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ZL2VAL > SPACE 23.08.01 15:13l 126 Lines 6394 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Weekly ISS science report 22/8/01
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RELEASE: 01-285
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
Expedition Three Science Operations
Status Report for the week ending Aug. 22, 2001
Scientific research on the Expedition Three mission got off to a rapid start
in the past week, with the setup and activation of several new experiments
and others continuing from Expeditions One and Two.
Spacewalking Space Shuttle astronauts Dan Barry and Patrick Forrester
installed the Materials International Space Station Experiment on the
outside of the Quest airlock module on Thursday, August 16. Two suitcase
size containers of experimental materials for solar cells, paint and other
applications will be exposed to the harsh space environment of space for the
next year before they are retrieved for analysis.
On Saturday, August 18, the Expedition Three crew -- astronaut Frank
Culbertson and cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin -- performed
the Hoffman Reflex experiment for the second time since their launch. This
experiment measures spinal cord excitability as a way of studying the
effectiveness of crew exercise in space. They will do the experiment again
near the end of their mission.
Three experiments that study the microgravity environment recorded data
during the Shuttle undocking on Monday, August 20. The Microgravity
Acceleration Measurement System and the Space Acceleration Measurement
System recorded the vibrations inside the Station caused by the separation
of the two spacecraft. The Active Rack Isolation System ISS
Characterization Experiment (ARIS-ICE) captured the undocking vibrations
inside EXPRESS Rack 2, as well as the response of the ARIS vibration
dampening system in the rack. ARIS-ICE also recorded the station reboost
and water dump on Thursday, August 16. Having recorded both low-frequency
vibrations during normal crew operations and broad frequency vibrations of
the undocking, ARIS-ICE will collect measurements next week with a
calibrated "shaker" device to further define ARIS' ability to protect
delicate microgravity experiments from vibrations.
The crew and the Payload Operations Center on Tuesday, August 21, activated
and checked out EXPRESS Rack 4 during several orbital passes when both
Ku-band telemetry and S-band commanding were available. Controllers turned
on power to the rack's eight lockers and two drawers provided for
experiments, activated and loaded control software into the rack computer,
and enabled the rack's smoke detector and water system used for cooling.
EXPRESS Racks provide power, data and other utilities to experiments.
The Experiment on Physics of Colloids in Space science team began their
Expedition Three operations Tuesday with a 12-hour run commanded from the
NASA Glenn Research Center's Telescience Support Center in Cleveland.
Another 12-hour run is planned for Friday. A colloid is a system of
particles suspended in a fluid. Common examples are paint, milk and ink.
Colloids are commonly used on Earth. Microgravity research may yield
insights that could lead to engineering new colloid products on Earth.
Also on Tuesday, the crew began setup work with the Dynamically Controlled
Protein Crystal Growth (DCPCG) experiment. Scientists hope this experiment
will allow them to refine the methods and hardware for growing biological
crystals using real-time, or dynamic, control of the protein solution. Past
protein crystal experiments have largely been passive -- requiring little,
if any, crew or ground control interaction. This experiment allows
scientists on the ground to remotely control the crystallization rate of
DCPCG samples. Analysis of crystals grown in space may provide insights
into numerous biological processes on Earth, with applications ranging from
medicine to agriculture.
The crew began setup and activation on Wednesday, August 22, of the
Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller. This device can house 32
stationary tissue culture modules operating at a carefully controlled
temperature. It is part of the Cellular Biotechnology Operations Support
System, an interim platform for cell-based research aboard the Space Station
prior to the launch of the permanent Biotechnology Facility. The system is
comprised of sub-rack modules that provide semi-automated bioreactors, gas
supply systems, computer control systems and passive and low-temperature
stowage systems. The system will enable investigations on normal and
cancerous mammalian cells, including ovarian and colon cancer cells, neural
precursor and human renal cells.
Photography targets uplinked this week to the Space Station for the Crew
Earth Observations research program include bush fires in South Africa,
several new lakes west of Lake Nassar in Egypt, air pollution over Europe
and the Ohio River valley in the United States, agriculture in the Tigris
and Euprhates River area of Turkey, Andean glaciers, East Africa's Great
Rift valley, and the Tuamotu Archipelago.
With Expedition Two coming to an end, officials reflected on the expedition
and declared it a successful beginning to continuous science operations
aboard the orbiting research outpost.
"We are well on our way to building and operating a world-class facility in
orbit," said John Uri, lead increment scientist for Expedition Two, from
NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "We flew and operated 18
investigations in a number of scientific disciplines. We accomplished
virtually all of the goals we set out to accomplish. The crew took on the
research program as their own, giving up personal time to catch up or get
ahead on tasks. The mission set the tone for the rest of the expeditions on
the station."
Lybrease Woodard, lead Expedition Two Payload Operations Director, with
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., said the payload
control team successfully demonstrated the Station payload operations
concept, involving the station crew, the operations center in Huntsville and
telescience centers around the world.
"It was like leading a new orchestra," she said. "Everybody learned how to
play their parts and then came together like a symphony."
-end-
On The Web
Status Report
http://www1.msfc.nasa.gov/NEWSROOM/news/releases/2001/01-285.html
ISS Science Operations News
http://www.scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov/
Experiment Fact Sheets
http://www.scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov/factchron.html
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