NASA Expands Materials Research

Alpha Space Test and Research Alliance (Alpha Space), has entered a cooperative agreement with NASA to conduct development, integration, deployment and operation of the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE).

This agreement will advance technology and research by creating a permanent location for materials research. The goal, a press release states, is to minimize cost and optimize results of material science research while also reducing ISS Program source requirements.

The permanent MISSE facility is planned for initial operations in 2017 with launches every six months. The facility will provide materials testing and data collection for both passive and active materials samples.

“The MISSE facility provides the ISS with an important new capability for materials research. Importantly, however, the development and operation of this capability as a commercial facility, with NASA as an initial customer, continues the expansion of the ISS as a commercial platform,” says Mike Read, manager of the International Space Station National Lab Office. “We are pleased to have Alpha Space as a new partner in our ongoing efforts to enable a thriving commercial market in low-Earth orbit, using the ISS as a springboard.”

For more information, visit Alpha Space and NASA.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.