| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 897.1 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 04/01/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Mon Apr 04 1994 20:34 | 36 |
| KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Friday, April 1, 1994
_______________________________________________________________
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham
MISSION: STS-65 -- International Microgravity Laboratory - 2
_______________________________________________________________
VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 184 sm
LOCATION: OPF bay 2 INCLINATION: 28.45 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: early July CREW SIZE: 7
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: early afternoon LANDING LOCATION: KSC
MISSION DURATION: 13 days/18 hours LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hours
IN WORK:
* Forward reaction control system functional checkout
* Orbital maneuvering system functional and checkout operations
* Water spray boiler leak and functional tests
* Power reactant storage and distribution system checks
* Thermal protection system water proofing operations
WORK SCHEDULED NEXT WEEK:
* Main propulsion system leak and functional tests
* Checks of extended duration orbiter tank sets
* Fuel cell single voltage tests
WORK COMPLETED:
* Remove remote manipulator system
* External tank door latch tests
* Initial checkout of auxiliary power unit no. 3
|
| 897.2 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 04/22/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Tue Apr 26 1994 11:18 | 44 |
| SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Friday, April 22, 1994
George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center
407/867-2468
STS-65
Vehicle: OV-102/Columbia Mission number: STS-65
Location: OPF Bay 2 Orbital altitude: 184 sm
Primary payload: IML-2 Inclination: 28.5 degrees
Target Launch date: July 8 Landing: KSC July 22
Mission Duration: 13 days 18 hours Crew size: 7
IN WORK TODAY:
- testing of microwave scanning beam landing system (MSBLS)
- remove and replace #3 main engine yaw actuator
- installation of Spacelab tunnel adapter
- auxiliary power unit leak and functional checks
- tile water proofing
WORK SCHEDULED NEXT WEEK:
- servicing of orbiter's Spacelab coolant lines
- main propulsion system leak and functional checks
- drag chute installation
- waste containment system installation
- crew hatch functional test
- testing of hydraulic systems and orbiter flight controls
- payload installation (May 6)
WORK COMPLETED:
- removal of main engines #1, # 2, #3
- leak checks of cryogenic reactant system
- checkout of extended duration orbiter pallet
- drag chute packing at parachute facility
ISSUES AND CONCERNS: None
|
| 897.3 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 04/29/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Fri Apr 29 1994 19:38 | 35 |
| _______________________________________________________________
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Friday, April 29, 1994
_______________________________________________________________
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-65 - International Microgravity Laboratory - 2
_______________________________________________________________
VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 184 sm
LOCATION: OPF bay 2 INCLINATION: 28.45 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: early July CREW SIZE: 7
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: early afternoon LANDING LOCATION: KSC
MISSION DURATION: 13 days/18 hours LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hours
IN WORK:
* Auxiliary power unit leak and functional checks
* Ammonia servicing
* Main propulsion system helium system checks
* Payload premate checks
WORK SCHEDULED NEXT WEEK:
* Preparations to install main engines
* Transfer payload to Orbiter Processing Facility
WORK COMPLETED:
* Install spacelab tunnel adapter
* Electrical checks of extended duration orbiter pallet
* Install drag chute
|
| 897.4 | Crew List | TROOA::SKLEIN | Nulli Secundus | Mon May 02 1994 16:09 | 12 |
|
STS 65 - Columbia (17) July 8 1994
- IML-2; EDO
- Commander: Robert Cabana (3)
- Pilot: James Halsell
- PC/MS1: Richard Hieb (3)
- FE/MS2: Donald Thomas
- MS3: Leroy Chiao
- MS4: Carl Walz (2)
- PS1: Chiaki Mukai (NASDA) [backup Jean-Jacques Favier (ESA)]
|
| 897.5 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 05/02/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Tue May 03 1994 19:01 | 32 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Monday, May 2, 1994
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-65 - International Microgravity Laboratory - 2
_______________________________________________________________
VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 184 sm
LOCATION: OPF bay 2 INCLINATION: 28.45 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: early July CREW SIZE: 7
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: early afternoon LANDING LOCATION: KSC
MISSION DURATION: 13 days/18 hours LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hours
IN WORK:
* Auxiliary power unit leak and functional checks
* Ammonia servicing
* Main propulsion system helium system checks
WORK SCHEDULED:
* Preparations to install main engines
* Transfer IML-2 payload to the OPF and install in orbiter
* Mate external tank to solid rocket boosters
WORK COMPLETED:
* Install spacelab tunnel adapter
* Install drag chute
|
| 897.6 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 05/17/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Wed May 18 1994 12:02 | 34 |
| _______________________________________________________________
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Tuesday, May 17, 1994
_______________________________________________________________
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-65 - INTERNATIONAL MICROGRAVITY LABORATORY - 2
_______________________________________________________________
VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 184 sm
LOCATION: OPF bay 2 INCLINATION: 28.45 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH DATE: July 8 CREW SIZE: 7
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: 1:06 p.m. LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hours
KSC LANDING TIME and DATE: July 22/6:55 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 13 days/18 hours
IN WORK:
* Wing leading edge corrosion checks
* Main engine securing
* Spacelab experiment stowage
* Transfer spacelab tunnel to OPF
WORK SCHEDULED:
* Crew equipment interface test (CEIT)
* Install spacelab tunnel into orbiter payload bay
* Begin midbody and aft final closeouts
WORK COMPLETED:
* Crew module and tunnel adapter leak checks
|
| 897.7 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 05/24/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Wed May 25 1994 10:10 | 33 |
| KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Tuesday, May 24, 1994
_______________________________________________________________
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-65 - INTERNATIONAL MICROGRAVITY LABORATORY - 2
_______________________________________________________________
VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 184 sm
LOCATION: OPF bay 2 INCLINATION: 28.45 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH DATE: July 8 CREW SIZE: 7
LAUNCH TIME: 1:06 p.m. LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hrs/9 min
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: July 22/6:55 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 13 days/18 hours
IN WORK:
* Payload tunnel interface verification test
* Orbiter midbody, aft engine compartment and spacelab closeouts
* Body flap and wing leading edge corrosion checks
* Main engine heatshield installation
WORK SCHEDULED:
* Continuation of spacelab experiment horizontal stowage
* Landing gear functional checks
* Final payload bay cleaning
WORK COMPLETED:
* Spacelab transfer tunnel leak checks
|
| 897.8 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 05/27/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Fri May 27 1994 19:26 | 33 |
| KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Friday, May 27, 1994
_______________________________________________________________
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-65 - INTERNATIONAL MICROGRAVITY LABORATORY - 2
_______________________________________________________________
VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 184 sm
LOCATION: OPF bay 2 INCLINATION: 28.45 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH DATE: July 8 CREW SIZE: 7
LAUNCH TIME: 1:06 p.m. LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hrs/9 min
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: July 22/6:55 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 13 days/18 hours
IN WORK:
* Hydraulic flight control checks
* Final spacelab experiment horizontal stowage
* Orbiter midbody, aft engine compartment and spacelab closeouts
* Install wing leading edge reinforced carbon-carbon panels
* Brake anti skid test
WORK SCHEDULED NEXT WEEK:
* Begin final payload bay cleaning and leak checks
* Close payload bay doors
WORK COMPLETED:
* Main engine heatshield installation
* Landing gear functional checks
|
| 897.9 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 06/13/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Mon Jun 13 1994 19:44 | 33 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Monday, June 13, 1994
_______________________________________________________________
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-65 - INTERNATIONAL MICROGRAVITY LABORATORY - 2
_______________________________________________________________
VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 184 sm
LOCATION: VAB INCLINATION: 28.45 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH DATE: July 8 CREW SIZE: 7
LAUNCH TIME: 1:06 p.m. LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hrs/9 min
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: July 22/6:55 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 13 days/18 hours
IN WORK:
* Shuttle interface verification tests
* Shuttle rollout preparations
* Spacelab late stowage operation fit checks
WORK SCHEDULED:
* Rollout to pad 39A (first motion set for 11:30 p.m. Tuesday)
* Launch pad validations
WORK COMPLETED:
* Orbiter mate with external tank
* Electrical umbilical connections
|
| 897.10 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 06/28/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Wed Jun 29 1994 20:06 | 33 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Tuesday, June 28, 1994
_______________________________________________________________
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-65 - INTERNATIONAL MICROGRAVITY LABORATORY - 2
_______________________________________________________________
VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 184 sm
LOCATION: Pad 39A INCLINATION: 28.45 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH DATE: July 8 CREW SIZE: 7
LAUNCH TIME: 12:43 p.m. EDT LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hrs/30 min
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: July 22/6:43 a.m. EDT
MISSION DURATION: 13 days/18 hours
IN WORK TODAY:
* External tank purges
* Aft engine compartment closeouts
* Countdown preparations
WORK SCHEDULED:
* Ordnance installation
* Pressurize hypergolic reactant storage tanks
WORK COMPLETED:
* Install contingency spacesuits
* Demonstration of late stowage techniques in spacelab
* Load hypergolic reactants
|
| 897.11 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 07/01/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Tue Jul 05 1994 20:12 | 33 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Friday, July 1, 1994
_______________________________________________________________
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-65 - INTERNATIONAL MICROGRAVITY LABORATORY - 2
_______________________________________________________________
VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 184 sm
LOCATION: Pad 39A INCLINATION: 28.45 degrees
LAUNCH DATE: July 8, 1994 CREW SIZE: 7
LAUNCH TIME: 12:43 p.m. EDT LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hrs/30 min
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: July 22/6:43 a.m. EDT
MISSION DURATION: 13 days/18 hours
IN WORK TODAY:
* Aft engine compartment closeouts
* Countdown preparations
WORK SCHEDULED NEXT WEEK:
* Complete aft engine compartment closeouts (Sunday)
* Begin countdown at 6 a.m. Tuesday
* Crew arrival at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday
WORK COMPLETED:
* Remove and replace main engine number 3 controller
* Pressurize hypergolic reactant storage tanks
* Ordnance installation
|
| 897.12 | Countdown begins July 5th | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Tue Jul 05 1994 20:13 | 396 |
| Bruce Buckingham
407/867-2468 July 1, 1994
KSC Release No. 80 - 94
SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION STS-65 COUNTDOWN TO BEGIN TUESDAY
The countdown for launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia on
mission STS-65 is scheduled to begin Tuesday, July 5 at 6 a.m.
EDT, at the T-43 hour mark.
The countdown includes 35 hours and 43 minutes of built-in
hold time leading to the opening of the launch window at 12:43
p.m. (EDT) on Friday, July 8. The 2 hour, 30 minute window
extends until 3:13 p.m.
The launch of Columbia will mark the beginning of the fourth
Space Shuttle mission this year and the first of four missions in
less than four months scheduled for the remainder of the year.
STS-65 will mark the 17th flight for the Shuttle Columbia.
The primary payload of mission STS-65 is the International
Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2), the second in a series of
Spacelab flights dedicated to conduct research in microgravity.
IML-2 is complimented by a pool of scientists from the space
agencies of Japan, Canada, France, Germany, and the European
Space Agency. Research will be dedicated to life sciences and
microgravity science experiments.
In preparation for this flight, Columbia was rolled out of
the Orbiter Processing Facility on June 8 and placed in the
Vehicle Assembly Building where it was mated to the external tank
and solid rocket boosters. The Shuttle stack was then transported
out to Pad 39A late in the evening of June 14. The vehicle
completed the 3.4 mile trip before sunrise on June 15. The IML-2
spacelab payload was installed into Columbia's payload bay on May
9. The spacelab transfer tunnel was installed on May 20.
The crew of mission STS-65 are: Commander Robert Cabana;
Pilot James Halsell; Mission Specialists Richard Hieb, Leroy
Chiao, Donald Thomas, Carl Walz; and Payload Specialist Chiaki
Mukai.
The crew is scheduled to arrive at KSC at about 12:30 p.m.
on Tuesday, July 5. Their activities at KSC for the days prior to
launch include flight crew equipment fit checks, medical
examinations and opportunities to fly in the Shuttle Training
Aircraft and the T-38 trainers.
