  The Wisconsin Plasma Astrophysics Laboratory (WiPAL) is a flexible user
facility designed to study a range of astrophysically relevant plasma processes
as well as novel geometries that mimic astrophysical systems. A multi-cusp
magnetic bucket constructed from strong samarium cobalt permanent magnets now
confines a 10 m$^3$, fully ionized, magnetic-field free plasma in a spherical
geometry. Plasma parameters of $ T_{e}\approx5$ to $20$ eV and
$n_{e}\approx10^{11}$ to $5\times10^{12}$ cm$^{-3}$ provide an ideal testbed
for a range of astrophysical experiments including self-exciting dynamos,
collisionless magnetic reconnection, jet stability, stellar winds, and more.
This article describes the capabilities of WiPAL along with several
experiments, in both operating and planning stages, that illustrate the range
of possibilities for future users.
