International Institute of Space Commerce


The International Institute of Space Commerce was established at the Isle of Man in 2007 as a corporation between the International Space University and the Government of the Isle of Man. Realizing that the new space economy is being confronted with new challenges, it was felt necessary to establish a new think-tank focusing on commercial space aspects in addition to other space think-tanks, most of them with an emphasis on governmental space activities.
The location on the Isle of Man was targeted towards the growth of commercial space economy attracted on the Isle by creating a favorable environment for commercial space companies. The think-tank activity has been established and is intended to provide an added value to the services offered locally.

History

The idea of IISC originated in 2007 based upon an agreement between both entities. In 2008, IISC was established as a non-profit organization with offices in Douglas, at the Isle of Man International Business School.
Formal inauguration of IISC took place in Douglas on 4 October 2008, in the presence of Dr. Soyeon Yi, the first astronaut of Korea, NASA space veteran George Abbey, and local authorities.
After selection of senior fellows, a first series of studies and workshops were organized and based upon the growing reputation in the field of commercial space IISC was accepted as member of the International Astronautical Federation in October 2011.
At present, the following senior fellows are linked to the IISC activities:
The results of the first 5 years of activity are under evaluation in order to decide the next phase of activities.

Objectives

IISC was established with the objectives to:
These objectives were pursued by:
An important communication vehicle is the . Indeed, the availability of this website allowed for publication of papers and ideas in the field of space commercialization within short delays.
Studies were produced on:
and published, next to a number of research papers, on this website.
Workshops were held on:
Summaries of the main findings were published.
In addition, the need was identified to write more books on the modern space economy. The first work was dedicated to Space Commerce, see also fig. 2
The importance and interaction between IISC and the space ewas described in extenso in a recent article in Space Policy.
Present planned activities are inter alia