As the countdown to launch begins at 6 a.m. on July 5, the
KSC launch team in Firing Room 3 of the Launch Control Center
will start verifying all systems to assure the Shuttle is powered
up and the data processing and backup flight control systems are
operating trouble free.
Verifications will be conducted throughout the count to
ensure reviews are being made of the flight software stored in
the orbiter's twin memory banks. Computer controlled display
systems will be activated and the backup flight system general
purpose computer will be loaded.
Operations will also begin to prepare the orbiter for
on-board cryogenic loading. Later, orbiter navigation aids will
be turned on and tested and the inertial measurement units will
be activated.
Ground crews will make the final storage of mid-deck and
flight deck supplies, perform microbial samplings of the flight
crew's drinking water and check water levels in the waste
management system.
At T-27 hours, the countdown will enter its first scheduled
hold. This is a four-hour hold lasting from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 2
a.m. Wednesday.
When the countdown resumes, the launch pad will be cleared
of all personnel in preparation for cryogenic fuel loading of the
power reactant storage and distribution system tanks located
under the payload bay lining. These tanks hold the super-cold
liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen reactants used by the orbiter's
fuel cells to provide electricity to the orbiter and drinking
water for the crew. Also, the Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO)
tank sets located on the EDO pallet in the aft section of the
orbiter's payload bay will be filled with cryogenic reactants.
These four extra tank sets allow the orbiter to remain in space
for an extended period of time.
Cryogenic flow is scheduled to start at about 4 a.m.
Wednesday and continue for about 9 hours.
As servicing of the cryogenic tanks nears completion, the
clock will enter an eight-hour built-in hold at the T-19 hour
mark. This hold will last from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Following cryogenic loading operations, the pad will be
re-opened for scheduled pre-launch activities and the orbiter
mid-body umbilical unit, used to load the super-cold reactants in
the orbiter's fuel cell tanks, will be demated and retracted into
the launch structure. Also, final stowage of payloads and
experiments in the spacelab will begin. This operation will last
about 19 hours.
When the countdown resumes, technicians will complete final
vehicle and facility closeouts and begin configuring Columbia's
cockpit for flight. The orbiter's flight control system and
navigation aids will be activated. The stowable crew seats will
be installed in the flight and mid-decks.
The countdown will enter another built-in hold at the T-11
hour mark at 2 a.m. Thursday. This 20-hour, 23-minute hold will
last until 10:23 p.m. Thursday. During this hold, time critical
equipment will be installed in the orbiter's cockpit and the
inertial measurement units will be activated and warmed up. The
orbiter's communications systems also will be activated.
At about 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the Rotating Service Structure
is scheduled to be moved away from the vehicle and placed in
launch position.
At T-9 hours (12:23 a.m. Friday) the onboard fuel cells will
be activated. At T-8 hours, the launch team will begin evacuating
the blast danger area and clear the pad for loading the external
tank with the super-cold cryogenic propellants for the orbiter's
main engines. At T-7 hours, 30 minutes, conditioned air that is
flowing through the orbiter's payload bay and other areas on the
orbiter will be switched to gaseous nitrogen in preparation for
fueling the external tank. The inertial measurement units will
transition from the warm up stage to the operate/attitude
determination mode at T-6 hours, 45 minutes.
The countdown will enter another planned built-in hold at
the T-6 hour mark at 3:23 a.m. Friday. During this one-hour hold,
final preparations for loading the external tank will be
completed. Also, a pre-tanking weather briefing will be conducted
for the benefit of the Mission Management Team prior to their
giving approval to begin tanking operations.
Chilldown of the lines that carry the cryogenic propellants
to the external tank begins when the clock starts counting again
at 4:23 a.m. Friday. Filling and topping off the external tank
should be complete about three hours later at the beginning of
the next planned hold at T-3 hours, or 7:23 a.m. Friday.
During the two-hour hold at T-3 hours, the ice inspection
team will conduct a survey of the external tank's outer
insulation and other Shuttle components. Also, the closeout crew
will be dispatched to the pad and begin configuring the crew
module and white room for the flight crew's arrival. Liquid
oxygen and liquid hydrogen will be in a stable replenish mode
during this time to replace any propellant that "boils" off.
The seven flight crew members have been divided into two
teams and placed on separate sleep-cycles for the
around-the-clock operations of IML-2. Both the red team (Cabana,
Halsell, Hieb, Mukai) and the blue team (Walz, Chiao, Thomas)
will be awaken at 5:30 a.m. Friday and all members of the crew
will be seated together for their last meal prior to launch at
about 7:48 a.m. Following lunch/breakfast, the crew will receive
their briefing on weather conditions at KSC and around the world
via satellite from Mission Control, Houston.
The flight crew will suit-up in their partial-pressure
suits, then leave the Operations and Checkout Building at about
9:28 a.m. Friday. They will arrive at the pad 39A white room at
about 9:58 a.m. where they will be assisted by white room
personnel in getting into the crew cabin.
Just prior to the T-60 minute mark, the test team and the
flight crew will get another weather update, including
observations from chief astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson flying in
a Shuttle Training Aircraft in the KSC area.
The last two built-in holds will be 10 minutes in duration
and will occur at the T-20 minute mark (12:03 p.m.) and at the
T-9 minute mark (12:24 p.m.). During the final hold, the flight
crew and ground team receive the NASA launch director's and the
mission management team's final "go" for launch.
Milestones after the T-9 minute mark include start of the
ground launch sequencer; retraction of the orbiter access arm at
T-7 minutes, 30 seconds; start of the orbiter's auxiliary power
units at T-5 minutes; pressurization of the liquid oxygen tank
inside the external tank at T-2 minutes, 55 seconds;
pressurization of the liquid hydrogen tank at T-1 minute, 57
seconds; ground power disconnection from the orbiter at T-50
seconds; and the electronic "go" to Columbia's onboard computers
to start their own terminal countdown sequence at T-31 seconds.
The orbiter's three main engines will start at T-6.6 seconds.
_______________________________________________________
| |
| COUNTDOWN MILESTONES |
|_______________________________________________________|
Launch - 3 Days (Tuesday, July 5)
Prepare for the start of the STS-65 launch countdown and
perform the call-to-stations at the T-43 hour mark. Countdown
begins at 6 a.m. All members of the launch team report to their
respective consoles in Firing Room 3 in the Launch Control Center
for the start of the countdown.
Start preparations for servicing fuel cell storage tanks and
begin final vehicle and facility closeouts for launch.
Enter the first planned built-in hold at T-27 hours for a
duration of four hours.
Check out back-up flight system and review flight software
stored in mass memory units and display systems. Load backup
flight system software into Columbia's general purpose computers.
Begin stowage of flight crew equipment. Inspect the
orbiter's mid-deck and flight-deck and remove crew module
platforms. Perform test of the vehicle's pyrotechnic initiator
controllers.
Launch - 2 Days (Wednesday, July 6)
Resume countdown.
Clear launch pad of all personnel and begin the 9 hour
operation to load liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen reactants
into Columbia's fuel cell storage tanks and the EDO pallet.
Enter eight-hour built-in hold at T-19 hours.
After cryogenic loading operations, the pad will be reopened
and orbiter and ground support equipment closeouts will resume.
Resume countdown.
Demate orbiter mid-body umbilical unit and begin late
stowage of IML-2 experiments.
Start final preparations of the Shuttle's main engines for
main propellant tanking and flight. Activate flight controls and
navigation systems. Install mission specialists' seats in crew
cabin. The tail service masts on the mobile launcher platform
will be closed out for launch.
Launch - 1 Day (Thursday, July 7)
Enter planned hold at T-11 hours for 20 hours, 23 minutes.
Perform orbiter ascent switch list in crew cabin and
activate the orbiter's communications systems. Also during this
hold at T-11 hours, the orbiter's inertial measurement units will
be activated and kept in the "warm up" mode and film will be
installed in the numerous cameras on the launch pad. In addition,
safety personnel will conduct a debris walkdown and the pad sound
suppression system water tank will be filled.
The Rotating Service Structure (RSS) will be moved to the
park position during the T-11 hour hold at about 5:30 p.m.
Following the RSS move, final stowage of mid-deck experiments and
flight crew equipment stowage will begin. The late stowage of
experiments in the spacelab will be competed as well.
Resume countdown.
Install time critical flight crew equipment and perform the
pre-ingress switch list. Start fuel cell flow-through purge.
Launch Day (Friday, July 8)
Activate the orbiter's fuel cells. Configure communications
at Mission Control, Houston, for launch. Clear the blast danger
area of all non-essential personnel and switch Columbia's purge
air to gaseous nitrogen.
Enter planned one-hour built-in hold at the T-6 hour mark.
Launch team verifies there are no violations of launch
commit criteria prior to cryogenic loading of the external tank.
Clear pad of all personnel.
Resume countdown. Loading the external tank with cryogenic
propellants is set to begin at 4:23 a.m.
Complete filling the external tank with its flight load of
liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants.
Perform inertial measurement unit preflight calibration and
align Merritt Island Launch Area tracking antennas.
Enter two-hour hold at T-3 hours.
Perform open loop test with Eastern Space and Missile Center
and conduct gimbal profile checks of orbital maneuvering system
engines.
Wake flight crew (red team) at 5:30 a.m. Closeout crew and
ice inspection team proceeds to Launch Pad 39A.
Crew departs Operations and Checkout Building for the pad at
9:28 a.m.
Complete closeout preparations in the white room and cockpit
switch configurations.
Flight crew enters orbiter. Astronauts perform air-to-ground
voice checks with Launch Control and Mission Control. Close
Columbia's crew hatch. Begin Eastern Space and Missile Center
final network open loop command checks.
Perform hatch seal and cabin leak checks. The white room is
closed out and the closeout crew moves to fallback area. Primary
ascent guidance data is transferred to the backup flight system.
Enter planned 10-minute hold at T-20 minutes.
NASA Test Director conducts final launch team briefings.
Resume countdown. Transition the orbiter's onboard computers
to launch configuration and start fuel cell thermal conditioning.
Close orbiter cabin vent valves. Backup flight system transitions
to launch configuration.
Enter last planned hold at T-9 minutes.
Launch Director, Mission Management Team and NASA Test
Director conduct final polls for go/no go to launch.
Resume countdown and:
Start automatic ground launch sequencer (T-9:00 minutes)
Retract orbiter crew access arm (T-7:30)
Start mission recorders (T-5:30)
Start Auxiliary Power Units (T-5:00)
Arm SRB and ET range safety safe and arm devices (T-5:00)
Start liquid oxygen drainback (T-4:55)
Start orbiter aerosurface profile test (T-3:55)
Start MPS gimbal profile test (T-3:30)
Pressurize liquid oxygen tank (T-2:55)
Begin retraction of the gaseous oxygen vent arm (T-2:55)
Fuel cells to internal reactants (T-2:35)
Pressurize liquid hydrogen tank (T-1:57)
Deactivate SRB joint heaters (T-1:00)
Orbiter transfers from ground to internal power (T-0:50 seconds)
LPS go for start of orbiter automatic sequence (T-0:31 seconds)
Ignition of Shuttle's three main engines (T-6.6 seconds)
SRB ignition and liftoff (T-0)
_________________________________________________
| |
| SUMMARY OF BUILT-IN HOLDS FOR STS-65 |
|_________________________________________________|
T-TIME ------- LENGTH OF HOLD ---- HOLD BEGINS --- HOLD ENDS
T-27 hours --- 4 hours ---------- 10 pm Tues.---- 2 am Wed.
T-19 hours --- 8 hours ---------- 10 am Wed.----- 6 pm Wed.
T-11 hours --- 20 hrs.,23 mins. - 2 am Thurs.---- 10:23 pm Thurs.
T-6 hours ---- 1 hour ----------- 3:23 am Fri.--- 4:23 am Fri.
T-3 hours ---- 2 hours ---------- 7:23 am Fri.--- 9:23 am Fri.
T-20 minutes - 10 minutes ------- 12:03 pm Fri.-- 12:13 pm Fri.
T-9 minutes -- 10 minutes ------- 12:24 pm Fri.-- 12:34 pm Fri.
