Rhodium Scientific, LLC

Rhodium Scientific provides support services to life science companies and academic researchers pioneering discoveries in space that have transformative, terrestrial benefits for the industries they serve. We are a minority, woman-owned small business with a mission to advance the quality, capabilities, and commercialization of scientific research conducted in space.

We uniquely serve the ISS National Lab community by establishing science as the primary focus of the project from its initial design through product commercialization. We provide Ph.D.-level mission-specific scientific consulting to accurately translate lab protocols and processes into a flight research plan to help ensure project quality. Rhodium provides guidance in flight hardware selection and as scientists, ensure project requirements are efficiently and effectively met. Rhodium assists with grant writing, program development, quality control standardization, post-flight sample analysis, and connecting researchers to funding entities.

Scientific Approach

The Rhodium team specializes in having a turn-key project management experience designed by scientists, for scientists. We are composed of multi-disciplinary Ph.D.’s and science-focused business experts who partner directly with new and experienced researchers conducting space-based experiments. During critical project development phases, we ensure an experiment’s protocol is translated accurately with proper controls and sample handling procedures.  As scientists, we provide in depth and hands-on services to successfully meet each science objective by identifying the best-suited flight hardware and operations needed to navigate NASA processes. Our guidance allows a researcher to focus on the scientific portions of their project so they can achieve high quality, reproducible results in space that are trusted by academia and industry.

Quality Control Approach

Rhodium Scientific is setting new standards for conducting space-based research. We place high emphasis on moving at the speed of business while focusing on a project’s commercial value. Our projects include appropriate levels of industry-standard quality control which increase opportunities to transition space-based discoveries into commercially viable products within biotech, energy, and pharmaceutical markets.

Primary Services

Mission-Specific Scientific Consulting

• Directly team with researchers to accurately and fully translate lab protocols into a flight-feasible project using appropriate hardware and operations.
• Provide guidance on appropriate levels of industry-standard quality control and good laboratory practices (GLP) to pre-flight testing procedures, in-flight activities, and post-flight analytics to ensure the highest science standards.
• Provide direct teaming support to guide and write proposals.
• Provide on-site scientific support during critical project phases including sample load into flight hardware at the client lab and launch site.
• Provide project compliance and proper documentation for NASA payload safety reviews and flight manifest requirements.

Hardware Brokering  

• Identify, assess, and match appropriate hardware with researcher-specific needs through project-specific user agreements.
• Provide consulting to implementation partner/payload developer teams for scientific-relevant modifications of existing hardware that addresses unmet science needs and expands hardware usability.
• Provide researchers an additional flight hardware portfolio (not listed through implementation partner directory) that includes low-cost hardware purposed to fill gaps in research capacity.
• Maintain a database of science results from previous missions with preliminary data and mission success rates for researchers and funding agencies to use and review.

Project Commercialization Services

• Work with research teams during project design phases to ensure the experiments are conducted with proper industry quality control standards where applicable.
• Provide risk mitigation services to safeguard project science through document review and proper articulation of science requirements to NASA mission planners/flight crews.
• Assist with securing proper post-flight analyses with proper quality controls to achieve full commercial-value of a resulting research product.

Project Funding Matching Services

• Work with start-up incubators, investment teams, and program managers to identify non-traditional funding mechanisms.
• Team directly with researchers and labs to develop funding acquisitions plans, write proposals, and interview investors in order to acquire necessary funding that supports terrestrial and microgravity projects.

For further information please visit  www.RhodiumScientific.com