Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/DAILY_1/930204.DFC

Text File | 1993-02-05 | 84KB | 1,943 lines

04-Feb-93 Daily File Collection
   These files were added or updated between 03-Feb-93 at 21:00:00 {Central}
                                         and 04-Feb-93 at 21:00:15.

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2/4/93: CONSORT 6 LAUNCH DATE SET



Barbara Selby
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                                                      February 4, 1993


Rick Mould
University of Alabama in Huntsville


Mike Bryant
EER Systems, Vienna, Va.


Debbie Bingham
White Sands Missile Range, N.M.


RELEASE:  93-22

      A commercial suborbital rocket carrying seven experiments has been set
for launch at 1 p.m.  EST, on Feb. 19, by the University of Alabama in
Huntsville's Consortium for Materials Development in Space (UAH CMDS).

     EER Systems Corp., Vienna, Va., will launch the Consort 6 from theWhite
Sands Missile Range (WSMR), N.M., from White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), N.M.,
using its two-stage solid fuel Starfire 1 rocket.  The launch will be conducted
through the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division-White Sands Detachment.
The rocket will carry the payload to an altitude of 200 miles, providing the
experiments with 7 to 8 minutes of microgravity.

     Managed by the UAH CMDS, a NASA Center for the Commercial Development of
Space (CCDS), the Consort rocket and launch services are funded by a grant from
the space agency's Office of Advanced Concepts and Technology.

     The Consort 6 experiments, focusing on the effects of microgravity on
various processes, materials and biomedical samples, will be conducted by UAH
CMDS and another NASA CCDS, theCenter for Cell Research (CCR) at the
Pennsylvania State University.

     The CCR will examine various biological samples using its Biomodule. The
experiment will study the effects of microgravity on amphibian skin tissue.
The processes to be examined in the experiment are identical to those in the
human body used for the release of hormones for proper health.

     The UAH CMDS and several industry partners will conduct experiments
studying the effects of the low gravity environment on different materials:

     * The UAH CMDS experiments include two foam experiments with Thiokol
Corp., Logan, Utah. The experiments will form foam into specific shapes to
study the use of foam as a building material and insulator in space.

     * Kennametal, Inc., Greensburg, Pa., and the UAH CMDS will use a high-
temperature furnace in a liquid phase sintering experiment and will capture a
ceramic mix in a special hydraulic compacting device in a powdered materials
processing experiment.

     * Space Hardware Optimization Technology, Floyd Knobs, Ind., and
Interfacial Dynamics Corp., Portland, Ore., will team with the UAH CMDS on an
organic separation experiment.  The experiment will focus on improving
purification techniques for certain biotechnology materials.

     * An electrodeposition experiment , using nickel and cobalt , will be
conducted by the UAH CMDS and McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, Huntsville. The
experiment will help find metals and alloys with enhanced corrosion resistance,
surface hardening and catalystical properties.  McDonnell Douglas also provides
the Consort 6 payload integration.

                                       -end-
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KSC SHUTTLE STATUS 2/4/93


           SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                     Thursday, February 4, 1993

 George H. Diller
 Kennedy Space Center


 Vehicle: OV-102/Orbiter Columbia      Current location: VAB Bay 3
 Primary payload: Spacelab D-2         Crew Size: 7
 Orbital altitude: 184 sm              Inclination: 28.45 degrees
 Mission Duration: 8 days 22 hours
 Launch timeframe: NET Feb. 25
 Landing site/timeframe: KSC/March 6


 STS-55 IN WORK:

- establishing electrical connections with Space Shuttle stack
- validation checks of mechanical connections
- changeout of main engine #1 hydraulic accumulator


 STS-55 WORK COMPLETED:

- hard mate Columbia to external tank/solid rocket booster stack
- external tank solid rocket booster battery installation
- establish connections with tail service masts


 WORK SCHEDULED:

- Shuttle Interface Test Friday/Saturday
- rollout to Pad 39-A on Sunday at 8 a.m.
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) Feb. 11-12
- KSC Launch Readiness Review Feb. 8
- STS-55 Flight Readiness Review Feb. 11


 ISSUES AND CONCERNS: None
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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DAILY NEWS/TV SKED 2/4/93

Daily News
Thursday, February 4, 1993
Two Independence Square,
Washington, D.C.
Audio service: 202/358-3014

 % Columbia to roll out to Pad A this Sunday, at 8:00 am EST;
 % Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test for STS-55 set for Feb. 11 & 12;
 % NASA adds spacewalk to Shuttle STS-51 mission, now slated for July launch.
 % American Assoc. for Advancement of Science conference set for next week;
 % Marshall to exhibit Space Station Freedom trailers at AAAS convention.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Columbia is mated to its external tank and solid rocket boosters and will be
rolled to Launch Pad 39-A this Sunday, Feb. 7, at 8:00 am EST. KSC management
will hold its launch readiness review on Monday, Feb. 8.  The NASA Office of
Space Flight management's formal Flight Readiness Review will be held at KSC on
Wednesday, Feb. 11.  The launch dress rehearsal with the astronaut and ground
launch team crews -the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test-will take place on
Feb. 11 and 12, with the simulated launch time at 11:00 am EST on Feb. 12.

