Hideshi Kozawa work in those disciplines. The Promotion of Industrial 26 Chapter 3 addresses the Users by DLR important topic of the transition Hartmut Ripken from basic research to Marketable Services and 28 commercial applications. Commercial Initiatives by Chapter 4 describes the history of Different Business Sectors research under microgravity Paul A.T. Davies, Manfred Jaumann, conditions, while Chapter 5 looks at the future of microgravity research. Chapter 6 Ernesto Vallerani, Michael Kearney provides details about the programmatic structure of ESA’s microgravity activities. and Jürgen von der Lippe ISS Project Implementation – 34 The 503pp AWorld Without Gravity is Factors for On-Orbit Payload available from ESA Publications by Operations contacting Frits de Zwaan at Thomas Reiter [email protected] or ISS Payload Accommodation, 36 fax +31 71 565-5433 (quoting SP-1251). Integration and Processing The cost is €40/90Dfl. ISS Access Policy for 39 Institutional Users and Commercial Customers The Human Experience 44 in Space Hisayasu Nakagawa The Astronaut Roundtable 44 Author Günther Seibert autographs a copy of AWorld Without Gravity. ISS Forum 2001: A Success 47