Fri, Jan 31, 2003
STS-107 Report #15; Wednesday, January 29, 2003 -- 5 p.m.
CST
Columbia’s seven astronauts took a break from
their around-the-clock scientific research today to answer
reporters’ questions in the traditional on-orbit crew news
conference.
Commander Rick Husband, Pilot Willie McCool,
Mission Specialists Dave Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson
and Laurel Clark, and Israel Space Agency Payload Specialist Ilan
Ramon fielded questions about how their shuttle was performing as a
research laboratory, their work in support of the STS-107
mission’s 80 different experiments and preparations for
Saturday’s planned landing.
"The science we're doing here is great and it's fantastic," said
Anderson, the payload commander, "It's leading edge; but I think
once we get a seven-member crew on board the space station you're
really going to see some outstanding science in space. A lot of
experiments that we have are really just being demonstrated and
developed. Once they're fully developed they'll reside on board the
space station and the scientists … will have years to
conduct the experiments that we're trying to do here in a
relatively short period of time." [The ISS, set up to house seven,
is currently limited to permanent three-person crews, due to the
limitations of the Russian-made "crew lifeboat" program and
hardware --ed.]
Ramon reported that dust storms off the east coast of Africa
were scarce for the first week of the flight, but that a giant dust
storm kicked up over the Atlantic and lasted three days, providing
ample observations for the Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment.
He voiced wishes for peace in his area of the world from 180 miles
above.
"The world looks marvelous from up here, so peaceful, so
wonderful and so fragile," Ramon said. "The atmosphere is so thin
and fragile, and I think all of us have to keep it clean and good.
It saves our life and gives our life."
...Initial tests in the Combustion Module Facility with the
newly revitalized Water Mist Fire Suppression Experiment took
center stage today, with 14 sample runs completed after Chawla
fixed a balky seal in the combustion module yesterday. Another 20
runs are planned before the end of the mission on tests designed to
learn exactly how the water interacts with flames as it is
extinguishing them...
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