Assuring Effective International Space Station Utilization - Public Policy

THE PROBLEM Previously planned investment in science and engineering research in low earth orbit has been virtually eliminated in projected NASA budgets for the next five years because of the cost overruns on the International Space Station (ISS). This will allow few flight opportunities for current researchers. Significant levels of peer reviewed research on ISS will not be achieved in the near term because NASA has put a priority on completing ISS assembly while deferring the inclusion of world-class research capabilities on ISS to later years, assuming sufficient resources for research are eventually provided. Delay or cancellation of ISS utilization facility development that would enable sophisticated experiments in the space environment negates the capability of the United States to get a return on its enormous investment in the development of the ISS for the foreseeable future.