ISS as National

I go this from the Space Advocate this morning -djs.

From this story in Space News.

The International Space Station (ISS) should be used as a national laboratory to support scientific research and commercial business development. Congress supports this idea and NASA is now moving in the direction of helping to make the national lab concept a reality. This is good news for taxpayers wanting to ensure that America maximizes the value of its investment in space.

While NASA will continue to pursue research aboard the ISS that is specifically designed to support its long-term exploration goals, it will open up Station facilities for use by other government agencies -- such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Departments of Energy, Commerce and Agriculture -- as well as private firms eager to exploit the unique micro-gravity environment found on Station. Medical and health care breakthroughs alone that could improve the quality of life for all people would justify this expanded approach to using the ISS.