Press Release

NASA ISS NGO Internal Study Report Available for Public Review

By SpaceRef Editor

November 10, 2001

Filed under Commerce, NASA Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR), US

In response to White House and Congressional Direction, NASA has been developing the option for a non-government organization (NGO) to manage the US utilization for the ISS. NASA is in the final stages of consultation with the White House and the US Congress regarding such a procurement.

In June 2001 NASA completed an internal study to thoroughly define the scope of functions involved in ISS utilization and to
prepare for a potential procurement activity. NASA is in the final stages of consultation with the White House and the US
Congress regarding such a procurement.

The International Space Station (ISS) is among the largest and most complex international
cooperative science and technology projects in history. It will include over 25 internal laboratory sites and

25 external platform sites to support US research and development projects. The US utilization program will
involve extensive coordination of US users from academia, industry and government, as well as close liaison
to the programs of our international partners in Canada, Europe Japan and Russia.

In response to White House
and Congressional Direction, NASA has been developing the option for a non-government organization (NGO) to
manage the US utilization for the ISS.

A series of external studies were completed in the 1999 – 2000 period
and are available on the ISS Commercialization Web site.

In June 2001 NASA completed an internal study
to thoroughly define the scope of functions involved in ISS utilization and to prepare for a potential
procurement activity. NASA is in the final stages of consultation with the White House and the US Congress
regarding such a procurement.

The internal study report is available for public review. All Comments should be directed to Mr. Mark Uhran (muhran@hq.nasa.gov/202-358-2233):