Leadership and Organization

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) provides funding for consortium logistics, operation, and management to execute activities that align to the ISAM National Strategy and National ISAM Implementation Plan, as well as priorities from the COSMIC Steering Committee. 

Consortium Management Entity

COSMIC focuses on developing findings, non-binding recommendations, and products to encourage the maturation of ISAM capabilities into operational missions. It is operated by a Consortium Management Entity (CME) and guided by a Steering Committee that are selected through an open vote of the COSMIC members.

The CME manages overall COSMIC operations, ensures coordination among the members (Industry, Government, and Academia), leads communication activities and events, provides focus area leads and coordination, facilitates the creation of community products, and provides administrative support.  The Aerospace Corporation (Aerospace), a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) is contracted by NASA to operate the consortium and serves as the COSMIC CME.

Steering Committee

COSMIC’s Steering Committee (SC) consists of term-serving members selected from U.S. Government, Industry, and Academia, and provides strategic guidance to the CME regarding implementation, goals, and priorities. 

The Steering Committee represents a broad cross-section of member interests and includes a specific mix of participants with different expertise, experience, and motivations. This wide range of Committee members plays a critical role in ensuring all stakeholder needs are addressed equally and that all consortium members have their interests represented at the Steering Committee level.

Caucuses

COSMIC has three caucuses:  government; industry; academia.  These caucuses allow representatives from each market segment to communicate among themselves to identify topics, products, needs, or ideas that are of particular importance to their market segment. 

Stakeholders & Membership

COSMIC brings together various government agencies, commercial industry leaders, and academic researchers who focus on ISAM, to foster coordination and collaboration.

COSMIC is open to all U.S. organizations from the federal government, industry, academic research institutions, nonprofit, and not-for-profit organizations. 

All COSMIC participants must be U.S. persons working for U.S.-based organizations. Each member is responsible for ensuring individual participants from their organization are U.S. persons per COSMIC requirements.

There are no dues or membership fees to join COSMIC; however, members cover their own time and travel expenses to participate in COSMIC events and working groups.

Upon membership approval, COSMIC general members can:

  • Join the appropriate Caucus (academia, government, industry)
  • Sign up for one or more focus areas for detailed discussions of specific topics
  • Access the COSMIC Collaboration site to explore previously completed and ongoing ISAM products, connect with other ISAM leaders around the country, and review previous briefings, meetings, and the Opportunity Marketplace