____________________________________
| |
| CREW FOR MISSION STS-65 |
|____________________________________|
Commander (CDR): Robert Cabana (Red team)
Pilot (PLT): Jim Halsell (Red team)
Mission Specialist (MS1): Rick Hieb (Red team)
Mission Specialist (MS2): Carl Walz (Blue team)
Mission Specialist (MS3): Leroy Chiao (Blue team)
Mission Specialist (MS4): Don Thomas (Blue team)
Payload Specialist (PS1): Chiaki Mukai (Red Team)
__________________________________________________
| |
| SUMMARY OF STS-65 LAUNCH DAY CREW ACTIVITIES |
|__________________________________________________|
Thursday, July 7, 1994
9:00 p.m. Wake up (Blue team)
9:30 p.m. Breakfast (Blue team)
Friday, July 8, 1994
12:00 a.m. Sleep (Red team)
7:48 a.m. Wake up (Red team)
8:18 a.m. Lunch/Breakfast
8:48 a.m. Weather briefing (CDR, PLT, MS2)
8:48 a.m. Don flight equipment (MS1, MS3, MS4, PS1)
8:48 a.m. Don flight equipment (CDR, PLT, MS2)
9:28 a.m. Depart for launch pad 39A
9:58 a.m. Arrive at white room and begin ingress
11:13 a.m. Close crew hatch
12:43 p.m. Launch
|
| 897.13 | | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Tue Jul 05 1994 20:14 | 51 |
| STS-65 LAUNCH WEATHER FORECAST
FOR JULY 8
Prepared on L-3 day, July 5, 1994
George H. Diller
NASA-Kennedy Space Center
Synopsis: The Bermuda high centered to the east and an upper
level low located over the Bahamas is forecast to create easterly
winds that are expected to move developing coastal showers or
thunderstorms away from the Cape Canaveral vicinity.
Between 12:43 p.m. - 3:13 p.m. on Friday afternoon forecast
conditions will range from:
Clouds: 3,500-7,500 ft scattered cumulus (30% coverage)
10,000-12,000 feet scattered altocumulus (20% coverage)
25,000-28,000 feet scattered cirrus (30% coverge)
Visibility: 7 miles
Wind - Pad 39A: SE/15 knots
Temperature: 83-84 degrees
Dewpoint: 74-75 degrees
Humidity: 72-74%
Precipitation: chance of showers or thunderstorms
Other weather concerns: possible increase in the chance for
coastal showers or thunderstorms
Probability of launch weather criteria violation on Friday: 40%
Probability of launch weather criteria violation on Saturday: 60%
Probability of launch weather criteria violation on Sunday: 60%
Sunrise Friday: 6:31 a.m.
Sunset Friday: 8:24 p.m.
Todays's minimum temperture at KSC: 75 degrees
Yesterday's maximum temperature: 86 degrees
Peak wind at KSC yesterday: S-17 mph
Lowest humidity yesterday: 68%
24 hr. precipitation through 7 a.m. today: 0"
Total July rainfall: 7.59"
June highest temperature at KSC: 96 lowest temperature: 69
Total June rainfall: 7.94"
|
| 897.14 | Press Kit Available (sort of) | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Wed Jul 06 1994 10:34 | 17 |
| The STS-65 Press Kit is available -- it's not ready, but it is
available. Not all the formatting is done, but it should be readable
except for a few tables. I'll try to fix this by launch day.
The document is currently just shy of 50 pages long.
pragma::public:[nasa]sts-65.ps
The hypertext version and a mission information center will be up
on http://www-space.lkg.dec.com/space-archives.html this afternoon
or evening (I'll try to work on it during lunch) for all you Web
fanciers.
- dave
|
| 897.15 | L-1 status... | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Fri Jul 08 1994 10:45 | 120 |
| _______________________________________________________________
| |
| KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT |
| Thursday, July 7, 1994 |
| |
| LAUNCH MINUS 1 DAY |
|_______________________________________________________________|
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| MISSION: STS-65 - INTERNATIONAL MICROGRAVITY LABORATORY - 2 |
|_______________________________________________________________|
VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 184 sm
LOCATION: Pad 39A INCLINATION: 28.45 degrees
LAUNCH DATE: July 8, 1994 CREW SIZE: 7
LAUNCH TIME: 12:43 p.m. EDT LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hrs/30 min
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: July 22/6:43 a.m. EDT
MISSION DURATION: 13 days/18 hours
The countdown for Columbia's launch continues on schedule today with no
technical problems being worked. Yesterday, operations to load cryogenic
reactants into the orbiter's storage tanks was completed and the pad
reopened
for regularly scheduled work at about 1:30 p.m. Following fueling
operations,
the orbiter mid-body umbilical unit was demated from the vehicle and
retracted
back to the service structure. Orbiter communications activation and final
vehicle and facility close-outs are in work today.
Final stowage of experiments in the spacelab will continue until about
4
p.m. today and preparations are being made to retract the rotating service
structure to launch position at about 5:30 p.m. At about 4:23 a.m. tomorrow
operations will commence to begin loading the external tank with more than
500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
Forecasters continue to indicate a 40 percent probability of weather
prohibiting launch tomorrow. The primary concerns are for possible
developing
coastal showers or thunderstorms around the complex 39 area. Also, a
tropical
wave near the southern Bahamas appears to be drifting slowly northwestward.
During Friday's launch window, pad winds are expected to be from the west at
10
- 15 knots; temperature 84 degrees F; visibility 7 miles; and clouds
scattered
at about 3,500 - 7,500 feet, 10,000 - 12,000 feet, and 25,000 - 28,000 feet.
The 24-hour-delay and 48-hour-delay forecast reveals slightly worsening
conditions and forecasters list a 60 percent chance of violation for
attempts
on Saturday or Sunday.
Today the seven-member astronaut crew will be given a briefing on
tomorrow's launch weather outlook at KSC and the transatlantic abort sites
in
Africa. Also today, the crew will make last minute adjustments to their
flight
plans and complete their review of launch day activities. Tomorrow, the
crew
will be awakened at about 7:48 a.m. to begin launch day activities.
Departure
for the pad remains set for 9:28 a.m. tomorrow.
_________________________________________________
| |
| SUMMARY OF BUILT-IN HOLDS FOR STS-65 |
|_________________________________________________|
T-TIME ------- LENGTH OF HOLD ---- HOLD BEGINS --- HOLD ENDS
T-27 hours --- 4 hours ---------- 10 pm Tues.---- 2 am Wed.
T-19 hours --- 8 hours ---------- 10 am Wed.----- 6 pm Wed.
T-11 hours --- 20 hrs.,23 mins. - 2 am Thurs.---- 10:23 pm Thurs.
T-6 hours ---- 1 hour ----------- 3:23 am Fri.--- 4:23 am Fri.
T-3 hours ---- 2 hours ---------- 7:23 am Fri.--- 9:23 am Fri.
T-20 minutes - 10 minutes ------- 12:03 pm Fri.-- 12:13 pm Fri.
T-9 minutes -- 10 minutes ------- 12:24 pm Fri.-- 12:34 pm Fri.
____________________________________
| |
| CREW FOR MISSION STS-65 |
|____________________________________|
Commander (CDR): Robert Cabana (Red team)
Pilot (PLT): Jim Halsell (Red team)
Mission Specialist (MS1): Rick Hieb (Red team)
Mission Specialist (MS2): Carl Walz (Blue team)
Mission Specialist (MS3): Leroy Chiao (Blue team)
Mission Specialist (MS4): Don Thomas (Blue team)
Payload Specialist (PS1): Chiaki Mukai (Red Team)
__________________________________________________
| |
| SUMMARY OF STS-65 LAUNCH DAY CREW ACTIVITIES |
|__________________________________________________|
Thursday, July 7, 1994
9:00 p.m. Wake up (Blue team)
9:30 p.m. Breakfast (Blue team)
Friday, July 8, 1994
12:00 a.m. Sleep (Red team)
7:48 a.m. Wake up (Red team)
8:18 a.m. Lunch/Breakfast
8:48 a.m. Weather briefing (CDR, PLT, MS2)
8:48 a.m. Don flight equipment (MS1, MS3, MS4, PS1)
8:58 a.m. Don flight equipment (CDR, PLT, MS2)
9:28 a.m. Depart for launch pad 39A
9:58 a.m. Arrive at white room and begin ingress
11:13 a.m. Close crew hatch
12:43 p.m. Launch
|
| 897.16 | Did it launch? | 4371::BATTERSBY | | Fri Jul 08 1994 16:39 | 3 |
| Any word on whether STS-65 got off today?
Bob
|
| 897.17 | Launch Statement -- Successful and on time... | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Fri Jul 08 1994 18:19 | 3 |
| Columbia began the STS-65 mission with an on-time launch at 11:43:00:69 a.m.
CDT from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch occured at the
beginning of the 2-1/2 hour launch window.
|
| 897.18 | MCC Status Reports #2-4, Element Set | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Mon Jul 11 1994 11:27 | 140 |
| [Status Reports will be posted on the Web as I manage to pick them up.
I will repost the reports here daily. -dg]
STS-65 Status Report #2
6 a.m. July 9, 1994
Mission Control Center
All systems aboard the Columbia are operating well as the space
shuttle provides a stable platform for more than 80 international
microgravity investigations.
The Blue Team astronauts -- Mission Specialists Carl Walz, Don Thomas
and Leroy Chiao -- began the first shift of operational research after
the Red Team -- Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Jim Halsell, Payload
Commander Rick Hieb and Japanese Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai --
powered up International Microgravity Lab-2 and checked out the lab's
equipment. As the Blue Team works, the Red team is awakening after an
8-hour sleep shift.
While Chiao and Thomas worked in the Spacelab module tucked in
Columbia's payload bay, Walz took care of orbiter housekeeping chores,
and performed the first run on the Performance Assessment Workstation,
or PAWS. Using graphic input devices that coincide with targets on a
computer screen, crew members will record the effects of microgravity
on the cognitive skills required for successful performance of many
tasks during the mission. The laptop computer will record the speed
and accuracy of the cursor movements, and the time required to
interpret the displayed instruction throughout the flight.
Columbia is now in a 163 by 161 nautical mile orbit, with no
significant problems seen by the crew or flight controllers.
The Johnson Space Center Newsroom will open at 8 a.m. Saturday and
close at 2 p.m. The newsroom hours on Sunday also will be 8 a.m. to 2
p.m. On weekdays during the mission, the newsroom will be open from 7
a.m. to 6 p.m.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission Control Center
STS-65 Status Report #3
6 p.m. July 9, 1994
Columbia and its seven-member crew conducted the first of many
on-orbit shift changes earlier today settling in for near continuous
operations in the pressurized Spacelab module gathering data for
scientists in support of the second International Microgravity
Laboratory mission.
Commander Bob Cabana and Pilot Jim Halsell managed activities in the
crew compartment of the orbiter while Mission Specialist Rick Hieb and
Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai spent their first full day in space
working in the laboratory. Those four astronauts make up the Red Team
throughout the flight.
The remaining three crew members, called the Blue Team, are made up of
Mission Specialists Carl Walz, Leroy Chiao and Don Thomas. That team
is scheduled to wake up about eight tonight.
Other than a short-lived problem with the bathroom aboard Columbia,
all vehicle systems are performing well, with no problems being
tracked by flight controllers in Mission Control.
The Waste Containment System, or WCS, experienced a problem with the
solid waste compactor piston when the unit became stuck briefly.
Halsell worked a procedure to check the unit and it has functioned
fine since.
Cabana hooked up the onboard ham radio, called SAREX for Shuttle
Amateur Radio Experiment and talked with middle school students at the
Blair Middle School in Sunrise, Florida.
The Red Team is scheduled to watch over Columbia and Spacelab until
about midnight. The current altitude of the Orbiter is 163 nautical
miles as it circles the Earth every 90 minutes.
The Johnson Space Center Newsroom hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m Sunday. On
weekdays during the mission, the newsroom will be open from 7 a.m. to
6 p.m.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission Control Center
STS-65 Status Report #4
6 a.m. July 10, 1994
The Red Team of astronauts aboard Columbia begins its third duty shift
of the 14-day mission this morning as near continuous operations in
the pressurized Spacelab module gather more and more data for
scientists participating in the International Microgravity
Laboratory-2 mission.