Preparations on Columbia continue to proceed on a schedule which could allow
the launch of the STS-55 mission in late February, tentatively Feb. 25.  The
STS- 55 mission is the second dedicated German research flight; the first was
the D-1 mission which flew on STS- 61A in November 1985.  This flight is
scheduled as an 8- day and 22-hour, seven-crewmember mission with the Spacelab
long module and a variety of scientific discipline investigations.  This
mission's major Spacelab facilities will continue the exploration of fluid
physics and human physiological changes in microgravity.  The mission is slated
for a landing at the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility at mission's
end, nominally March 6 for a Feb. 25 launch.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

NASA flight management has added a spacewalk to the STS- 51 mission aboard
Discovery, now set for a July launch to deploy the Advanced Communications
Technology Satellite and to deploy and retrieve the ORFEUS ultraviolet
spectrometer on the SPAS sub-satellite system.  The addition of this spacewalk
adds to the series of spacewalks NASA has performed which allow for the
continual refinement of human performance capabilities and the continual
expansion of knowledge concerning human performance limitations, all of which
are important baseline considerations in preparations for the manufacture,
launch and assembly of Space Station Freedom components.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Marshall Space Flight Center will be showing their theme exhibit at the
American Association for the Advancement of Science annual national convention
in Boston next Tuesday, Feb. 9, through Thursday, Feb. 11.  NASA Headquarters
will provide staff to answer questions from AAAS members who tour the facility,
which includes descriptions of the Space Station U.S. laboratory module and the
crew habitat module, and other elements of the exploration program.

Marshall will exhibit the trailers at the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery
the following week.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Select TV. Note
that all events and times may change without notice, and that all times listed
are Eastern. Live indicates a program is transmitted live.

Thursday, February 4, 1993
Live
12:00 pm    NASA Today news program.

12:15 pm    Aeronautics & Space Report.

12:30 pm    Best of NASA Today:  Technology 2001.

1:00 pm        1992 - The Year in Review.

1:45 pm        Beyond the Clouds.

1:30 pm        Launch Box #4.

2:30 pm        Radio Astronomy Explorer/

3:00 pm        Total Quality Management program #34, from
                the University of New Mexico series.

at 4:00 and 8:00 pm and 12:00 midnight the broadcast
schedule of the day repeats.


NASA Select TV is carried on GE Satcom F2R, transponder 13, C-Band, 72 degrees
West Longitude, transponder frequency is 3960 MegaHertz, audio subcarrier is
6.8 MHz, polarization is vertical.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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Mir Elset #854 03Feb93

Mir
1 16609U 86 17  A 93 34.50759347  .00015521  00000-0  20573-3 0  8547
2 16609  51.6192 170.7411 0001433 338.4545  21.6335 15.58461756398280

Satellite: Mir
Catalog number: 16609
Epoch time:      93034.50759347
Element set:     854
Inclination:       51.6192 deg
RA of node:       170.7411 deg          Semi-major axis:  3655.6170 n.mi.
Eccentricity:    0.0001433              Apogee altitude:   212.2068 n.mi.
Arg of perigee:   338.4545 deg          Perigee altitude:  211.1591 n.mi.
Mean anomaly:      21.6335 deg          Altitude decay:      0.0243 n.mi./day
Mean motion:   15.58461756 rev/day      Apsidal rotation:    3.7448 deg/day
Decay rate:     1.5521E-04 rev/day~2    Nodal regression:   -5.0138 deg/day
Epoch rev:           39828              Nodal period:       92.3372 min

 rev/day~2    Nodal regression:   -5.0138 deg/day
Epoch rev:           39828

Mark T. Severance
VG/Orbiter Engineering Office
NASA-JSC
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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- Current Two-Line Element Sets #136 -

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Robotics Experiment (rotex)

    ROTEX is a robotic arm that operates within an enclosed
workcell in rack 6 of the Spacelab module and uses teleoperation
from both an on-board work station located in rack 4 and the
ground.  This precise robotic arm uses teleprogramming and
artificial intelligence to look at the design, verification and
operation of advanced autonomous systems for use in future
applications.

    ROTEX is comprised of:

    *A robot arm with six joints which can reach in all
directions to grasp objects

    *Two torque sensors located of the back of the gripper to
ensure that the robot arm does not become overloaded

    *A gripping assembly containing laser distance-measuring
devices, tactile sensors and stereo television cameras
which give a direct view of the object

    *Two fixed video cameras that provide stereo pictures of
the whole assembly.

    For future spaceflight, it wiii be necessary to reduce the
operational costs of space systems.  In this context, the
application of robotic systems will play a key role.  The
technology-transfer or spin-off back to terrestrial applications
is expected to be larger than in many other areas and important in
terms of political economics.  Manipulators and robots will be
used for assisting in and carrying out different tasks in space
laboratories ("internal" use) and in free space ("external use"),
in particular:

    - exchange of orbit-replaceable units (ORU)
    - handling of experiments and manufacturing processes
    - assistance in rendezvous/docking
    - repair
    - supply and maintenance of free-flying
          platforms or geostationary satellites
    - refuelling and "garbage collection"
    - assembly of structures

    The performance of diverse tasks by space manipulators
requires a hierarchically and modularly structured automation
concept tuneable to the special operational case, which in
addition allows human interference on different levels of
supervisory and decision control.  This in term yields the
requirements for the hardware and software concepts to be
realized, covering the range from telemanipulation up to a
completely autonomous operation.  Independent of the different
tasks and application scenarios, development of space robot
technology tends to focus on the following topics:

    - intelligent, sensor-controlled, light-weight manipulators
    - modular gripper and tool systems for high versatility
    - improved man-machine interfaces for teleoperation and
      supervisory control ("telerobotics" and "telescience")
         concepts
    - stepwise increase of planning and decision autonomy by
         knowledge-based technology,
    - cooperation and coordination of multi-arm and
         multi-robot system.


