International Space Station to be “open for business” to companies, schools, and researchers.

As the construction of the International Space Station (ISS) nears completion, options are being looked into to provide companies and researches access to the station’s resources.

In the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, NASA is to find an organization to manage the U.S. portion of ISS and station research by other agencies, schools, and private companies. 

Economically, the organization will promote the usefulness of the station outside of the government, to get the best possible return on the investment made in ISS. A wide variety of fields can benefit from the unique laboratory that the station has become. NASA Administrator, Charles Bolden says “By taking this action, we are ensuring the station is available for broad, meaningful, and sustained use”.

For organizations wishing to learn more about the program, NASA will be hosting a public forum this Friday at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC.

May 2006 image of ISS in orbit above the Caspian Sea. Image was taken after the Space Shuttle Discovery departed from the station.

A bio-tech drawer rack onboard the ISS. Soon private firms, schools, and agencies will be able to utilize the ISS for their own research.