Commander Bob Cabana and Pilot Jim Halsell will take care of
activities in the crew compartment while Mission Specialist Rick Hieb
and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai spend their second day working in
the laboratory.
The Blue Team of Mission Specialists Carl Walz, Leroy Chiao and Don
Thomas will begin its sleep shift about 9:30 a.m. CDT after a smooth
shift. Neither the crew nor flight controllers in Houston reported
any significant problems overnight.
One highlight was a television interview with Cleveland natives Walz
and Thomas by a hometown television station. Displaying Cleveland
penants, stickers and shirts, the pair discussed how important the
STS-65 experiments are to long-duration space flight, how their
academic studies helped them to become astronauts and how the Apollo
11 lunar landing motivated them 25 years ago.
The current altitude of the orbiter is 163 nautical miles as it
circles the Earth every 90 minutes.
The Johnson Space Center Newsroom hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m Sunday. On
weekdays during the mission, the newsroom will be open from 7 a.m. to
6 p.m.
NASA issues four status reports daily during the mission: Orbiter
status reports from Mission Control at about 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., and
science operations reports from Spacelab Mission Operations Control in
Huntsville at approximately 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
STS-65
1 23173U 94105A 94191.62949203 .00064328 00000-0 21757-3 0 61
2 23173 28.4654 353.2447 0002401 329.9288 30.1191 15.90390986 323
Satellite: STS-65
Catalog number: 23173
Epoch time: 94191.62949203 = (10 JUL 94 15:06:28.11 UTC)
Element set: 006
Inclination: 28.4654 deg
RA of node: 353.2447 deg Space Shuttle Flight STS-65
Eccentricity: .0002401 Keplerian element set JSC-006
Arg of perigee: 329.9288 deg from NASA flight Day 3 vector
Mean anomaly: 30.1191 deg
Mean motion: 15.90390986 rev/day G. L. Carman
Decay rate: 6.4328e-04 rev/day^2 NASA Johnson Space Center
Epoch rev: 32
|
| 897.19 | NASA Select Schedule | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Mon Jul 11 1994 20:24 | 8 |
| pragma::public:[nasa]sts-65.nasa_select
Also semi-hyperized in the STS-65 Information Center
http://www-space.lkg.dec.com/space-archives.html
- dave
|
| 897.20 | MCC Status Reports #5-7, IML-2 Status Reports #1-6, Elements | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Tue Jul 12 1994 10:39 | 661 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-65 Status Report #5
6 p.m. July 10, 1994
Routine housekeeping was the order of business today as Columbia circles the
Earth virtually trouble free continuing to provide a stable platform for the
around the clock science work ongoing in the Spacelab module.
Commander Bob Cabana and Pilot Jim Halsell are in charge of Orbiter upkeep
while Mission Specialist Rick Hieb and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai continue
science work in the laboratory in support of the second International
Microgravity Laboratory mission.
Both Hieb and Mukai spent time in a device designed to help astronauts counter
the effects of microgravity on the human body. The lower body negative
pressure device, or LBNP, is used to create a vacuum that pulls fluids back
into the lower portions of the body as it is on Earth.
While Halsell reviewed his landing skills on the portable in-flight landing
trainer, called PILOT, Cabana conducted a tour of the Orbiter watching over the
shoulders of crew members as they performed various experiments throughout the
spacecraft. He ended the tour with views of the Earth from the operating
altitude of 163 nautical miles.
Earlier today, Hieb jiggled what was apparently a loose connection on a cable
used to transmit data to the payload controllers in Huntsville. The action was
the first step in checking the cable which did restore the link to the ground
precluding any further work by the crew.
The remaining three astronauts, working an opposite shift from their
co-workers, are scheduled to wake up about eight tonight. Carl Walz, Leroy
Chiao and Don Thomas make up the Blue Team during the STS-65 flight.
Columbia continues to perform in excellent shape, circling the Earth every 90
minutes at an altitude of 163 nautical miles.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission Control Center
STS-65 Status Report #6
6 a.m. July 11, 1994
The STS-65 astronauts remain focused on the work at hand as Columbia
continues to provide a trouble-free environment for microgravity
research.
The only difficulty reported during the Blue Team's shift was the
early termination of an excess supply water dump. The dump was
stopped when nozzle temperatures were seen to be dropping too fast.
Mission Specialist Carl Walz walked through a series of test
procedures designed to determine whether ice had formed on the nozzle.
Meanwhile, Leroy Chiao and Don Thomas continued to work unimpeded in
the Spacelab module, sending down video of some of the additional
passengers on board -- goldfish, jellyfish and newts.
The Blue Team is scheduled to hand over to the Red Team about 8:30
a.m. CDT and begin its sleep shift about 10:45 a.m.
Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Jim Halsell, Mission Specialist Rick Hieb
and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai are scheduled to awaken from
their sleep shift at 6:30 a.m. and begin their fourth day of
microgravity research.
Columbia continues to perform in excellent shape, circling the Earth
every 90 minutes at an altitude of 163 nautical miles.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission Control Center
STS-65 Status Report #7
6 p.m. July 11, 1994
The crew of Columbia's STS-65 mission continues to work aboard a
trouble-free spacecraft permitting uninterrupted science work in the
Spacelab module as part of the International Microgravity Laboratory
flight.
Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Jim Halsell, Mission Specialist Rick Hieb
and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai are sharing duty aboard the
Orbiter during their workday which began about 8 a.m. this morning and
ends at 9 p.m. tonight. Their counterparts on the opposite shift,
Mission Specialists Carl Walz, Leroy Chiao and Don Thomas will wake up
about 7 p.m. this evening.
From an orbiter standpoint, no problems are being tracked by the
flight control teams in the Mission Control Center monitoring systems
along with the crew. The only item of interest seen early this
morning was a drop in temperature on the supply water nozzle that is
kept heated to prevent possible formation of ice during routine dumps
of excess water overboard throughout the flight. Flight Flight
controllers are evaluating the data to determine what may have caused
the drop in temperature, and will dump excess water by evaporating it
through an alternate system called the flash evaporator system, or
FES.
Circling the Earth 16 times a day at an altitude of 163 nautical
miles, Columbia continues to operate with no problems.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
IML-2 Public Affairs Status Report #01
6:00 p.m. CDT, July 8, 1994
0/6:17 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
One of the most complex science missions in the 11-year history of the
Spacelab program got underway this afternoon as the seven-member STS-65 crew
powered up the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) payload.
The 14-day flight schedule is packed with more than 80 experiments, to be
performed in 19 life-science and microgravity-science facilities. The
ambitious research agenda builds on experience gained from previous Spacelab
missions, with approximately twice the number of experiments and facilities as
its predecessor, IML-1, which flew in January 1992.
More than 200 scientists representing six space agencies from around
the world contributed to IML-2. Their investigations will cover scientific
questions that can best be answered away from gravity's influence. Experiments
studying human physiology, aquatic animals or cultured cells will help reveal
the role gravity plays in shaping life on Earth. Investigations of fluids and
materials will uncover more about basic mechanisms which affect nearly every
physical science.
Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai of Japan began the first IML-2
experiment operations at 2:35 p.m. CDT, when she activated the European Space
Agency's Advanced Protein Crystallization Facility. Housed in two orbiter
middeck lockers, it will operate automatically throughout the mission. The
versatile space facility is the first to use three different crystal growth
methods, allowing scientists to choose the best conditions for their
experiments. Scientists from the U.S. and seven European countries are growing
biologically important protein crystals which are difficult to produce on
Earth. Some 5,000 video images of the crystals made during flight will help
them determine the physical mechanisms which govern protein crystal growth.
Post-flight analysis of the space-grown crystals will help determine
their structure and function, important for a better understanding of living
systems and the development of advanced medicines. For instance, the
pharmaceutical industry uses structural information to design a drug which
binds to a specific protein, blocking a chemically active site. Such a drug
fits a protein like a key in a lock to "turn off" the protein's activities,
thus possibly regulating metabolic processes.
Payload Commander Rick Hieb, Pilot Jim Halsell and Mukai floated into
the Spacelab module at 3:21 p.m. Hieb and Halsell had the lab up and running
ahead of schedule, just minutes after 4 p.m. Payload operations control from
the Marshall Space Flight Center's Spacelab Mission Operations Control facility
in Huntsville began about a half hour later.
Mukai activated the IML-2 payload, then checked out the European Space
Agency's Biorack facility in preparation for loading its many sample
containers. The perishable biological specimens were stored on the orbiter
middeck shortly before launch. Various containers holding samples for the
facility's 19 life science investigations will be relocated for experiment
processing more than 2,000 times during the mission.
Operation of most of the remaining IML-2 facilities will begin over the
next 12 hours. Crew members will continue activating Biorack experiments, look
in on the fish and newts in Japan's Aquatic Animal Experiment Unit, and take a
mental performance test on a laptop computer for comparison with tests made
later in the mission. They will start up radiation and motion detectors to
monitor the Spacelab environment. The first experiments will begin in the
European Space Agency's Critical Point Facility and Germany's Slow-Rotating
Centrifuge Microscope.
NASA issues four status reports daily on STS-65/IML-2 activities: science
operations reports from Spacelab Mission Operations Control in Huntsville at
approximately 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., and orbiter operations reports from Mission
Control in Houston at approximately 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
IML-2 Public Affairs Status Report #02
6:00 a.m. CDT, July 9, 1994
0/18:17 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
The first day in space was a busy one for the STS-65 crew members, working
with experiments for the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2)
mission. This international crew of seven will spend 14 days aboard the Space
Shuttle Columbia conducting over 80 investigations for more than 200 scientists
from six space agencies.
Payload Commander Rick Hieb and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai
transferred experiment containers from orbiter middeck lockers to the Biorack
facility, which provides incubation, storage, associated tools and a contained
work area for over 19 investigations during this mission. Experiments
conducted during this third flight of the Biorack facility will help scientists
understand more about how microgravity and radiation affect biological material
such as bacteria, mammalian and human cells, isolated tissues and eggs, sea
urchin larvae, fruit flies and plant seedlings.
Working in the Biorack glovebox, Mission Specialist Don Thomas injected
concanavalin-A into containers with samples of white blood cells, part of the
human immune system, and placed these cells into the Biorack incubator. Half
of these activated cells were exposed to the weightless environment of space
and half were placed in the Biorack facility's centrifuge to simulate gravity.
Dr. Augusto Cogoli, principal investigator from Zurich, Switzerland, will
analyze these cells after the mission to determine what effect microgravity had
on their development and growth. For another of Dr. Cogoli's investigations,
Thomas activated lymphocytes with concanavalin-A in a study to determine if
immune cells can make contact with each other in a weightless environment. For
a French experiment, Thomas exposed human immune cells to an artificial
stimulant which promotes cell growth. This study is designed to examine the
ability of human immune cells to grow and reproduce in space.
Thomas injected cultures of mouse immune system cells with antigens,
foreign proteins that provoke antagonistic reactions in a host. This Biorack
experiment will help scientists understand how the cells respond to external
triggers such as germs and chemical factors. As humans plan for longer stays
in space, scientists must understand how the human immune system works in
microgravity.
In the Aquatic Animal Experiment Unit (AAEU), Mukai observed two newly
laid newt eggs, part of a Japanese investigation to study the effects of
microgravity on the early development of organisms. Hieb checked on the Medaka
fish in the AAEU and reported that they appeared healthy and were swimming in
random patterns. Thomas opened the AAEU window to get a good look at the
goldfish and reported that they appeared to be in good health.
Mission Specialist Leroy Chiao activated the German Space Agency's Slow
Rotating Centrifuge Microscope, referred to as NIZEMI, the acronym for its
descriptive name in German. The NIZEMI facility will provide scientists with
the capability to observe both living and non-living matter exposed to a wide
range of gravity levels. One of the experiments conducted in this facility
examined the effects of microgravity on the behavior and development of small
jellyfish. Chiao selected samples of jellyfish that were allowed to develop on
Earth for 10 days prior to launch and placed them in the NIZEMI facility. Dr.
Dorothy Spangenberg, principal investigator from the Eastern Virginia Medical
School in Virginia, will use inflight video downlink received during the
experiment and videotaped documentation of the jellyfish to gain a better
understanding of the role of gravity in the behavior and development of
organisms during spaceflight.