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Anthrorack AR

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Biolabor (BB)

    The Biolabor will be used to perform research in
electrofusion of cells, cell cultivation, botany experiments and
zoological experiments.  The Biolabor facility is a life sciences
and biotechnology research device developed by Germany (MBB/Erno)
for use in the Shuttle/Spacelab.  Biolabor consists of a cell
electrofusion workbench equipped with a microscope, a cell
electrofusion control unit, two cell cultivation incubators, a 41
C cooler and two middeck-mounted cooling boxes.

    The workbench can accommodate a series of experiment-
specific test chambers, including chambers to support
electrofusion of different protoplasts of plant species and
chambers for electrofusion of mammal cells.  The workbench
microscope allows observation of the test chambers by the crew and
the experimenter via downlinked video.  Biolabor experiments
include:

    *Development of vestibulocular reflexes in amphibia and
     fishes with microgravity experience

    This experiment will examine whether the functional
development of the vestibular system of lower vertebrates is
affected by a short lasting stay under micro-g conditions during
very early periods of life.  Vestibulocular reflexes are a useful
tool to determine efficiency changes of the developing vestibular
system.  After the spaceflight, the extent of these reflexes will
be determined for each of the very delicate animals throughout its
life until metamorphosis.  For this purpose, a closed living
system will be constructed which also allows the recording of the
reflexes without changing the environment.

    *Comparative investigations of microgravity effects on
     structural development and function of the gravity
     perceiving organ of two water living vertebrates

    This contribution is a survey of the DLR-part of the space
experiment "The Observation of Gravity and Neuronal Plasticit" or
STATEX II.  The main points are the morphological differentiation
of the vestibular organs and their subunits in weightlessness and
an analysis of the loop swimming behavior following gravity
variations.  For the first time, the development of two different
aquatic vertebrates, exposed to identical experimental conditions
in space, can be compared.

    *Structure- and Function-related Neuronal Plasticity of
     the CNS of Aquatic Vertebrates during Early
     ontogenetic Development under Microgravity-
     Conditions

    On the basis of behavioral studies, the influence of about 9
days of near weightlessness during early ontogenetic development
of larvae of a type of colored perch fish and tadpoles of the
South American clawed frog will be investigated by means of light
and electronmicroscopical techniques and biochemical analyses
especially with regard to the differentiation of gravity-related
integration centers in the central nervous system.

    *Immunoelectron microscopic investigation of cerebellar
     development at microgravity

    By means of immunoelectron microscopical the influence of
weightlessness on structural and functional parameters of the
cerebellum of cichlid fish and clawed toad larvae will be
investigated using poly- and monoclonal antibodies against
specific cell adhesion molecules.

    *GRAVISENSITIVITY OF CRESS ROOTS

    Gravity sensing systems in plants are characterized by three
intracellular components:

    - sedimenting particles functioning as statoliths
    - the ground cytoplasm as surrounding medium and
    - membranes (probably inner membranes) functioning as signal
      transducers.

    The experiment gravisensing will determine threshold value,
the minimum dose for cress roots cultivated on a 1g centrifuge and
under reduced gravity, respectively, using a threshold value
centrifuge.  In a second approach, the fine structural
characteristic of the gravity perceiving cells (statocytes) is
correlated with this threshold value by preparation of the
seedlings in orbit for electron microscopy on ground.  Finally the
summation of subminimal doses is proven and again correlated with
the fine structure of statocytes to obtain first information on a
"memory" of plants for the stimulus gravity.

    *CELL POLARITY AND GRAVITY

    The microgravity experiments described below shall elucidate
the question as to whether gravity is a polarizing factor in
higher plant cells and if so, what its rank is among other
polarizing factors.

    *Influence of Gravity on Fruiting Body Development of
     Fungi

    The D2 mission provides an excellent opportunity for
obtaining information on the ultrastructure of fruiting bodies
grown under micro- and 1-gravity conditions.  These results are
expected to improve knowledge about the mechanisms of
graviperception and the influences of weightlessness on fungal
morphogenesis.

    *Significance of Gravity and Calcium-Ions on the
     Production of Secondary Metabolites in Cell Suspensions

    The influence of gravity and calcium metabolism on
metabolite production, growth and regeneration capacity of cell
cultures will be investigated.  Simulation experiments, using a
clinostat and a centrifuge specifically adapted to cell cultures,
will be conducted on Earth.  In addition, experiments with calcium
chelators, calcium ionophores and calmodulin antagonists are
planned.

    In this experiment, for the first time in manned space
flight, fluid cultures beside solid cultures will be exposed to
microgravity and cosmic radiation.  The aim of the experiment is
to improve properties of the yeast by durable fixed genetic
mutations.  The genome of the HB-L29 yeast, used in the
experiment, shows two additional chromosomes in comparison to
cultures investigated up to now.

    *Influence of Conditions in Low Earth Orbit on Expression
     and Stability of Genetic Information in Bacteria
    *PRODUCTIVITY OF BACTERIA
     *FLUCTUATION TEST ON BACTERIAL CULTURES

    Unexpectedly, bacteria, when growing in low Earth orbit,
have shown differences in growth rate and amount of final biomass
produced as compared to their counterparts on Earth.  These
earlier studies will be continued to include measurements of the
yield of specific products, of the stability of genetic
information and of the re-adaptation to growth at 1-g.

    *Connective tissue biosynthesis in space: Gravity effects on
collagen synthesis and cell proliferation of cultured
mesenchymal cells

    Astronauts, experiencing long periods of space flight,
suffer from severe degeneration of bones.  As it seems, lack of
mechanical load decreases connective tissue biosynthesis in bone
forming cells.  To test this assumption cultured mesenchymal
cells, which actively produce connective tissue proteins, will be
kept under microgravity during the D2 mission. Composition,
relative amount and structure of synthesized proteins, which
consist mainly of collagen, will be characterized.  The same will
be done with control cultures incubated at normal gravity and
hypergravity.

