Thu, Dec 04, 2008
Scheduled To Fly Onboard Atlantis In July 2009
This week, a new multi-user materials science laboratory began
its journey to the International Space Station, leaving NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL for NASA's Kennedy
Space Center in Florida for final flight preparations.
The Materials Science Research Rack or MSRR will allow for study
of a variety of materials -- including metals, ceramics,
semiconductor crystals and glasses -- onboard the orbiting
laboratory. It is scheduled to fly aboard space shuttle Atlantis on
STS-128 planned for launch in July 2009. Upon arrival at the space
station, the research rack will be housed in the US Destiny
Laboratory Module.
"Materials science is an integral part of development of new
materials for our everyday life," said Alex Lehoczky, project
scientist for MSRR at the Marshall Center. "The goal of studying
materials processing in space is to develop a better understanding
of the chemical and physical mechanisms involved. Then, with this
knowledge, we can reliably predict conditions required on Earth to
achieve improved materials."
The research rack is a highly automated facility and contains
two furnace inserts in which sample cartridges will be processed up
to temperatures of 2500°F. Initially 13 sample cartridge
assemblies will be processed, and each cartridge assembly contains
experiment samples. The cartridges are placed one at a time into
the furnace insert for processing. Once a cartridge is in place,
the experiment can be run by automatic command or science can be
conducted via telemetry commands from the ground. Processed samples
will be returned to Earth as soon as possible for evaluation and
comparison of their properties to samples similarly processed on
the ground.
"Completing the Materials Science Research Rack brings us one
step closer to making the International Space Station a robust
orbiting laboratory," said Jimmie Johnson, Marshall Center project
manager for MSRR.
The MSRR is about the size of a large refrigerator, measuring 6
feet high, 3 1/2 feet wide and 40 inches deep and weighs about 1
ton. The development of the research rack was a cooperative effort
between NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the European Space
Agency.
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