In a fluids science investigation, STS-65 Commander Bob Cabana installed
thermostats and powered up the laser and camera systems in the European Space
Agency's Critical Point Facility (CPF). This facility allows scientists to
measure and visually record special fluid properties at their critical point,
when a fluid behaves like a gas and a liquid at the same time. One of the
IML-2 principal investigators using CPF, Dr. Hermann Klein, of the DLR
Institute for Space Simulation, Cologne, Germany, watched video as his
experiment involving sulfur hexafluoride was heated to its critical point. The
study of critical points in fluids is important to understand the behavior of
fluids in rocket and spacecraft thruster reservoirs, the processes inside heat
exchangers, and of cleaning methods involving fluids at high pressure.
During the next 12 hours, crew members will continue to perform life
sciences investigations in both the Biorack and NIZEMI facilities. Other
activities will include observations of the AAEU fish and eggs, and
microgravity sciences experiments in the Electromagnetic Containerless
Processing Facility known as TEMPUS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IML-2 Public Affairs Status Report #03
6:00 p.m. CDT, July 9, 1994
1/6:17 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
The crew of the second International Microgravity Laboratory Spacelab
kept up an ambitious schedule of experiment activities today, with the focus on
life science investigations. As planned for this point in the mission, 13 of
the 19 experiment facilities have been activated.
Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai and her crewmates took a break from work late
this afternoon to receive greetings from several Japanese government officials.
Mr. Masato Yamano, president of the Japanese Space Agency (NASDA), spoke with
Mukai from NASA's Spacelab Mission Operations Control facility in Huntsville.
Ms. Makiko Tanaka, minister of science and technology, spoke to Mukai from
Tokyo. Mr. Yohei Kono, Japan's vice prime minister and minister for foreign
affairs, offered his congratulations by telephone from Naples, Italy.
Mission Specialist Don Thomas completed one of two Biorack experiments designed
by Dr. Didier Schmitt of France. Both study the production of cytokines,
proteins that prompt disease-fighting immune cells to multiply. In previous
space experiments, microgravity has dramatically reduced immune cell
production. Schmitt and other Biorack scientists hope to determine exactly how
the absence of gravity interferes with cell multiplication. A better
understanding of the process could lead to drugs that mimic gravity's effect,
inhibiting the free multiplication of cells, such as cancer cells, on Earth.
Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai concluded a Biorack experiment to isolate an
irregularity in frog-egg development observed in earlier space experiments. At
one stage of cell division, embryos developed on IML-1 had an abnormal
thickness in cell layers. However, eggs fertilized aboard Spacelab J developed
into normal frogs. Apparently, any irregularity in cell formation was repaired
during later stages of development. The IML-2 experiment concentrates on the
earliest cell-division stages to determine the exact point at which the
irregularity occurs. Results should provide insight into normal development
from a single cell to a complete organism.
In other Biorack activities, Thomas set up equipment for time-lapse photographs
recording root growth in space. He transferred mouse bone cell samples between
a one-gravity centrifuge and static racks. Mukai changed out food trays for
the fruit fly experiment.
Dr. Ingrid Block, of the Institute for Aerospace Medicine in Cologne, Germany,
watched downlink video of her slime mold experiment in the Slow-Rotating
Microscope Centrifuge (also known as NIZEMI, the acronym for its German name).
The centrifuge exposed the mold to various acceleration levels, from one-and-a-
half times that of Earth, down to microgravity. After the mission, Dr. Block
will analyze recorded video to determine how the mold senses gravity and at
what point that perception occurs. The single-cell organism moves in response
to stimulation in the same way as human embryonic, nerve and white blood cells.
Later, NIZEMI scientists used the facility to search for the minimum amount of
gravitational force at which a simple algae plant will react and change its
direction of growth. They also observed a Biorack cell motion experiment with
the NIZEMI equipment.
Two experiments evaluated the crew's response to microgravity. Payload
Commander Rick Hieb and Mukai measured their height for Canada's Spinal Changes
in Microgravity experiment. STS-65 Commander Bob Cabana and Pilot Jim Halsell
performed daily mental performance tests on a laptop computer. Scientists will
compare the tests to measure how well the crew can process information over
duration of a long mission.
Payload controllers are refining a plan for the crew to service the Japanese
life science equipment's data downlink system. It has not been operating since
the equipment was activated last night. In the meantime, crew members are
verbally relaying experiment information to the ground. Science operations in
the Aquatic Animal Experiment Unit and the Thermoelectric Incubator are
proceeding without interruption. Ground-controllers cannot receive information
from the Real-Time Radiation Monitoring Device until communication is restored.
On the materials science side, Mukai and experiment scientists went through the
step-by-step procedure to check out Germany's Electromagnetic Containerless
Processing Facility, on its first flight aboard IML-2. Called "TEMPUS" for its
German acronym, the facility levitates and melts materials to study their
solidification from a liquid state. The first TEMPUS experiment will begin
this evening.
The Critical Point Facility's ground team continued their study of heat flow
and density stabilization in a fluid. It will conclude early tomorrow
afternoon.
Biorack and NIZEMI activities will occupy the majority of the crew's schedule
for tonight.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
IML-2 Public Affairs Status Report #04
6:00 a.m. CDT, July 10, 1994
1/18:17 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Crew members aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia spent a productive night
performing experiments in life and materials science for the second
International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) mission.
Mission Specialists Leroy Chiao and Don Thomas placed sample containers of
Chara, a type of green algae, into the Slow Rotating Centrifuge Microscope
(called NIZEMI, the acronym for its German name) and adjusted the facility's
microscope to provide the best possible view of the algae during their exposure
to variations in levels of gravity. Video downlink of this experiment gave
Principal Investigator Dr. Andreas Sievers of Bonn, Germany, a good view of how
these single cells react and adjust to various levels and durations of gravity.
Chiao continued to conduct a second experiment studying jellyfish in the NIZEMI
facility. Dr. Dorothy Spangenberg of the Eastern Virginia Medical School in
Norfolk, Virginia, principal investigator for this IML-2 experiment, watched
video downlink of the jellyfish as they experienced the varying levels of
gravity provided by the NIZEMI facility. This experiment is designed to
examine the effect of microgravity on developmental processes of animals and
the role gravity plays in the behavioral and developmental responses of
organisms on Earth.
Chiao opened the window of Japan's Aquatic Animal Experiment Unit and reported
that the goldfish continue to appear healthy. This experiment explores the
hypothesis that space motion sickness is caused by conflicting messages sent to
the brain from the eyes and gravity-sensing organs, the otoliths. Dr. Akira
Takabayashi, principal investigator from Toyoake, Japan, hopes to clarify
causes of space motion sickness as part of the efforts to develop preventive
measures.
Life sciences investigations continued throughout the evening as Thomas worked
in the European Space Agency's Biorack glovebox to terminate the growth of
roots from a plant called rape (Brassica napus) and preserve them for analysis
after the mission. This investigation is called Transform because the plant
roots have been genetically transformed by strains of a bacteria known as
Agrobacterium, which causes the roots to branch out excessively and become
unaffected by gravity on Earth. Principal Investigator Dr. Tor-Henning Iversen
of Dragvoll, Norway, designed this experiment to compare the roots of these
genetically altered plants to those of normal plant roots grown in
microgravity. Scientists must learn more about plant growth in microgravity
before plants can be included as part of the ecological environment system for
longer stays in space.
Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai worked in the Biorack glovebox to "wash" white
blood cells. This washing process was done when Mukai injected a
detergent-filled syringe into the cell containers and actually flushed the
culture medium away from the white blood cells. These procedures completed the
Cytokine experiment, and Dr. Didier Schmitt of Toulouse, France, will analyze
the cells and the culture medium after landing to determine the rate of cell
growth and multiplication. Previous space experiments have shown that the
absence of gravity interferes with normal cell activities and scientists hope
to determine which part of the cells' reaction chain is altered in
microgravity.
Both of the Biorack centrifuges continue to work normally following an earlier
inflight maintenance procedure which connected both centrifuge drives to the
same drive motor, bypassing a failed drive motor in one of the centrifuges.
Payload Commander Rick Hieb talked with team members for the Electromagnetic
Containerless Processing Facility (called TEMPUS, the acronym for its German
name) to adjust an aluminum-copper-iron sample before processing began. In
this experiment, a small spherical sample was levitated, melted and solidified
to help scientists better understand how and why quasicrystals form. The
quasicrystalline state in metallic alloys, the third state of solid matter, was
only discovered in 1984. Before the experiment was completed, downlink
indicated that the sample was moving toward the side of its container, or cage.
The science team decided to retract the sample to avoid possible contamination
of the heater coils. Thomas viewed the sample in the TEMPUS facility, relaying
information to Angelika Diefenback, an operations team member at the Spacelab
Mission Operations Control center in Huntsville, Ala., about the behavior of
the sample as it was successfully retracted.
Thomas started the operation of a second experiment in the TEMPUS facility
which will investigate viscosity and surface tension of undercooled melts. Dr.
Ivan Egry, principal investigator from Cologne, Germany, will examine the data
from this IML-2 experiment to gain a better understanding of the internal
friction of a liquid (viscosity) and the force that keeps liquid together in a
drop (surface tension).
Payload controllers continue to plan for an inflight maintenance procedure to
repair the data downlink system which supports part of the Japanese life
sciences equipment. The Real-Time Radiation Monitoring Device, a Japanese
investigation which measures the high-energy cosmic radiation entering the
Spacelab module, has been turned off and will not be turned back on until the
data downlink system is operational.
During the next 12-hour shift, STS-65 crew members will continue to conduct
life sciences experiments in the NIZEMI and Biorack facilities and materials
sciences investigations in the TEMPUS facility.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
IML-2 Public Affairs Status Report #05
6:00 p.m. CDT, July 10, 1994
2/6:17 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
The experiment-packed second International Microgravity Laboratory mission
is staying "remarkably near schedule" after two days in orbit, according to
Mission Manager Lanny Upton. Crew members and ground controllers worked
together to complete a variety of experiments and resolve some of the
challenges associated with keeping a complex science payload up and running.
Payload Commander Rick Hieb successfully adjusted a communications cable
this morning to establish data downlink from the Japanese life sciences
equipment. The repair allowed the Japanese team to receive information from
their Real-Time Radiation Monitoring Device for the first time in the flight.
The device actively measures the high-energy cosmic radiation which enters the
Spacelab in orbit, then transmits those measurements to the ground. Signals
also are being transmitted to remote centers for comparison with current
radiation information, such as optical and X-ray observations. The IML-2
device is a first step toward creation of a space weather-forecasting network
which eventually could warn astronauts on long flights to take shelter from
radiation storms.
Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai reported that the medaka fish in the
Animal Aquatic Experiment Unit are more active than they had been the first day
of the mission, but they still seem disoriented in microgravity. She counted
10 medaka eggs in the aquarium and gave the fish their first scheduled feeding.
Mukai made the first videotapes of fruit flies in Dr. Roberto Marco's study of
microgravity's effect on the aging process. Scientists have observed that
flies age more quickly in space than on Earth. This experiment tests a theory
that premature aging is linked to increased activity as the flies attempt to
move in microgravity, along with excessive respiration.
Mission Specialist Don Thomas completed an experiment in the Slow Rotating
Microscope Centrifuge, or NIZEMI, facility that studies how a green algae
called chara responds to varying levels of gravity. "We knew from sounding
rocket flights that gravity-sensing crystals in the plants would move from
their normal position, but we didn't know how long they would keep moving or
how far they would go. One surprise was that the movement stopped at a certain
place, suggesting there must be something which dictates how far the crystals
can move," said Co-investigator Dr. Brigitte Buchen, of the University of Bonn,
Germany. "I admire the speed and certainty with which crew members have
selected the best cells for study under the NIZEMI microscopes," she added.
The next two NIZEMI experiments searched for gravity thresholds of a simple
plant organism called Euglena gracilis and a unicellular organism called
Loxodes straitus. Knowing how simple organisms respond to gravity can help
scientists interpret behavioral responses in more complex organisms and even
humans.