    *ANTIGEN-SPECIFIC ACTIVATION OF REGULATORY
     T-LYMPHOCYTES TO LYMPHOKINE PRODUCTION
    *GROWTH OF LYMPHOCYTES UNDER MICRO-G CONDITIONS

    An experimental 1-g test system was devised involving the
foreign antigen-driven stimulation of regulatory T cells by
antigen-presenting accessory cells.  Under conditions of
weightlessness, undisturbed antigen-mediated cluster formation
between responsive T cells can be expected which is anticipated to
lead to elevated levels of secreted lymphokines.  The amount of
representative lymphokines produced under micro-g and 1-g
conditions will be determined.  These measurements might provide
new insights into the interactive relationship between T cells and
accessory cells.

    *Enhanced Hybridoma Production Under Microgravity

    During the Spacelab D2 mission, the United States and
Germany will carry out collaborative studies to evaluate whether
the microgravity environment can be used to produce cells with
useful properties.

    Specifically, the experiments will examine the process of
cell electrofusion, where electric currents are used to join cells
with different characteristics to produce hybrids.  These
experiments will examine the fusion of human blood cells, called
lymphocytes, with tumor cells. The resulting fusion products,
hybridoma, may produce proteins that can be used to kill cancerous
cells.

    Previous experiments on sounding rockets have shown an
increase in the efficiency in hybridoma production in
microgravity.  The joint U.S./German experiments will probe the
possible causes of this increase.

    As their contribution to the research, the German Space
Agency developed the Biolabor, a multi-user cell fusion device.
The U.S. science team will provide the cell samples and will carry
out the post-flight analysis.  In addition to the hybridoma
experiments, Biolabor also will be used to carry out plant cell
fusion experiments.

    This experiment will attempt to determine the extent to
which the microgravity environment will enhance the generation of
hybrid cells produced by electrofusion.  Dr. David W. Sammons,
University of Arizona, Tucson, and his German collaborators will
attempt to fuse B lymphocytes P white blood cells that produce
antibodies that circulate in the blood stream P with cells from
myeloma P tumors that afflict bone marrow.  The science team hopes
to produce hybridoma that efficiently produce highly specific
antibodies.

    Experiments carried out in the European Texus sounding
rocket program have demonstrated that performing cell
electrofusion in microgravity increases the number of fusion
events as well as the number of recoverable, viable cell hybrids.
During the D2 mission, crew members will use the Biolabor hardware
to carry out experiments to reveal the causes for the increase in
the efficiency of cell electrofusion during the sounding rocket
flights.

    Several days prior to the launch of the Spacelab D2 mission,
the U.S. science team will begin preparing Myeloma and B
lymphocyte cells.  The various cell types will be loaded in
flexible, gas-permeable flasks, which will be stored in incubator
boxes in the Shuttle middeck 12 hours before launch.

    On orbit, the cells will be transferred to incubators in the
Biolabor facility in the Spacelab module.  During the third
mission day, lymphocytes and myeloma cells will be centrifuged and
combined in the fusion chambers.  Electric pulses of varying
lengths will be applied to the different samples.  Following cell-
electrofusion, some of the sample sets will be "fixed" for later
study.  Others will be incubated for the remainder of the mission.
Ground control experiments will be carried out in parallel with
the flight experiments in a laboratory at the NASA Kennedy Space
Center.

    *CULTURE AND ELECTROFUSION OF PLANT CELL PROTOPLASTS
     UNDER Microgravity:  MORPHOLOGICAL/BIOCHEMICAL
     CHARACTERIZATION

    Plant cell protoplasts of different origin (leaf tissue,
cell cultures) and fusion products, formed therefrom by electrical
cell fusion techniques, will be cultured for about 10 days under
1-g conditions and compared to identical samples kept under 1-g
both in orbit (1-g reference centrifuge) and on the ground.  To
monitor possible morphological and physiological/metabolical
deviations occurring under 1-g, sample specimen are taken and
metabolically quenched in defined time intervals.  The analytical
part will cover microscopy, determination of cellular pool sizes
of intermediates of energy and carbohydrate metabolism and protein
analysis.

    *YEAST EXPERIMENT HB-L29/YEAST:  INVESTIGATIONS ON
          METABOLISM

    In this experiment, for the first time in manned space
flight, fluid cultures (Saccharomyces uvarum var. carlsbergensis)
beside solid cultures will be exposed to microgravity and cosmic
radiation.  The purpose of the experiment is to improve properties
of the yeast by durable fixed genetic mutations.  The genome of
the HB-L29 yeast used in the experiment shows two additional
chromosomes in comparison to cultures investigated up to now.


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COSMIC RADIATION EXPERIMENTS

    On the D2 mission, detectors will be worn by the astronauts
and placed near the biological experiments as control indicators.
They also will be placed in the biostacks, which are stacks of
trays containing small biological specimens such as plant seeds,
insect eggs and bacterial spores, alternating with radiation
detectors.  The results of these experiments will contribute to
the assessment of the biological effects of specific cosmic
radiation and so help to reduce the health risks for future human
exploration missions.

    *BIOLOGICAL HZE-PARTICLE DOSIMETRY WITH BIOSTACK

    This experiment is part of a radiobiological space research
program including experiments in space as well as at accelerators
on Earth.  The program has been specially designed to increase
knowledge on the importance, effectiveness and hazards to humans
and to any biological specimen in space of the particles of high
atomic number and high energy of the cosmic radiation.  Its
unknown proper biological effectiveness may significantly affect
the design of the space station and its operation.  Findings of
earlier Biostack experiments clearly indicate the significance of
high energy particles.  More detailed information is necessary and
requires more investigations in this matter.

