National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Quick Start

Guide to

Payload Design

GETTING

STARTED

March 2, 2022
It can be a long journey from having a great 

idea for a science investigation in space 

to seeing it operated on the International 

Space Station and receiving the results. 

This Quick Start Guide provides a high-level 

road map to help you, the Payload Developer, know who you’ll encounter, understand 

what milestones are ahead, and give you an 

idea of the path you’ll travel on that journey. 

In addition, this Guide provides a foundation 

to assist you in designing your payload within NASA’s constraints using best practices 

and lessons learned from more than 20 

years of payload development experience. 

Are you just getting started and need inside 

information for your discipline on conducting experiments on the station? The ISS 

Researcher’s Guide series provides links 

to 17 free downloadable booklets that serve 

as introductions for potential users of the 

station platform. Each guide provides discipline-specific context for conducting station 

research, including available hardware and 

laboratory environments, to assist researchers in their efforts to connect to research 

opportunities. Since each payload requires 

both a sponsor and funding, these Guides 

provide an overview of the most applicable 

pathways to connect to these resources.

Once you’ve determined how to plug into 

one of the available methods to connect 

your payload to the International Space Station activities, you’ll work with your Sponsor 

to create the contracts required to secure 

funding and begin integration of your payload into the station program. 

As projects are selected and approved, the 

https://www.nasa.gov/station-researchers-guides/

The ISS Researcher’s Guides are available at the following web address:

Getting

Started

From Here To There
integration process begins and you will be 

assigned a Payload Integration Manager 

or PIM. The PIM is considered your primary point of contact or interface with the ISS 

Program, and will be your guide on your payload’s journey to and from the Space Station. 

In a nutshell, the PIM’s job is to help ensure 

the safe launch, integration, operation, and 

data return for your payload. The PIM will 

build an integration schedule to keep you on 

track as you approach key milestones and 

reviews together. The PIM will also facilitate 

PIM Tag-Ups that will include you and the 

integration team to keep everyone in sync 

along the way. In addition, PIM-led orientation meetings provide more in-depth explanations of the topics provided in this Guide. 

Speaking of the PIM, during your payload 

development journey, you will encounter 

acronyms - lots of acronyms (after all, who 

wants to say Payload Integration Manager 

when PIM is more efficient?). NASA is full 

of acronyms because each piece of equipment, each formal meeting, each process 

and organization and role has its own long 

name that can contribute to cumbersome 

conversations without the use of their short 

names. Don’t worry – we have links for that! 

(See our FAQs.) If an acronym (or conversation full of them) is not clear to you, be sure 

and ask for clarification.

Entering the integration phase brings with 

it a decision of consequential importance: 

what to name your payload/investigation. 

Typically, a working name will be used 

during the initial phases of development, but 

once your payload is added to the Integrated 

Payload List (IPL) and a Payload Integration 

Agreement (PIA) is developed and signed, 

it can be very difficult to change the name. 

So think carefully about your payload name, 

including any resulting acronym. Note that 

many payloads have a long, descriptive 

name and a short name by which it is known 

in conversation for meetings and during 

on-orbit operations. Discuss your ideas with 

your assigned PIM, who can make sure your 

chosen name is not a duplicate or too similar 

to another payload or investigation. 

Other topics covered in this Guide include 

information on Payload Engineering and 

Payload Safety. These sections, along with 

the FAQs, provide an introduction designed 

to get you started. Additional detailed information will be provided as you need it by your 

PIM and the appropriate team member.

In these sections, you’ll see guideposts labeled as Tips ( ) or SOS ( ). A Tip provides 

helpful information that can make your planning and design progress more smoothly. An 

SOS indicates what to do if you run into problems or concerns and need help.

Also be sure to check out the FAQs for additional information on how to interact with 

NASA’s payload integration processes successfully.