Early this morning, scientists used the Electromagnetic Containerless
Processing Facility (or TEMPUS, for its German name) to study an oscillating
sphere of melted gold. "We got some very interesting measurements of viscosity
and surface tension above the melting point," said Dr. Georg Lohoefer, a
colleague of Principal Investigator Dr. Ivan Egry. Scientists can deduce the
viscosity, or internal friction, of the liquid by the rate at which the drop
returned to a spherical shape after being disturbed. Surface tension, the
force that keeps a liquid together in a drop, can be determined by the
frequency at which the sample oscillated before it stabilized to a sphere. A
better understanding of the properties of liquid metals is of interest to
electronics and manufacturing industries as well as to theoretical scientists.
The TEMPUS team decided not to melt their next sample, a nickel/tin alloy, when
video views from the top of the experiment chamber revealed that the metal
sphere was not centered in the sample cage.
TEMPUS is the first electromagnetic containerless processing facility to
fly in space for more than a few minutes. As is often the case with any
complex, new space hardware, the team is fine-tuning methods for controlling
their equipment during its initial days of operation in orbit. "We expected we
would have to complete calibration of this facility during the mission, since
there is no way to do it in gravity on Earth," said IML-2 Program Scientist Dr.
Brad Carpenter. After recalibration, another experiment which uses a gold and
copper alloy to study viscosity and surface tension went on as planned.
The mission's first Critical Point Facility experiment drew to a close this
afternoon after 43 hours of operation. Designed by Dr. Hermann Klein of the
German Space Agency, the investigation aims to determine how long it takes a
fluid to stabilize, or reach equilibrium, after it has been disturbed. Klein
studied these density equilibration time scales in normal fluids aboard German
Spacelabs D-1 and D-2. On this mission, he is making similar observations in a
fluid near its critical point, where it behaves like a liquid and a gas at the
same time. At that point, a small interference may cause large changes.
According to Co-investigator Dr. Rainer Nhle, it appears stabilization took
longer than had been expected. If this holds true after post-flight analysis,
it could affect the way future investigations are designed. Nhle said IML-2
controllers gave his team more than double the real-time video they had
expected, greatly increasing the scientific outcome.
Hieb spent part of the afternoon as the subject of a Lower Body Negative
Pressure Experiment. His lower body was encased in a fabric bag, sealed at the
waist, in which a partial vacuum can be created. Mukai monitored his blood
pressure and heart rate as pressure within the bag was slightly lowered, then
raised again. This so-called negative pressure pulls fluids back into the
legs. Mukai is now taking her turn as test subject . The tests will be
repeated on both crew members three more times during the mission to monitor
their adaptation to space flight.
Tonight's schedule includes more Biorack, NIZEMI and TEMPUS activities. The
crew will inject newts with a hormone to induce egg laying and perform the
mission's first Vibration Isolation Box Experiment. A heat transfer experiment
will continue in the Critical Point Facility throughout the night.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
IML-2 Public Affairs Status Report #06
6:00 a.m. CDT, July 11, 1994
2/18:13 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
The international crew members aboard Space Shuttle Columbia continued to
conduct life and materials science experiments for the second International
Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) mission over the past 12 hours.
Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai spent time in the Lower Body Negative
Pressure device, part of NASA's Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project. For
this experiment, Mukai's lower body was encased in a fabric bag, which seals
around the waist of the crew member and provides negative pressure to draw body
fluids back into the lower extremities. This experiment is designed to help
counteract effects of space on the heart and to help crew members stay
comfortable and healthy, especially upon their return to Earth. Mukai had
difficulty obtaining a good seal around her waist and the experiment was
concluded early. This 45-minute "ramp" test, scheduled to be performed again
later in the mission for both Mukai and Payload Commander Rick Hieb, will
include measures to ensure a good seal around the crew member's waist.
Mission Specialist Leroy Chiao placed samples of a unicellular organism,
Loxodes striatus, into the Slow Rotating Centrifuge Microscope facility, called
NIZEMI for its German name. Dr. Ruth Hemmersbach-Krause's experiment uses the
various levels of gravity provided by the NIZEMI facility to study the
orientation, velocities and swimming tracks of this organism to determine the
point at which they begin to perceive gravitational forces. Since scientists
believe these cells may function similarly to the inner ear of vertebrates,
this information can provide a better understanding of the underlying
mechanisms by which living creatures sense gravity.
Dr. Augusto Cogoli of Zurich, Switzerland, watched video from Spacelab of
his Motion experiment as it was subjected to varying levels of gravity in the
NIZEMI facility overnight. Chiao performed routine microscope refocusing steps
to provide a clear view of the cells' activities during the experiment run.
The Motion experiment is designed to determine whether or not immune system T-
and B- cells can contact each other in a weightless environment. Observing
these cells in microgravity will help scientists gain a better understanding of
how the immune system works.
Dr. Antonius Michels, of the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands,
watched downlink video of his experiment that measures the propagation, or wave
motion, of heat within the fluid sulfur hexafluoride as it neared the condition
where a precise combination of temperature and pressure compel the liquid and
gas phases to become identical and form one phase, the critical point. Since
the properties of a fluid can be altered dramatically in this one-phase state,
studies such as this one, being conducted in the European Space Agency's
Critical Point Facility, can provide insight into a variety of physics problems
ranging from phase changes in fluids to changes in the composition and magnetic
properties of solids.
In an investigation to study the effect of disturbances caused by the
onboard crew and equipment operations on extremely sensitive experiments, Chiao
installed a container of diluted salt water that included an indicator dye into
the Vibration Isolation Box Experiment System (VIBES). Dr. Hisao Azuma,
principal investigator from Chohu-shi, Japan, watched a live video transmission
as Chiao intentionally disturbed the facility to determine how well the VIBES
equipment prevented disturbances in the liquid-dye solution.
Mission Specialist Don Thomas reported that Dr. Akira Takabayashi's
goldfish continued to appear healthy. These goldfish are being studied to
clarify causes of space motion sickness, and video downlink gave Takabayashi a
good view of the goldfish as they reacted to the stimulation of light inside
their container. Thomas then moved on to another Aquatic Animal Experiment
Unit investigation where he injected female newts with a hormone to induce them
to lay eggs in their water tank. Principal Investigator Dr. Masamichi
Yamashita will examine these space-born newt eggs after the Shuttle's landing
to determine the effects of gravity on cells during the early stages of their
development.
Throughout their shift, Chiao and Thomas returned to the European Space
Agency's Biorack, transferring containers of biological samples to various
locations within the facility. Chiao worked with samples from two
investigations, which are designed to help scientists understand more about the
effects of gravity on skeletal system cells, as well as one which will examine
the way that mouse cells multiply after exposure to retinoic acid in
microgravity. As scheduled, Thomas terminated the growth of several samples of
rapeseed roots that were genetically altered before launch. He then placed
samples of cress seedlings in the Biorack photobox to complete planned
activities for an experiment which has studied the growth patterns of these
seeds in microgravity.
Materials sciences in the Electromagnetic Containerless Processing
Facility, which began late in this shift, will continue into the next shift.
Also during the next 12 hours, crew members will continue life sciences
experiments in the Biorack, NIZEMI and Aquatic Animal Experiment Unit
facilities.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
STS-65
1 23173U 94105A 94192.57067346 .00068294 00000-0 20930-3 0 74
2 23173 28.4658 346.2089 0002270 332.1014 27.9488 15.90479719 479
Satellite: STS-65
Catalog number: 23173
Epoch time: 94192.57067346 = (11 JUL 94 13:41:46.18 UTC)
Element set: 007
Inclination: 28.4658 deg
RA of node: 346.2089 deg Space Shuttle Flight STS-65
Eccentricity: .0002270 Keplerian element set JSC-007
Arg of perigee: 332.1014 deg from NASA flight Day 4 vector
Mean anomaly: 27.9488 deg
Mean motion: 15.90479719 rev/day G. L. Carman
Decay rate: 6.8294e-04 rev/day^2 NASA Johnson Space Center
Epoch rev: 47
|
| 897.21 | MCC Status Reports #8-11 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Thu Jul 14 1994 17:08 | 122 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-65 Status Report #8
6 a.m. July 12, 1994
Columbia's night-shift astronauts continued to work quietly as the STS-65
mission to study the effects of weightlessness and long-duration space flight
on animals, fluids and solids moved into its fifth full day.
Mission Specialists Leroy Chiao and Don Thomas stayed busy tending the Spacelab
module's International Microgravity Laboratory-2 experiments as Mission
Specialist Carl Walz took care of shuttle housekeeping. The Blue Team is
scheduled to begin its sleep shift about 9:30 a.m.
The Red Team -- Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Jim Halsell, Mission Specialist
Rick Hieb and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai -- is scheduled to awaken about
6:45 a.m. and begin preparing to go on duty.
From an orbiter standpoint, no significant problems are being tracked by the
flight control teams in the Mission Control Center. The only item of interest
is continuing analysis of a drop in temperature on the supply water nozzle.
That nozzle is kept heated to prevent possible formation of ice during routine
dumps of excess water overboard throughout the flight. Flight controllers are
evaluating the data to determine what may have caused the drop in temperature,
and postponed this morning's planned dump of waste water through an identical
nozzle immediately next to the supply dump nozzle. Excess supply water
continues to be dumped by evaporating it through the flash evaporator system,
or FES.
Columbia continues to circle the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 163
nautical miles and a speed of approximately 17,500 miles an hour.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission Control Center
STS-65 Status Report #9
6 p.m. July 12, 1994
Columbia's astronauts worked throughout the day aboard a near trouble-free
spacecraft while flight controllers and scientists continue to collect data in
support of the STS-65 mission.
With a few nuisances, rather than problems, aboard the Orbiter, the crew
pressed on through a timeline packed with experiments representing more than 12
countries. A couple of the video tape recorders in the Spacelab module have
been erratic, but four are available to record necessary experiment data.
Erratic signatures seen yesterday during a supply water dump overboard were not
seen today when the waste tank aboard Columbia was emptied. Possible ice in
the supply water line or nozzle could explain the signatures seen yesterday.
Four of the seven astronauts make up the Red Team: Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot
Jim Halsell, Mission Specialist Rick Hieb and Japanese Payload Specialist
Chiaki Mukai. This group works primarily during the day while the Blue Team
made up of Mission Specialists Carl Walz, Leroy Chiao and Don Thomas work
overnight. The crew spent a week prior to launch changing its sleep cycle to
match the on-orbit work shifts.
Cabana took time out of his scheduled activities to show a tape of work ongoing
aboard the spacecraft during the last 24 hours, including daily exercise,
experiment work in the Spacelab and Earth observation.
Columbia is circling the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 185 miles
with no problems to interfere with payload activities.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission Control Center
STS-65 Status Report #10
6 a.m. July 13, 1994
Three of Columbia's astronauts worked throughout the night aboard a near
zero-defect spacecraft while flight controllers and scientists continued to
collect International Microgravity Laboratory-2 data.
The Blue Team -- Mission Specialists Carl Walz, Leroy Chiao and Don Thomas --
performed its duties in support of the STS-65 mission without significant
interruption. The Red Team -- Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Jim Halsell, Mission
Specialist Rick Hieb and Japanese Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai -- got some
well-deserved rest. The Red Team awakened at 5:45 a.m. CDT, and the Blue Team
will go to bed at 8:30 a.m.
No new difficulties were reported overnight. Two videotape recorders remained
out of commission in the Spacelab module, but there are a total of four are
available to record necessary experiment data.
Columbia is circling the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 163 nautical
miles.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission Control Center
STS-65 Status Report #11
6 p.m. July 13, 1994
Columbia continues to operate virtually trouble free through 5
days of the mission providing a stable platform for laboratory
work in support of the second International Microgravity
Laboratory flight.
Other than juggling various tape recorders aboard the Orbiter
to support science requirements, the crew has spent the day
fulfilling routine housekeeping chores and monitoring
secondary experiments.
Commander Bob Cabana and Pilot Jim Halsell are handling
Orbiter duty while Mission Specialist Rick Hieb worked in the
pressurized Spacelab module. Japanese Payload Specialist
Chiaki Mukai was given the first half of her day off. After
lunch, Hieb took the rest of the day off and Mukai took over
duty in the Spacelab.
