Page 79 - International Space Station Benefits for Humanity, 3rd edition.

Commercial Research, Facilities and Service Providers

The International Space Station (ISS) is not a traditional asset where concepts such as return
on investment (ROI), payback period or risk-adjusted return are easily applied. Instead, the ISS
benefits to humanity emerge as catalysts for technological innovations, space utilization and,
more recently, commercialization. Research facilities onboard the space station have evolved
in recent years from primarily government funded and operated to commercially owned and
operated. Since 2012, commercial research facilities have greatly increased the breadth and
volume of ISS-supported research.

Commercial Partners Expanding
International Space Station
Research Capabilities Through the standardization of test
During the first six crew rotations aboard the space hardware and implementation of
station, 166 research and technology development the CubeLab approach, the cost of
(R&D) investigations were conducted. During the
last six crew rotations (as of May 2018), 416 R&D conducting research in orbit has been
investigations were supported. Although the amount reduced as much as threefold...
of crew hours available has increased, the most
significant factor driving this increase is the
proliferation of commercial research facilities
aboard the space station.
NanoRacks LLC was one of the first commercial varying by the size of the NanoLab. This plug-and-
partners to operate research facilities onboard the ISS. play system uses a simple, standardized interface
Beginning with the installation of the first NanoRacks that reduces payload integration cost and schedule
Internal Science Platform in 2010, they applied the for nanoscale research in microgravity.
standardized CubeSat dimensional form factor As of 2018, NanoRacks has supported more than
(10 x 10 x 10 centimeters [~4 x 4 x 4 inches]) to provide 300 investigations on the ISS and operates multiple
“plug-and-play” research capabilities aboard the facilities both internally and externally on the space
ISS. As of 2018, Nanoracks operates three of these station. Examples of the range of research conducted
platforms designed for use within the pressurized by customers include the NanoRacks-PCG
space station environment. Each is approximately Therapeutic Discovery investigation, which tested
43 x 23 x 51 centimeters (17 x 9 x 20 inches), weighs whether microgravity improved the crystallization
approximately 5.5 kilograms (12 pounds), and provides of two proteins that are important for future treatment
room for up to 16 payloads in the CubeSat form factor.
of heart disease and cancer. The NanoRacks-
NanoRacks offers complete in-house capabilities for Hydrofuge Plant Chamber Experiment aimed to
payload integration, payload design and development, overcome the behavior of water in microgravity,
and interfacing with NASA and the ISS international which has caused root rot in plant systems. In addition,
partners. The core payload hardware supported by dozens of student-designed payloads from the
these platforms are called NanoLabs. Every NanoLab elementary education through graduate student
has a circuit board that activates the experiment level have been supported.
housed within, turns it off, and can be functioned Through the standardization of test hardware and
for other activities. NanoLabs are plugged into the implementation of the CubeLab approach, the cost
research platforms via a normal Universal Serial Bus of conducting research in orbit has been reduced
(USB) port, thus allowing data and power to flow and as much as threefold between 2006 and 2018, and
can even be developed by third-party vendors. A single accessibility has greatly increased. In 2006, the cost
NanoLab is 1U (i.e., one unit) in size, but the platforms for conducting educational research projects on the
can also support 2U, or 4U or 2 by 4U sizes, with cost

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