    *PERSONAL DOSIMETRY:  MEASUREMENT OF THE ASTRONAUT'S
     IONIZING RADIATION EXPOSURE

    Personal dosimetry of the astronauts' ionizing radiation
exposure is an indispensable part of the biomedical surveillance
in human spaceflight.  The different components of the cosmic
radiation field are to be measured with different, passive and
tissue equivalent, radiation detectors, each specialized for the
registration of, respectively, the heavy ions, the nuclear
disintegration stars, and the sparsely ionizing background
radiation, i.e., the electrons, protons and rays.  Small stacks of
these detectors are to be attached to the astronauts' bodies in
the vicinity of potentially critical organs to establish a
permanent record of the astronauts' exposure to the cosmic
radiation field.

    *MEASUREMENT OF THE RADIATION ENVIRONMENT INSIDE
     SPACELAB AT LOCATIONS WHICH DIFFER IN SHIELDING AGAINST
     COSMIC RADIATION

    The experiment has the objective to document the radiation
environment inside the Spacelab and to compare the experimental
data with theoretical predictions.  This will provide radiation
baseline data required for the flight personnel and any radiation
sensitive experiment and material.  These data are necessary for
establishing radiation protection guidelines and standards for the
presence of people in space.  For this purpose, containers with
different kinds of radiation detectors will be placed in locations
which differ in shielding against cosmic radiation.  The analysis
of the dosimeters will be performed after flight in the
laboratories of the investigators.

    *Chromosome aberration

    Chromosomal aberrations, micronuclei and sister-chromated
exchanges will be analyzed in the peripheral lymphocytes of
astronauts.  The analysis will be performed shortly before and
after the space flight and 4 weeks, 6 months and 1 year after the
flight.  The data obtained will be used as a biological dosimeter
for the exposure of astronauts to ionizing radiation during the
space flight.

    *BIOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO EXTRATERRESTRIAL SOLAR UV
     RADIATION AND SPACE VACUUM

    The photobiological and photobiochemical response to solar
UV radiation in space will be studied in spores of Bacillus
subtilis and in DNA isolated from Hemophilus influenzas.  For that
purpose, 2 exposure trays, accommodating the biological samples
for exposure to space vacuum and/or to selected intensities and
wavelengths of extraterrestrial solar UV radiation, will be
mounted onto the User Support Structure.

User Support Structure (USS) Payloads

    A structure mounted in the Columbia's cargo bay near the
module provides support for additional experiment facilities which
can be connected to the module for power and data, but which may
run independently.

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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MATERIALS SCIENCE AUTONOMOUS PAYLOAD (MAUS)

    The Material Science Autonomous Payload (MAUS) is comprised
of two experiments:  one explores diffusion phenomena of gas
bubbles in salt melts, while the other performs research of
complex boiling processes.

    *Pool Boiling

    Nucleate pool boiling in theory is strongly gravity
dependent.  The MAUS experiment with its good zero-g quality
should confirm results of KC- 135 parabolic flight missions that
pool boiling is quasi gravity independent.

    *Gas bubbles in glass melts

    The shrinking of a single oxygen bubble in a cylindrical
sample is observed to determine the diffusion coefficient in a
soda-lime-silica melt.  A camera takes pictures of the bubble in
certain time intervals.  The diffusion coefficient can be
calculated from this radius-time dependence by means of a finite
differences method.

    *Reaction Kinetics in Glass Melts

    Goal of these experiments is the determination of diffusion
coefficients in order to verify mathematical models describing
mass transport in glass melts. Two types of experiments will be
conducted:  interdiffusion between glass melts of the system and
corrosion of silica glass by alkali silicate melts.  Sixteen
individual samples in four separate furnaces will be processed at
temperatures of 1470 K and 1520 K for 20 or 40 minutes of
annealing time.


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ATOMIC OXYGEN EXPOSURE TRAY (AOET)

    The Atomic Oxygen Exposure Tray (AOET) is a self-standing
facility located on the support structure that performs
experiments in the field of material science.  The AOET uses the
orbiter as an exposure laboratory to obtain inside reaction rate
measurements for various materials interacting with atomic rate
measurements for various materials interaction with atomic oxygen
with the low-Earth orbital environment.

    AOET is dedicated to investigate the erosion effects on a
technological basis.  Erosion is supposed to be a vital problem
for the realization of future space vehicles like Columbus, the
European segment of the U.S. Space Station Freedom.  The lifetime
of its structural materials is defined to 30 years.  Prime
candidates are fiber reenforced materials which have to be
protected against erosion.

    The AOET is a quasi passive sample array mounted onto the
Unique Support Structure within the cargo bay such that the
samples are facing the incoming atmospheric flow.  The 124 sample
plates are either circular or rectangular sized, depending on post
mission analysis needs.


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GALACTIC ULTRAWIDE-ANGLE SCHMIDT SYSTEM CAMERA (GAUSS)

    The Galactic Ultrawide-Angle Schmidt System Camera (GAUSS)
is an ultraviolet camera used to provide wide-angle, photographic
coverage of the galaxy.  Pictures taken of the Milky Way galaxy,
younger stars and the gas clouds, which they warm up, will extend
the knowledge of our galaxy significantly.  A number of exposure
of the Earth's atmosphere also are planned when the orbiter bay
faces the Earth.  The GAUSS camera is a mirror system for the
ultraviolet with a field of view of 145 degrees.  About 100
exposures of the Milky Way and the upper atmosphere shall be taken.