The other three astronauts, Carl Walz, Leroy Chiao and Don
Thomas, working primarily overnight, woke up about an hour ago
and will begin their work day about 8 p.m. tonight.
Columbia is circling the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude
of 163 nautical miles.
|
| 897.22 | IML-2 Status Reports #7-11 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Thu Jul 14 1994 17:09 | 493 |
| IML-2 Public Affairs Status Report #07
6:00 p.m. CDT, July 11, 1994
3/6:17 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
The IML-2 payload crew and science teams on the ground kept up a solid pace
of experiment activities today.
Early this morning, Mission Specialist Don Thomas set up a video camera to
give Principal Investigator Dr. Ken-ichi Ijiri of the University of Tokyo his
first look at his Medaka fish in Japan's Animal Aquatic Experiment Unit.
Scientists watched from Spacelab control as the four transparent, guppie-sized
fish swam in random directions, rather than swimming in loops as fish have done
on previous experiments Dr. Ijiri chose these particular male and female fish
because they did not "loop" during brief exposures to low gravity on parabolic
airplane flights. At one point during the live video, two of the fish
exhibited mating behavior. Later, Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai adjusted the
focus for a close-up view of eggs the Medaka had spawned thus far in the
mission. Scientists want to find out if fish can live and reproduce normally
in space. If so, they could be an important part of future ecological life
support systems to provide food for space travelers.
When he made his daily height measurement for Canada's Spinal Changes in
Microgravity experiment this morning, Payload Commander Rick Hieb quipped, "I
seem to have grown about an inch or so, so I am now too tall to fly in space!"
(The maximum height allowable for an astronaut is six feet, four inches, or 193
cm.) The experiment studies the height increase astronauts experience away from
gravity to determine how it relates to back pain and whether it changes the
function of the nerves or cardiovascular system.
Mukai and Hieb spent most of their afternoon performing a group of Spinal
Changes in Microgravity experiments. In a procedure often used to monitor
nerve function during back surgery on Earth, small electronic pulses were
applied to their ankles, while electrodes on their heads sensed how long the
signals took to reach their brains. They squeezed a rubber ball for three
minutes to see if their blood pressure increased to the same degree it does on
Earth during the isometric exercise. An electrocardiograph made heart
measurements during a breathing exercise to evaluate the nerves that control
heart rate.
Later this evening, Hieb and Mukai will make stereo photographs of their
backs to get very accurate height measurements, plot the shapes of their
spines, and determine how freely they can move. Today's suite of tests, along
with repetitions near the middle and end of the mission, will be compared with
an extensive set of pre-flight measurements. Principal Investigator Dr. John
Ledsome of the University of British Columbia said, "This mission will be the
first one to collect the accurate and detailed information necessary to better
understand what happens to the spine and nervous system, and why astronauts
experience back pain, when they go into space."
Hieb used some of the time allotted for Spinal Changes in Microgravity
ultrasound imaging to reset electronic boards in the Extended Duration Orbiter
Medical Program's echocardiograph unit. The unit is now functioning normally,
so it will be available to make ultrasound measurements in upcoming Lower Body
Negative Pressure and Spinal Changes in Microgravity operations.
This morning, ground controllers for the TEMPUS electromagnetic
containerless processing facility carefully withdrew a metal sample, which had
stuck to its containment cage, from the experiment chamber. They were
delighted when Hieb reported the metal had not adhered to the facility's heater
coils. The TEMPUS team is working closely with the crew and with their support
group at the European Space Agency's Microgravity User Support Center in
Cologne, Germany, to refine methods for holding their levitated samples in the
center of the experiment cage.
"Although operations are giving us trouble, the scientific results so far
have been extraordinary," said TEMPUS Project Scientist Dr. Ivan Egry. "With
our gold sample, we obtained undercooling of over 200 degrees [around 400
degrees Fahrenheit], which has never been done before. We proved a method
proposed by Dr. Hans Fecht to measure the specific heat of a liquid metal.
This could not have been accomplished on Earth. We are looking forward to more
exciting days and more results." This afternoon, the team studied a nickel-
silicon alloy with unusual glass-forming properties.
Payload crew members selected samples and adjusted views for the slime mold
experiment in the NIZEMI Slow-Rotating Microscope Centrifuge. The experiment
looks at how the single-cell organism reacts to various levels of gravity. The
Critical Point Facility team completed a 13-1/2 hour run of Dr. Teun Michels'
experiment to study heat transport in a fluid near its critical point, then
began the second of four planned runs.
Tonight, Mukai will work with a Thermoelectric Incubator experiment that
investigates the growth and differentiation of bone-derived cells, and Thomas
will conduct the mission's second Vibration Isolation Box experiment. More
Biorack, NIZEMI and TEMPUS operations also are scheduled.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
IML-2 Public Affairs Status Report #08
6:00 a.m. CDT, July 12, 1994
3/18:13 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
The crew members aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia were busy in the
Spacelab module last night, conducting one experiment after another in support
of the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) mission.
Mission Specialist Don Thomas removed the Japanese newt tank from the
Aquatic Animal Experiment Unit and reported the first case of a newt egg to
hatch in space. He also moved the tank closer to the onboard camera to give
researchers on the ground a good look at the Japanese red-bellied newts.
Thomas reported that the adult newts continued to appear healthy and active.
Payload Commander Rick Hieb and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai had
photographs taken of the contours of their spines, documenting the height and
range of motion of their vertical columns while in orbit to learn more about
back pain often experienced by astronauts during spaceflight.
Hieb brought the male Drosophila (fruit flies) out of the Biorack facility
to observe their behavior and movement. Previous experiments have shown that
the aging process of adult fruit flies is accelerated in microgravity. Because
the life span of a fruit fly is relatively short, almost their entire aging
process will be studied during this mission. The results of this investigation
could be useful in studying the factors which influence aging in humans.
Mukai took photographs of bone cells from the back legs of young adult
rodents to help scientists understand more about what causes osteoporosis, the
loss of bone calcium. In addition to benefiting future space crews, this
information could help the medical community find ways to prevent bone disease
and deterioration on Earth.
Dr. Dorothy Spangenberg at the Spacelab Mission Operations Control center
in Huntsville, Ala., guided Mission Specialist Leroy Chiao through steps to
adjust the lighting before he video taped her onboard experiment involving
jellyfish. This investigation is being conducted in the Slow Rotating
Centrifuge Microscope, called NIZEMI (the acronym for its German name) which
allows the jellyfish to experience various levels of gravity. Information
gathered during and after the mission will help scientists better understand
the effects of microgravity on the developmental processes of animals and the
role that gravity plays in behavior and development of organisms on Earth.
Chiao loaded sample containers of the slime mold Physarum polycephalum into
the NIZEMI facility and focused the microscope before beginning an observation
cycle, which involved exposing the slime mold to different levels of gravity.
This investigation is designed to help scientists such as Principal
Investigator Dr. Ingrid Block of Cologne, Germany, understand how and when a
unique form of single-cell organism senses gravity.
Chiao and Thomas completed the scheduled activities for two experiments in
the European Space Agency's Biorack facility. Both of these experiments, which
began shortly after Spacelab activation, involve cells from the human immune
system. Principal Investigator Dr. Augusto Cogoli has been conducting
identical investigations of his experiments at the Kennedy Space Center in
Florida. He will analyze both ground- and space-derived information after
landing to learn about how human immune cells recognize and respond to foreign
substances that enter the body and whether or not lymphocytes need to attach
themselves to another object in order to grow and multiply normally.
"We have just had the first grand success for the TEMPUS facility,"
Bill Hofmeister of Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, said at one point
overnight. Co-investigator Hofmeister and Principal Investigator Dr. Robert
Bayuzick were extremely pleased as they watched their sample of zirconium-
nickel heat to around 2280 degrees Fahrenheit (1250 degrees Celsius) in the
Electromagnetic Containerless Processing Facility called TEMPUS (the acronym
for its German name)
Thomas fine-tuned the TEMPUS facility during an air-to-ground conversation
with facility team member Angelika Diefenbach. Later, an investigation began in
TEMPUS which allowed three separate science teams to study different aspects of
heating, levitating and undercooling a sample of metallic glass, zirconium-
nickel. Undercooling is the process where the melted material freezes at a
temperature substantially below where it normally would, such as when the
liquid is in a container.
Investigators from the California Institute of Technology examined this
process to determine the specific amount of heat necessary to change its
temperature. Massachusetts Institute of Technology investigators measured the
viscosity, internal friction, and surface tension of the melted alloy. Surface
tension is the force that keeps liquid together in a compact drop. The science
team from Vanderbilt University looked at how the metal changed during the
nucleation, the point at which solidification began.
Another materials science experiment continued in the European Space
Agency's Critical Point Facility. Video from the Spacelab provided Dr. Antonius
Michels of the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands, with a good view of
his sulfur hexafluoride fluid reaching its critical point, the condition where
a liquid behaves as both a liquid and a gas. Knowledge gained from this type
of space-based investigation will help scientists understand more about
fundamental fluid physics.
During the next 12 hours, the STS-65 crew will continue life sciences
experiments in the Biorack and NIZEMI facility. Also, materials science
investigations in the TEMPUS facility will continue, and the Bubble, Drop and
Particle Unit facility will be activated for its first IML-2 operation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IML-2 Public Affairs Status Report #09
6:00 p.m. CDT, July 12, 1994
4/6:17 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
The subjects in today's IML-2 life-science experiments were plant and
animal cells, aquatic animals and Columbia's crew members, while microgravity
science investigations focused on alloy solidification and fluid physics.
Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai reported another "birth" in space this
morning, as she made her scheduled check of the Medaka fish in the Animal
Aquatic Experiment Unit. One baby fish had hatched in the aquarium compartment
which holds Medaka eggs fertilized before launch. Scientists will compare the
development and swimming behavior of fish hatched from eggs laid on Earth with
those from eggs laid in space.
Payload Commander Rick Hieb and Mukai completed the second of four Lower
Body Negative Pressure experiment runs planned for the flight. Their vital
signs were monitored as the pressure on their lower bodies was reduced, roughly
simulating the stress they would feel standing still here on Earth. Diagnostic
tests included ultrasound heart images, made possible by Hieb's repair of the
experiment's echocardiograph unit yesterday. Comparisons of the four test runs
will measure the amount of cardiovascular deconditioning the astronauts
experience during a mission.
With the echocardiograph now operating, the two crew members also made the
ultrasound images of their spines which had been scheduled for Canada's Spinal
Changes in Microgravity experiment.
The NIZEMI Slow-Rotating Centrifuge Microscope team completed Dr. Ingrid
Block's slime mold experiment. They followed it with a short observation of
green algae, called chara, and a longer session studying cress roots. All
three experiments took advantage of NIZEMI's variable-speed centrifuge
microscope to search for the gravity threshold of the organisms - the minimum
"dose" of gravity required for them to react or move as they do on Earth.
Early this morning, Mission Specialist Don Thomas completed study of
temperature-driven fluid flows in Japan's Vibration Isolation Box Experiment
System. The experiment is a preliminary model of a thermal accumulator which
could be used to manage excess heat on the Space Station or other large space
platforms. Principal Investigator Dr. Maso Furukawa of the Japanese Space
Agency said, "The results were very exciting. One of the goals was to get the
liquid in one chamber to move to another chamber, and this was achieved. We
were also interested in the distance of the movement. It appeared to be quite
equivalent to the movement we get on Earth. The success of this experiment
suggests that thermal accumulators are very promising as regulators for two-
phase fluid loop systems." In addition, Furukawa says the principle of using
heat to move liquids can be applied in the chemical industry and in energy
conservation.
Around midday, Mukai readied the European Space Agency's Bubble, Drop and
Particle Unit for its first operations in space. Seven science teams will use
the new facility to study fluid behaviors such as bubble growth, evaporation,
condensation, and flows generated by temperature differences along liquid
surfaces. Such phenomena are difficult to observe on Earth because their
effects are masked by gravity-induced fluid movements.
