Mon, Feb 20, 2012
Centrifuge Will Enhance Existing ISS Lab Equipment
NASA, Astrium Space Transportation and NanoRacks LLC are teaming
up to expand the research capability of the International Space
Station through delivery of a small commercial centrifuge facility
that will conduct molecular and cellular investigations on plant
and animal tissue. The centrifuge enhances NanoRacks' existing
suite of lab equipment aboard the space station, which includes
microscopes and a plate reader used to detect biological, chemical
or physical activity in samples.
Astrium Space Transportation handed over the research centrifuge
to NanoRacks LL, during a ceremony Tuesday, February 14 in Houston.
Astrium North America adapted the centrifuge, which was originally
built by Kayser Italia for use on space shuttle missions, for use
in the station's NanoRacks Platform-3. The commercial research team
funded the centrifuge.
NASA will deliver the centrifuge as part of its responsibility
to provide transportation for U.S. National Laboratory research and
facilities to the space station. Under its partnership with
Astrium, NanoRacks will add the centrifuge to the two racks of
laboratory support equipment already on the station. The centrifuge
is sized to fit the standard NanoRacks architecture, which can fly
on any launch vehicle. "This is an important step in the expansion
of National Lab facilities aboard the space station," said Marybeth
Edeen, U.S. National Laboratory manager at NASA's Johnson Space
Center. "Having companies develop research and facilities for the
National Lab with their own funding demonstrates the beginnings of
the commercial space marketplace that the National Lab was created
to serve."
NASA has manifested the NanoRacks-3 platform and the Astrium
centrifuge on a Russian Progress cargo ship scheduled for launch in
summer 2012 under its cargo agreements with the Russian Federal
Space Agency. (NASA image)
More News
From 2023 (YouTube Version): Legacy of a Titan Robert (Bob) Anderson Hoover was a fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and air show superstar. More so, Bob Hoover was an i>[...]
Get The Latest in Aviation News NOW on Instagram Are you on Instagram yet? It's been around for a few years, quietly picking up traction mostly thanks to everybody's new obsession >[...]
Aero Linx: B-52H Stratofortress The B-52H Stratofortress is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic spee>[...]
Altimeter Setting The barometric pressure reading used to adjust a pressure altimeter for variations in existing atmospheric pressure or to the standard altimeter setting (29.92).>[...]
"Knowing that we play an active part in bettering people's lives is extremely rewarding. My team and I are very thankful for the opportunity to be here and to help in any way we ca>[...]