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MODULAR OPTOELECTRONIC MULTISPECTRAL STEREO SCANNER

    The Modular Optoelectronic Multispectral Stereo Scanner
(MOMS) is an advanced camera system for Earth observation.  The
instrument is located on the USS platform and provides imaging
data from space for photogrammetric mapping and thematic mapping
applications.  It is an improved instrument based on MOMS-01 that
was flown in 1983 and 1984.

    MOMS-02 improves existing Earth observations with its long-
track, high-performance stereo capabilities and digital images of
higher geometric resolution and accuracy.  Through the high
geometric resolution and geometric accuracy of the threefold
stereo module, it is possible to derive digital terrain models
with a precision of better than 5 m.  The optimized multispectral
module aims at improved thematic information.  New understandings
in applications such as cartography, landuse, ecology and geology
are expected.


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CREW TELESUPPORT EXPERIMENT (CTE)

    This experiment combines an onboard computer-based, multi-
media documentation file, including text, graphics and photos,
with a real-time, graphical communication between the on-orbit
crewmember and the ground station.  The result of CTE will enhance
the effectiveness of the following areas:

    * On-orbit payload operations
    * Scientific return
    * Crew to ground interaction
    * Contingency maintenance tasks for systems and payloads

    Equipment used for the CTE is the interactive Hypermedia
documentation file stored on an optical disk and a Macintosh
portable computer equipped with a pen-activated, interactive
graphics tablet as a peripheral.


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Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX)

    Students in the United States and around the world will have
a chance to speak via amateur radio with astronauts aboard the
Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-55.  There also will be voice
contacts with the general ham community as time permits.  Also
during the mission, an antenna test will be conducted on orbits 61
and 62 involving many amateur radio stations in the southern U.S.
who will measure the exact time of acquistion of signal and loss
of signal along with other data.

    Shuttle Commander Steve Nagel (call sign N5RAW), Pilot Jerry
Ross (N5SCW) and payload specialists Hans Schlegel (DG1KIH) and
Ulrich Walter (DG1KIM) will talk with students in nine schools in
the United States and with students in France, Australia and South
Africa using "ham radio."

    Students in the following U.S. schools will have the
opportunity to talk directly with orbiting astronauts for
approximately 4 to 8 minutes:


    *  Meadow Village Elementary, San Antonio, Texas (WA5FRF)
    *  Fairmont Elementary, Deer Park, Texas (N5NBM)
    *  John S. Ward Elementary, Houston (N5EOS)
    *  Cumberland Junior High, Sunnyvale, Calif. (WZ6N)
    *  Mudge Elementary, Fort Knox, Ky. (KE4NS)
    *  Seven Mills and Lotspeich Elementary, Cincinnati (KF8YA)
    *  St. Martin's Episcopal, Metairie, La. (N4MDC)
    *  Trumansburg Middle, Trumansburg, N.Y. (N2PNA)
    *   U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. (K0MIC)

    The international schools that will communicate with the
crew are:

    *  Westering High School, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
    *  Sisekelo High School, Swaziland, South Africa
    *  Tamworth High School, New South Wales, Australia
    *  Gladstone State High School, Gladstone,
         Queensland, Australia
    *  French Air Force Academy, Salon de Prov, France

    The astronaut/student radio contact is part of the SAREX
project, a joint effort by NASA, the American Radio Relay League
(ARRL) and the Amateur Radio Satellite Corporation (AMSAT).

    The project, which has flown on seven Shuttle missions, was
designed to encourage public participation in the space program
and support the conduct of educational initiatives through a
program to demonstrate the effectiveness of communications between
the Shuttle and low-cost ground stations using amateur radio voice
and digital techniques.

    SAREX is a secondary payload located in Columbia's crew
cabin.  Another amateur radio experiment, called SAFEX, will be
aboard the Spacelab D2 module and will be operated by licensed
German payload specialists.  SAFEX uses an external dual band 2
meter/70 cm antenna mounted on the ourside of the Spacelab while
SAREX uses a window-mounted antenna in the Shuttle's cockpit.

    Information about orbital elements, contact times,
frequencies and crew operating schedules will be available during
the mission from NASA, ARRL and AMSAT.

    The ham radio club at the Johnson Space Center (W5RRR) will
be operating on amateur short wave frequencies, and the ARRL
station (W1AW) will include SAREX information in its regular voice
and teletype bulletins.

    There will be a SAREX information desk during the mission in
the JSC newsroom.  Mission information will be available on the
computer bulletin board (BBS).  To reach the bulletin board, use
JSC BBS (8 N 1 1200 baud), dial 7713-483-2500, then type 62511.

    The amateur radio station at the Goddard Space Flight Center
(WA3NAN) will operate around the clock during the mission,
providing information and retransmitting live Shuttle air-to-
ground audio.

STS-55 SAREX Frequencies

    Routine SAREX transmissions from the Space Shuttle may be
monitored on 145.55 MHz for downlink.  This 600 KHz spacing in the
transmit/receive frequency pair is compatible with amateur VHF
equipment.

Voice Uplink Frequency
144.91 MHz
144.93
144.95
144.97
144.99

Packet downlink frequency    144.55 MHz
Packet uplink frequency     144.49

    The Goddard Space Flight Center amateur radio club planned
HF operating frequencies:

3.860 MHz                         7.185 MHz
14.295                           21.395
28.395




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STS-55 General Release
Second German Spacelab Mission is SPACE Shuttle's 54th Flight

Release:  93-20                          February 1993

    The 54th flight of the Space Shuttle will be devoted
primarily to Germany for conducting a wide range of experiments in
the microgravity environment of space flight.

