Space Station Freedom - Its role as an international research laboratory and observatory

The international partnership agreed to just a year ago among the United States, Canada, Japan and nations participating in the European Space Agency bring us one giant leap closer to unprecedented opportunities in space science and observation. While the driving force of Space Station Freedom has been and continues to be an expansion of human presence in space, the goals of the program go far beyond support of exploration. Integral to the international program is research, conducted on four spacecraft, centering on laboratory and observatory experiments. Research onboard the station's manned base, two polar orbiting observation platforms and the Columbus Free Flying Laboratory will offer research opportunities never available before in life sciences, materials sciences, earth observation, astrophysics and planetary sciences for a wide variety of users over a period of three decades. As such, Space Station Freedom, the world's largest and most useful facility in space, is expected to stimulate advanced technologies, promote the commercial use of space, and increase international cooperation in the peaceful utilization of outer space.