NASA TO HOST HOUSTON CONFERENCE EXPLORING COMMERCIAL INTEREST IN SPACE STATION LIVING QUARTERS



August 17, 1999



James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(281/483-5111)

<h4>Release: J99-32</h4> <h3>NASA to Host Houston Conference Exploring 
Commercial Interest in Space Station Living Quarters</h3> 

NASA has invited private industry to a Houston forum August 24 through 
26 to participate in a conference that will explore potential 
commercial interest in a government and industry partnership to build 
the crew habitation module for the International Space Station.



&ldquo;NASA is dedicated to the commercial use of space and fostering 
private enterprise on the new frontier,&rdquo; said Dan Tam, Special 
Assistant to the NASA Administrator for Commercialization. 
&ldquo;This invitation is one way for us to actively seek out the 
ideas businesses may have for using a living area in space for 
profit-driven motives. On Earth, it has been demonstrated time and 
time again that with market support, private industry can do a better 
job than the government. We expect the same will be true in 
space.&rdquo;



NASA needs a crew quarters module for the space station that will 
house a minimum of four crewmembers. The module should also include 
bedrooms; a kitchen; a pantry; a dining and meeting area; 
videoconferencing; entertainment equipment; windows; storage space; 
exercise equipment; and a medical examination room.



Called the Habitation Module Commercialization Conference, the forum 
will be held at the Nassau Bay Hilton and Marina Hotel, 3000 NASA 
Road 1, Houston. The conference will explore the formation of a 
commercial consortium that would own, use and maintain all or part of 
the module. NASA would be one of many module users and customers of 
the consortium.



Current station plans are for the module to be of a traditional 
metallic design similar to other International Space Station modules. 
A more recent NASA concept has proposed an innovative, space fabric 
version of the living quarters module. At this conference, existing 
designs and new ideas for the module will be considered. Innovative 
concepts for enhanced habitation capabilities benefiting both NASA 
and commercial partners are especially sought.



The habitation module will be launched aboard the Space Shuttle and 
attached to the station in November 2004. More than just aerospace 
industries, NASA is hoping to spur innovation in the commercial use 
of space by attracting businesses and investors outside of aerospace. 
These non-aerospace companies may have ideas related to sponsorship, 
space tourism, entertainment, advertising, education or technology 
development. This activity will serve as a pathfinder for other 
commercial uses of the International Space Station and commercial 
involvement in other NASA programs.



&ldquo;We really want this conference to be a brainstorming session 
with businesses and investors of all kinds and hope it leads to a 
business relationship between NASA and a commercial consortium. NASA 
is open to any and all ideas that are of benefit to both private 
enterprise and the government,&rdquo; Tam said.



News media are invited to attend the full sessions of the conference. 
More information and registration information is available on the 
Internet at http://technology.jsc.nasa.gov/habconference

	
-end-