    Columbia, the flagship of the Shuttle fleet, will make its
14th voyage into Earth orbit carrying a crew of seven, including
two German payload specialists.  STS-55's primary payload is
Spacelab D2, for the second Shuttle mission dedicated to Germany.
Spacelab D1 was flown in 1985.  Spacelab is a self-contained,
space-based research laboratory carried inside the Shuttle's 60-
foot-long cargo bay.

    The seven member crew is a mix of veterans and first-time
space travelers.  Commander Steve Nagel and mission specialist
Jerry Ross will both be making their 4th trip into orbit.  STS-55
will mark Pilot Tom Henricks' second flight.  Mission specialist
Charles Precourt and Bernard Harris will be making their first
space flights, as will the two German payload specialists Ulrich
Walter and Hans Schlegel.

    Mission management resides in the German Aerospace Research
Establishment (DLR), the scientific program responsibility in the
German Space Agency (DARA).  Payload control and operation during
the mission are handled by DLR's Space Operation Control Center
(GSOC) at Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, Germany.

    Columbia is scheduled to be launched from the Kennedy Space
Center (KSC), Fla., in late February.  The mission is planned for
9 days with a landing at KSC.

    Some 90 experiments are planned during the mission.  The 7-
member crew will be divided into two teams, red and blue, so that
science operations can be carried out around the clock.

    Most of the experiments have been provided by the German
Space Agency and the European Space Agency (ESA).  Japan has
provided a number of experiments, and NASA is furnishing 3
experiments for this mission.

    In addition to developing the concept of Spacelab itself,
ESA will fly a total of 21 experiments. and participate in 11
experiments.  Five are contained in the Advanced Fluid Physics
Module and 19 are placed in the unique equipment facility, called
Anthrorack, for human physiological research in microgravity.  Six
other experiments are in the field of materials synthesis and two
flight experiments are for the future Columbus Attached
Pressurized Module, which will form part of the international
Space Station Freedom.

    NASA also is flying its "ham" radio experiment, SAREX, which
will enable Nagel and Ross to talk to schools and amateur radio
enthusiasts on the ground.  Both German payload specialists are
licensed ham radio operators as well and will be operating their
own ham system called SAFEX.

    One payload that had been manifested on STS-55, BREMSAT, was
removed prior to launch and will be reflown later this year.  The
payload was to have been deployed into space from a getaway
special canister (GAS) to detect micrometeorites in near-Earth
orbit and to measure cosmic dust.  NASA mangers delayed the flight
of the BREMSAT because problems with another GAS-deployed payload
flown on STS-53 have not been satisfactorily resolved.

    Most of the Spacelab D2 experiments will explore the
behavior of humans, other living organisms and materials when the
force of gravity is essentially removed.

    "Our scientific methods, like our everyday behavior, are
governed by a natural condition - the effect of gravity," said
DLR's Spacelab D2 Project Manager Dr. Hauke Dodeck.  "Objects fall
down, lighter materials float or are carried upwards, heavier ones
sink to the bottom.

    "What happens to these processes when there is no
gravitational force, in other words:  no sedimentation, no thermal
convection, no hydrostatic pressure?  What new mixtures,
structures and forms are possible?" he posed. "Concrete answers to
such questions can be given only by space research."

    D2 experiments will be carried out in 6 major scientific
disciplines:  materials sciences, biological sciences, technology,
Earth observations, atmospheric physics and astronomy.  Most of
the experiments are contained in racks, about the size of a side-
by-side refrigerator, inside the Spacelab module.  A special
fixture, called the Unique Support Structure, has been placed in
Columbia's cargo bay.  Astronomy, Earth-observing instruments and
materials which require direct exposure to space are mounted to
this structure.

    In the materials sciences field, among the experiments to be
performed are those involved in growing semiconductor materials.
For this mission, the material will be gallium arsenide - a
semiconductor of great importance for electronic applications.
The objective is to produce crystals of high quality and large
size.  It is expected that the results will contribute to the
improvement of terrestrial crystal growth methods.

    The Material Sciences Laboratory will be the site for
experiments on alloys and for experiments which use the
microgravity environment to produce single-crystal bodies of a
shape similar to a turbine blade.

    "If the tests produce the hoped-for results," said Dodeck,
"turbine blades can be developed which are strongly resistant to
heat and stress, thereby improving the performance and lifetime of
aircraft engines."

    An experimental facility called the Holographical Optical
Laboratory (HOLOP) will use holography to gain insight into
processes of heat and mass transfer and of cooling in transparent
materials which are of great interest for reserarch into
metallurgy and casting.

    "HOLOP will transmit video pictures of experiments to the
ground while they are being performed," Dodeck explained.
"Scientists on Earth can not only watch what happens, but also may
intervene in the test sequence, thus demonstrating a concept
called telescience."  The telescience experiment will be carried
out from DLR's Microgravity Life Support Center (MUSC) at Cologne-
Porz.

    Other experiments will focus on protein crystal growth and
biology.  One experiment will use electrical impulses in an
attempt to fuse cells to create hybrids.  The results will advance
both basic and applied research.

    An experiment called the Statolith Experiment will study the
development of balance-sensing organs in tadpoles of the South
American clawed frog and larvae of a type of colored perch.  An
understanding of how those sensors develop, when not influenced by
gravity, could lead to new insights into the causes of space
sickness.

    "D2 will use the human body as a test subject," said Dodeck.
"A special medical research facility on this flight, called
Anthrorack, is the most advanced of its type which has flown in
space."

    Some 20 different experiments will be performed in the
facility, ranging from investigations on body organs and their
controlling mechanisms, control of heart and blood circulation, to
the functions of the lungs.  In addition, a multitude of
physiological processes will be observed.

