Commercial Market Outreach Plan for the International Space Station Report presented to: NASA Headquarters Report presented by: Equals Three Communications® and Booz Allen Hamilton February, 2002 THIS PAGE BLANK 2 Table of Contents Preface............................................................................................................ 7 Organization of the Report ....................................................................... 8 Executive Summary ..................................................................................... 11 Overview ................................................................................................ 11 Communication Strategy ........................................................................ 12 Target Industries ..................................................................................... 14 Target Audiences ................................................................................... 15 The Communication Program ................................................................ 15 Preparatory Steps .................................................................................. 20 Chapter 1: Background ................................................................................ 25 Commercial Development of Space ....................................................... 25 Space Commercialization and the ISS ................................................... 27 Policies and Procedures ........................................................................ 28 Chapter 2: The State of Microgravity Research ........................................... 29 CSC Research ....................................................................................... 32 Chapter 3: Microgravity Applications in Industry .......................................... 41 Biomedical .............................................................................................. 41 Medical Biotechnology ..................................................................... 42 Pharmaceuticals................................................................................ 42 Other Medical Products..................................................................... 43 Agritech .................................................................................................. 43 Materials & Processes ........................................................................... 45 Metals and Metal Products ............................................................... 46 Heavy Machinery and Automotives .................................................. 47 Chemicals ......................................................................................... 47 Electronic and Optical Components ................................................. 48 Ceramics .......................................................................................... 48 Prioritization of Target Sectors ............................................................... 49 Chapter 4: Audience Analysis ...................................................................... 57 Main Findings from Interviews with NASA Staff ..................................... 57 Procedural Issues ............................................................................. 57 Communication and Outreach .......................................................... 58 Knowledge and Opinions of Industry Audiences .................................... 60 Microgravity Research Applications ................................................. 60 Decision-making Processes ............................................................. 61 Barriers and Motivators .................................................................... 62 3 Chapter 5: Communication Strategy ............................................................ 63 Definition of NASA’s offer ....................................................................... 63 Key Shaping Factor: The state of microgravity research ........................ 63 The Benefits of the Offer ........................................................................ 64 The Basic Strategy ................................................................................. 65 Target Audiences ................................................................................... 65 How it works together ............................................................................. 66 Chapter 6: Program Implementation ............................................................ 71 General Communication Guidelines ....................................................... 71 Proactive Media Outreach ................................................................ 71 Outreach to Inform and Educate the Media and the Public .............. 71 Consistent and Converging Messages in Multiple Channels ............ 72 Focus on Earned Media .................................................................... 72 Targeted Materials ............................................................................ 72 Focus on Customer Satisfaction and Retention ............................... 73 The Role of Headquarters ...................................................................... 73 Timing the Communication Program ...................................................... 73 Preparatory Steps ................................................................................... 75 The Communication Program ................................................................. 83 The Influential Public ........................................................................ 83 Tactical Considerations ............................................................... 83 Specific Tactics ........................................................................... 84 A Note on the Implementation of Recommended Media Activities85 Industry Executives and Leaders ...................................................... 86 Tactical Considerations .............................................................. 86 Specific Tactics ........................................................................... 86 Industry-level Outreach ..................................................................... 87 Tactical Considerations .............................................................. 87 Specific Tactics ........................................................................... 88 Corporate Scientists ......................................................................... 89 Tactical Considerations .............................................................. 89 Specific Tactics ........................................................................... 90 Program Evaluation ................................................................................ 89 References ................................................................................................... 90 Appendix A: Methodology ............................................................................. 95 Appendix B: Bibliography ........................................................................... 101 4 List of Tables and Figures Table 1: Summary of Communication Program ........................................... 22 Table 2: Milestones in Space Commercialization ........................................ 26 Table 3: Summary of Conclusions from Documents Assessing Microgravity Research ...................................................................................................... 30 Table 4: CSCs Working in Each Industry Sector ......................................... 34 Table 5: CSCs per Materials and Processes Industry Sector ...................... 35 Table 6: CSC Industry Partners by Type of Research Conducted................ 37 Table 7: CSC Industry Partners in the Field of Materials and Processes .... 38 Table 8: Summary Evaluation of Target Industries ...................................... 52 Table 9: Summary of Communication Strategy ........................................... 68 Table 10: Implementation Plan for Communication Strategy ...................... 78 Table A: Interviews Conducted with NASA Staff Members .......................... 97 Table B: Interviews Conducted with CSC Staff Members ............................ 98 Table C: Interviews Conducted with Industry Members ............................... 99 Figure 1: CSC Industry Partnerships by Sector ........................................... 36 Figure 2: Patents Resulting from CSC Partnerships by Industry Sector ...... 39 Figure 3: Licenses Resulting from CSC Partnerships by Industry Sector .... 40 5 THIS PAGE BLANK 6 Preface This report is presented to NASA in response to the statement of work issued in RFQ W- 04835-LMH International Space Station Commercialization Market Outreach Study. NASA commissioned the development of a market outreach plan to promote private sector interest and participation in microgravity research, particularly research on the International Space Station (ISS). This outreach is specifically directed at three industry sectors – biotechnology, agritech, and materials and processes—and is limited to promoting earth-directed research, i.e., research designed for applications on Earth (in contrast to research designed to promote the exploration of space). In response to the statement of work, this report presents a communication plan to stimulate commercial investment in microgravity research for earth- directed applications by three non-aerospace-related industry sectors that