By 
June 8th, 2022
Earth orbiting research lab, internal and external – the International Space Station (ISS).
Credit: NASA
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released on June 7: “International Space Station: Opportunities Exist to Improve Communication with National Laboratory Users”
The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) manages the International Space Station National Laboratory for NASA.
Credit: GAO
This report notes that some companies and universities not affiliated with NASA may want access to the lab for research that can’t be done on Earth. CASIS locates resources, such as time astronauts may spend on these research projects.
Credit: GAO rendering of NASA ISS documents
“Recently, the Center formed an advisory committee of these users to improve communication about resource allocation. But the Center hasn’t asked for key input, and some committee members said that more transparency could benefit the user community,” reports the GAO.
Recommendations
In the newly-issued report, GAO makes several recommendations to NASA, including that it ensures CASIS
- Obtains input from its user advisory committee about resource allocation decisions
- Takes steps to agree upon needed information about past allocations, and
- Provides the committee more information about planned resource allocations.
NASA agreed with the first two recommendations, and partially agreed with the third, noting challenges with providing the flight queue.
GAO continues to believe NASA has opportunities to provide additional information, as discussed in the report.
For access to this informative report, go to:
Posted in Space News