After verifying the facility's operation, Hieb inserted an experiment to
study the interaction of three parallel layers of immiscible fluids (those that
do not mix, like oil and water) at the two boundaries where they contact one
another. However, when Hieb pulled back the metal curtains which separated the
fluids, they did not maintain well-defined boundaries. Rather, the silicone
oil in the center surrounded the top and bottom layers of a light-weight fluid
called fluorinert, which mixed together. According to Principal Investigator
Dr. Jean Koster, the team had suspected this might happen. They will continue
their evaluation of this experiment for the next several hours. The Bubble,
Drop and Particle Unit facility is performing as expected.
Payload Commander Rick Hieb installed a nickel-tin alloy into the TEMPUS
electromagnetic containerless processing facility, for an experiment from Dr.
Merton Flemings of MIT. He had hoped to solidify the sample rapidly, far below
the normal melting temperature. The sample heated and melted well, and ground
controllers held it in position very successfully. However, it resolidified at
a higher temperature than desired.
"Dr. Flemings was able to use this run to refine techniques for his next
experiment, which uses an identical alloy sample," said U.S. Project Scientist
Dr. Mike Robinson. "He'll be able to start that experiment where we left off
with this one." Scientists hope the study will reveal how properties of "fast-
frozen" alloys are different from those of the same metals solidified normally.
If the alloy is stronger, results could lead to higher-performance metals for
industrial applications such as jet-engine turbine blades.
Tonight, Mission Specialists Don Thomas and Leroy Chiao will activate the
French Space Agency's new space electrophoresis facility, known as RAMSES.
Experiments will continue in the Biorack, NIZEMI, Critical Point Facility and
TEMPUS.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
IML-2 Public Affairs Status Report #10
6:00 a.m. CDT, July 13, 1994
4/18:13 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
The STS-65 crew aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia are spending a productive
fifth day in space, conducting life and materials sciences in support of the
second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2).
After Mission Specialist Leroy Chiao checked in on the Japanese goldfish
and reported that they continue to appear healthy, he got busy with biological
samples in the European Space Agency's Biorack facility.
Chiao completed scheduled activities on an experiment designed to study the
loss of calcium in bones. This investigation, which has been going on in the
Biorack facility since shortly after Spacelab activation, will help scientists
understand more about what happens to the bones of astronauts when they travel
in space. Results from this experiment, flown on IML-1 in 1992, showed that
bones did not suffer a significant loss of calcium if exposed to periods of
compression (such as exercise periods) during space flight, but more research
is necessary to know how much exercise is needed to counteract the effect of
spaceflight on the skeletal system.
In another experiment involving bone cells, Payload Commander Rick Hieb and
Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai extracted and refrigerated samples of bone-
derived cells that have been kept in the Japanese-provided Thermoelectric
Incubator at body temperature. These bone cells will help Principal
Investigator Dr. Yasuhiro Kumei of Tokyo, Japan, and other reseachers study the
differences in the rate of bone cell production during spaceflights as compared
to Earth.
Another Biorack experiment was concluded last night when Mission Specialist
Don Thomas completed scheduled activities for the Norwegian experiment to
examine the growth pattern of genetically altered plant roots in space. Dr.
Tor-Henning Iversen will examine these plant roots after the mission to
determine whether the growth pattern of plants that grow in any direction,
apparently unaffected by gravity, on Earth is similar to normal roots grown in
space.
In the Slow Rotating Centrifuge Microscope (NIZEMI) facility, Thomas
completed the last run of a type of green algae, chara. This experiment will
help Dr. Andreas Sievers, the principal investigator from Bonn, Germany,
understand how sensitive these single plant cells are to gravity and how they
adjust to various levels of gravity. Scientists must learn more about how
plants grow in microgravity before they can be considered as part of the
ecological system for longer stays in space.
Thomas conducted the first run of a materials science experiment which will
use the NIZEMI facility to learn more about how the solidification of metals is
influenced by microgravity. Chiao talked to Principal Investigator Dr. Klaus
Leonartz to perform the setup and adjustment procedures for this experiment.
Results of melting and solidifying a mixture such as Leonartz's succinonitrile-
acetone sample will help scientists improve the way metals are produced in the
future.
In the fluids science area, Dr. Antonius Michels, principal investigator
from The Netherlands successfully completed his experiment. "The Critical Point
Facility functioned flawlessly, especially in providing stability to our
sample," said Michels, after his sulfur hexafluoride fluid finished its
scheduled run last night. Dr. Michels' experiment was flown on IML-1 and again
on this mission to study the point where a liquid behaves as both a liquid and
a gas.
Thomas later installed another container into the European Space Agency's
Critical Point Facility to begin Dr. Richard Ferrell's study of how energy is
transported in a fluid once it reaches its critical point.
Chiao performed activities in preparation for the first-time activation of
the French-provided facility called Applied Research on Separation Methods
Using Space Electrophoresis (called RAMSES, the acronym for its French name).
In the RAMSES facility, scientists will conduct experiments to gain a better
understanding of the basic mechanisms that govern electrophoresis, the
separation of biological samples according to their electrical properties.
Away from the influence of Earth's gravity, molecules of biological samples can
separate according to their electrical charges, producing an ultra-pure
product.
In the Bubble, Drop and Particle Unit (BDPU) facility, an experiment to
study the behavior that occurs between layers of fluids that do not mix, such
as oil and water, was terminated when a layer of silicon fluid moved into the
center of the container. Dr. Jean Koster, principal investigator from the
University of Colorado, attributed to the problem of basic physics phenomena.
Later, Thomas placed a sealed container filled with freon into the BDPU to
begin calibrations of the experiment for Dr. Johannes Straub of Munich,
Germany. This investigation, designed to study physical changes during
evaporation and condensation at the point where a bubble contacts the liquid,
will be performed later in the mission.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology science team watched video from
the Spacelab as they talked to Thomas during his adjustments to the
Electromagnetic Containerless Processing Facility called TEMPUS, the acronym
for its German name. Principal Investigator Dr. Julian Szekely's experiment,
which involved a 10mm (approximately 3/8 inch) sample of copper, was terminated
when the sphere made contact with its containment cage. This investigation is
designed to study viscosity, internal friction, and surface tension, the force
that keeps liquid together in a drop.
During the next 12 hours, crew members will tend to the biological samples
in the NIZEMI and Biorack facilities and conduct fluids science investigations
in the Critical Point Facility.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
IML-2 Public Affairs Status Report #11
6:00 p.m. CDT, July 13, 1994
5/6:17 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
IML-2 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai and Payload Commander
Rick Hieb both got four hours off today, but a full slate of
experiment activities continued in orbit and at Spacelab Mission
Operations Control in Huntsville.
Several IML-2 experiment facilities are being controlled
extensively from the ground. This remote commanding capability,
called "telescience", multiplies valuable time in orbit because
it frees the crew for experiment operations where their hands and
eyes are indispensable. "With this amount of science squeezed into
a 14-day mission, it is critical to have both the telescience and
the remote operations", said Mission Scientist Dr. Bob Snyder,
referring to science experiment teams at the Huntsville facility
and user support groups at remote sites in Europe and Japan.
Critical Point Facility team members in Huntsville examined live
video of an experiment that studies how energy is transported within
a single-component fluid. Near the critical point - the precise
combination of temperature and pressure where liquid and vapor phases
coexist - fluids exhibit unusual properties. For instance, energy
transport by heat diffusion slows down, while transport driven by
changes in pressure speeds up. Dr. Richard Ferrell of the University
of Maryland is using two test cells during IML-2 to study the
different forces. Today's experiment focuses on pressure changes.
Tiny temperature changes are being induced both by external heaters
and by heat from a pulse of current passing through a resistance wire
inside the cell. An experiment to study heat diffusion is scheduled
for Friday.
In addition to enhancing fundamental knowledge of fluid physics,
Ferrell's experiments should aid the design of other low-gravity,
critical point investigations. To plan accurate timelines for their
experiments, space researchers need to know how quickly their samples
will reach thermal equilibrium after temperature step changes near
the critical point.
Close cooperation between ground controllers and the crew has
become a routine part of operations in the TEMPUS electromagnetic
containerless processing facility. Hieb kept a close eye on a
zirconium-cobalt alloy as the TEMPUS team sent commands to levitate,
then melt, the small metal sphere inside the TEMPUS processing chamber.
"The sample looks extremely stable today", the astronaut reported.
The TEMPUS team used remote commands to skillfully control their
sample, reflecting the experience they have gained over several days
of operating the new space facility. They applied short, repetitive
bursts of heat to the alloy, causing its temperature to rise and fall.
Dr. Hans J. Fecht of the Technical University of Berlin, Germany, will
study the length of time it took for the addition or subtraction of
heat to be reflected in the sample temperature. He will then factor
the results into a new mathematical model to determine the alloy's
specific heat capacity. Fecht and Dr. William L. Johnson of California
Institute of Technology are using several zirconium alloys during this
mission to study the formation of metallic glasses. With their unique
mechanical and physical properties, metallic glasses have promising
applications in many technological areas.
After transferring numerous Biorack sample containers between
storage and coolers, Hieb changed out food trays for the fruit flies
in Dr. Roberto Marco's experiment. He reported the flies were "buzzing
around with excellent vitality." Along with the other Biorack principal
investigators, Marco is conducting his experiment at Kennedy Space
Center in parallel with operations in space. Project Scientist
Dr. Enno Brinckmann, the Biorack team's representative at Spacelab
Control in Huntsville, said, "Dr. Marco tells us the flies in space
have been more mobile than their counterparts on the ground at Kennedy."
Marco's study tests his theory that premature aging of flies in
previous space experiments is due to increased activity as they
attempt to move in microgravity.
Thus far, 10 of the 19 Biorack experiments are complete. Mukai
began her work this afternoon with a run of the NIZEMI Slow-Rotating
Centrifuge Microscope's cress root experiment. "All of the seeds have
germinated", she told Principal Investigator Dr. Dieter Volkmann of
the University of Bonn. Scientists have studied the cress plant
intensively over the last 20 years to determine in detail how it
can perceive and react to gravity. Previous experiments indicate it
can respond to gravity changes very quickly. Volkmann hopes to
pinpoint the minimum amount of gravity to which it will respond and
how long it to takes to respond. Before plants can be considered as
possible sources of food or oxygen in space, scientists must
thoroughly understand how changes in gravity affect plant growth.
When Hieb brought the Free Flow Electrophoresis experiment up for
its first operations of the mission this morning, readouts indicated
that the inner cooling system line was not functioning correctly. The
Japanese life sciences team postponed the electrophoresis experiment
Mukai had been scheduled to run this afternoon until the source of the
problem can be isolated and corrected. In the meantime, Mukai began
operations of Japan's Large Isothermal Furnace, originally scheduled
for Saturday afternoon. After powering up the facility, she inserted an
experiment by Dr. Randall M. German of Pennsylvania State for several
hours of automatic processing. The experiment will study how gravity
changes heavy alloys during liquid phase sintering. Sintering is a
process for combining dissimilar metals, using heat and pressure to
join them without reaching the melting point of one or both metals.
The upcoming shift includes the mission's first electrophoresis
experiment in the French RAMSES facility and its second Bubble, Drop
and Particle Unit investigation.
|
| 897.23 | Colombia to stay up another day due to weather at Kennedy | 4371::BATTERSBY | | Fri Jul 22 1994 12:10 | 10 |
| Tuned into to NASA Select before leaving the house this morning.
They waived off the two landing opportunities at Kennedy, and one
on the left coast, because of the weather dynamics around the
space center in Florida (early morning clouds, thunder & lightning).
They will try again tomorrow at approximately the same times tomorrow
morning with landing opportunities at my rough recollection of
6:20'ish am EDT and 8:30'ish am EDT. A third opportunity also exists
tomorrow morning at Edwards.
Bob
|
| 897.24 | Mother Nature helped Colombia set flight record.. | 4371::BATTERSBY | | Sat Jul 23 1994 19:11 | 9 |
| After setting a new shuttle endurance record of 15 days in orbit,
Colombia completed its 17th voyage in space.
Landing on its 236th orbit, Colombia logged 6,143,000 miles.
Main gear touchdown occured at 6:38:01 EDT (MET 14/17:55:01)
Nose gear touch occured at 6:38:18 EDT (MET 14/17:55:18)
Wheel stop occured at 6:39:09 EDT (MET 14/17:56:09)
Bob
|