This is not the latest version of this item. The latest version can be found here.
Understanding Socio-Technical Issues Affecting the Current Microgravity Research Marketplace
Name
IEEEAero19_published_CJoseph_microG.pdf
Description
Accepted version
Size
1.23 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
9880d7bb7d319a3985275c3ed1c63c7d
Author(s)
Joseph, Christine
Wood, Danielle
Date Issued
June 2019
Journal
2019 IEEE Aerospace Conference
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Citation
Joseph, Christine and Danielle Wood. "Understanding Socio-Technical Issues Affecting the Current Microgravity Research Marketplace." 2019 IEEE Aerospace Conference, March 2019, Big Sky, Montana, USA, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, June 2019. © 2019 IEEE
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
For decades, the International Space Station (ISS) has operated as a bastion of international cooperation and a unique testbed for microgravity research. Beyond enabling insights into human physiology in space, the ISS has served as a microgravity platform for numerous science experiments. In recent years, private industry has also been affiliating with NASA and international partners to offer transportation, logistics management, and payload demands. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages the ISS U.S. National Laboratory, has developed a diverse portfolio of private, public, international, and outreach projects. As the costs of flying projects to the ISS decrease, the barriers limiting non-traditional partners from accessing the ISS as a platform also decrease. However, the ISS in its current form cannot be sustained forever. As NASA looks towards commercialization of the low Earth orbit (LEO) space and the development of a cislunar station, concrete plans for shifting the public-private relationship of the ISS are unclear. With the consistent need to continue microgravity research - from governments and private industry - understanding the socio-technical and policy issues that affect the marketplace for future microgravity platforms is essential to maintaining an accessible and sustainable space economy. How will the U.S. and other governments design public-private partnerships to pursue economic and social goals in the LEO microgravity ecosystem? What governance structures will influence who is eligible to operate platforms for activities including tourism, research, manufacturing and outreach? How will international collaboration occur in the future LEO microgravity ecosystem? This paper presents a review of the current microgravity research ecosystem with a focus on potential future marketplace dynamics.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/aero.2019.8742202
