Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) is a NASA program that was designed to encourage the development of commercial space transportation capabilities to support the International Space Station (ISS) and other space exploration missions.
Under the COTS program, NASA contracts with private companies to develop and demonstrate new technologies and systems for delivering cargo and other payloads to the ISS and other destinations in low Earth orbit. The goal of the COTS program is to stimulate the development of a commercial space transportation industry that can provide reliable and cost-effective access to space for a variety of applications.
Several companies have participated in the COTS program, including SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation (now part of Northrop Grumman). These companies have developed new spacecraft and launch vehicles that are capable of delivering cargo and other payloads to the ISS and other destinations in low Earth orbit. The COTS program has been successful in fostering the development of a new generation of commercial space transportation capabilities, and it has helped to pave the way for the growth of the commercial space industry.
Outside the aerospace context, "COTS" usually stands for "Commercial Off-The-Shelf." Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) refers to products or technologies that are readily available and can be purchased from a commercial vendor. COTS products are often used in the aerospace industry because they can be obtained quickly and at a relatively low cost compared to developing custom solutions.
COTS products are typically designed for general-purpose use and can be used in a variety of applications. In the aerospace industry, COTS products are often used for non-critical systems or subsystems, such as electronics, sensors, and other components. COTS products may be modified or customized to meet the specific needs of an aerospace application, but they are not typically designed to meet the rigorous performance and reliability requirements of critical systems, such as propulsion or flight control systems.
Overall, the use of COTS products can help to reduce the cost and risk of developing aerospace systems and can enable more rapid development and deployment of new technologies. However, it is important to carefully evaluate the suitability of COTS products for a particular application to ensure that they meet the required performance and reliability standards.