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WHAT if the International Space Station ended up plastered with company logos
like a Formula One racing car? It may not come to that, but a recently released
report commissioned by NASA from the consulting firm KPMG says that in the near
future, entertainment, education and advertising may be the best commercial use
for the station. And according to Marguerite Broadwell, commercial development
manager for the space station, NASA will go ahead with commercialisation
“without prejudice to any particular market”.

Under pressure from Congress, NASA has allocated 30 per cent of the station’s
experiment time for commercial R&D, such as growing crystals and making
drugs. But while industry has bombarded the agency with inquiries about
microgravity research, paying customers have been scarce. The KPMG report says
that advertising and entertainment might generate some income while raising the
station’s profile, and inspiring other uses.

“The best use for the space station is some sort of weight-loss spa,”
suggests Robert Park of the American Physical Society. “You can eat all you want
and you won’t feel any heavier.”