Station Technology Demonstration

In May 2024, a geomagnetic storm hit Earth, sending auroras across the planet’s skies in a once-in-a-generation light display. These dazzling sights are possible because of the interaction of coronal mass ejections – explosions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun – with Earth’s magnetic field, which protects us from the radiation the Sun spits out during turbulent storms.

NASA delivered a patch kit for NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an X-ray telescope on the International Space Station, on the agency’s Northrop Grumman 21st commercial resupply mission. Astronauts plan to conduct a spacewalk to complete the repair in early 2025.

NASA is seeking input from American companies for the operation and use of a system of free-flying robots aboard the International Space Station as the agency continues to foster scientific, educational, and technological developments in low Earth orbit for the benefit of all.

With its unparalleled view of Earth, the International Space Station (ISS) is about to take its environmental monitoring to new heights. An ISS National Laboratory®-sponsored payload, engineered by Airbus U.S. Space and Defense, Inc. for the external hosting Airbus-developed platform Bartolomeo, is set to expand access to the space station’s unprecedented vantage point for research and technology demonstrations.

Enter the realm of low Earth orbit, where the International Space Station (ISS) serves as a beacon of innovation and a testament to human ingenuity. The ISS National Laboratory sponsors groundbreaking research and development (R&D) pioneering new technologies.