For those that joined our first ISSRDC 2020 Online Series plenary session last week, we hope you enjoyed the Day 1 programming! For those that missed it, highlights included program updates from the NASA Administrator and NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, Science Mission Directorate, and ISS Program Office—as well as panels and sessions on the latest economic developments in low Earth orbit (LEO) .
 
Key discussion points included:

  • How the community is building a strong business environment that is conducive to growth and innovation—and the urgency for 2020 to kick off a “decade of capitalization” focused on how research in LEO can transform terrestrial supply chains.
  • The interrelationship of research, investment, and commercial involvement—and the continuing need to expand the types of businesses involved in space-based R&D while reducing the costs to get involved.
  • The significance of the ISS National Lab as a test bed for private enterprises looking to validate and improve capabilities—and how this role as an industrial incubator makes the ISS a stepping off point for companies, fostering the economic development of LEO.
  • The shifting landscape of constrained resources and how this influences not only what R&D is possible in space but also how we capitalize on newly available resources such as the imminent increase in crew time made possible through future commercial crew missions.
  • The value of the ISS as a tool of diplomacy and as a symbol of humanity at its best—which is part of why this year’s Nobel Peace Prize nomination is so poignant as we approach 20 years of continuous human presence in space.

Recordings of the Day 1 sessions are now available online at issconference.org.

Register and watch Day 1 Sessions on demand (Free)

Day 2 will include examples of how the ISS is accelerating the path from basic to applied R&D, discussion on NASA’s GeneLab database and its role in maximizing data availability and science return, expert insights into how private-sector investment in space-based R&D is evolving, and an update on NASA’s Cold Atom Lab. We hope to see you at Day 2 as we continue the 9th annual and first virtual ISSRDC!

Register to attend Day 2 of ISSRDC 2020 (Free)