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Forging the Path

Forging the Path: Insights From a Decade of Managing the ISS National Laboratory
For more than 10 years, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS(Abbreviation: CASIS™) The nonprofit organization that manages the ISS National Lab, which receives at least 50 percent of the U.S. research allocation on the International Space Station to facilitate research that benefits humanity (NASA manages the other 50% and focuses on research for space exploration purposes).) has served as manager of the first and only national laboratory in space: the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) National Laboratory.
The ISS National Lab plays a critical role in demonstrating the value of space-based research and development (R&D) and in establishing the operational and cooperative infrastructure to drive broad market expansion to establish a robust economy in LEO(Abbreviation: LEO) The orbit around the Earth that extends up to an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Earth’s surface. The International Space Station’s orbit is in LEO, at an altitude of approximately 250 miles..
In this series of articles, CASIS experts share knowledge and insight from their unique experience managing a national lab in space as we look to the future LEO economy and the key role the ISS National Lab plays in getting us there.