    A robotic technology experiment, called ROTEX, will gather
basic experience on how a robot can operate in microgravity.  A
robot arm with 6 joints will perform a variety of tasks, including
building a small tower of cubes and retrieving a small object
floating in space.  The robot can be operated from onboard or by
scientists on the ground.  Both modes will be tested.

    Investigations on the effects of radiation upon organisms
also will be studied.  Astronauts will wear radiation detectors.
Other detectors will be placed near biological experiments as
control indicators.  The results will contribute to the assessment
of the biological effects of specific cosmic radiation, which will
help reduce the health risks for future missions.

    Part of the ongoing preparations for the assembly and
operation of Space Station Freedom, over 200 samples of different
materials will be placed on the support structure in the payload
bay to gather data on interaction with atomic oxygen.  The goal is
to examine how different materials - polymers, compounds and
organic films - stand up to atomic oxygen which is of keen
interest to builders of the orbiting outpost which will be in
space at least 3 decades.

    Another instrument mounted outside, called MOMS, will obtain
data to enable topographical maps to be produced by automatic data
evaluation processes for the first time.  A spherical mirror
camera, GAUSS, which also is fixed to the payload bay structure,
will take pictures in six spectral bands of all parts of the Milky
Way, thereby extending the knowledge of the galaxy.

                    -end of general release-


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STS-55 Crew Biographies

    Steven R. Nagel, 47, Col., USAF, will command STS-55.
Selected as an astronaut in 1979, Nagel's hometown is Canton, Ill.
He will be making his fourth space flight.

    Nagel graduated from Canton Senior High School in 1964,
received a bachelor's degree in aeronautical and astronautical
engineering from the University of Illinois in 1969 and received a
master's degree in mechanical engineering from California State
University in 1978.

    He first flew as a mission specialist on STS-51G in June
1985, a flight that deployed three commercial communications
satellites.  His next flight was as Pilot on STS-61A in November
1985, the first West German-United States cooperative Spacelab
mission.  His third flight was as Commander of STS-37 in April
1991, a mission that deployed NASA's Gamma Ray Observatory.  Nagel
has logged 483 hours in space.

    Terence T. "Tom" Henricks, 41, Col., USAF, will be Pilot of
STS-55.  Selected as an astronaut in June 1985, Henricks considers
Woodville, Ohio, his hometown and will be making his second space
flight.

    Henricks graduated from Woodmore High School in 1970,
received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the Air
Force Academy in 1974 and received a master's degree in public
administration from Golden Gate University in 1982.

    Henricks graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot School in
1983 and was serving as an F-16C test pilot at the time of his
selection by NASA.  He has logged more than 3,600 hours of flying
time in 30 different types of aircraft and holds a master
parachutist rating with 747 jumps to his credit.

    His first space flight was as Pilot of STS-44 in November
1991, a Department of Defense-dedicated Shuttle flight that
deployed the Defense Support Program satellite.  He has logged
more than 166 hours in space.

    Jerry L. Ross, 45, Col., USAF, will be Mission Specialist 1
(MS1).  Selected as an astronaut in May 1980, Ross' hometown is
Crown Point, IN, and he will be making his fourth space flight.

    Ross graduated from Crown Point High School in 1966,
received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue
University in 1970 and received a master's degree in mechanical
engineering from Purdue in 1972.

    Ross' first flight was as a mission specialist on STS-61B in
November 1985, a mission that deployed three commercial
communications satellites and on which Ross performed two
spacewalks to test space station construction methods.  His next
flight was STS-27 in December 1988, a classified Department of
Defense-dedicated mission.
    His third flight was on STS-37 in April 1991, a mission that
deployed NASA's Gamma Ray Observatory and on which Ross performed
two spacewalks, one to unstick a balky antenna on the satellite
and another to evaluate space station hardware.  Ross has logged
414 hours in space and 23 hours of spacewalk time.

    Charles J. Precourt, 37, Major, USAF, will be Mission
Specialist 2 (MS2) on STS-55.  Selected as an astronaut in January
1990, Precourt considers Hudson, Mass., his hometown and will be
making his first space flight.

    Precourt graduated from Hudson High School in 1973, received
a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force
Academy in 1977, received a master's degree in engineering
management from Golden Gate University in 1988 and received a
master's in national security affairs and strategic studies from
the Naval War College in 1990.

    Precourt graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot School in
1985 and served as a test pilot in the F-15E, F-4, A-7 and A-37
aircraft.  He was selected as an astronaut after graduating from
the Naval War College and has logged more than 4,300 hours of
flying time in 35 different types of aircraft.

    Bernard A. Harris, Jr., 36, M.D., will be Mission Specialist
3 (MS3). Selected as an astronaut in January 1990, Harris was born
in Temple, Texas, and will be making his first space flight.

    Harris graduated from Sam Houston High School in San Antonio
in 1974, received a bachelor's degree in biology from the
University of Houston in 1978 and received a doctorate of medicine
from Texas Tech School on Medicine in 1982.

    Harris completed a residency in internal medicine at the
Mayo Clinic in 1985, completed a National Research Council
Fellowship at NASA's Ames Research Center in 1987 and trained as a
flight surgeon at the Aerospace School of Medicine at Brooks Air
Force Base in San Antonio in 1988.

    Harris joined NASA in 1987, serving as a clinical surgeon
and flight surgeon at the Johnson Space Center until his selection
as an astronaut.

    Ulrich Walter, 38, will be Payload Specialist 1 (PS1).
Nominated as a German astronaut by the German space agency in
1987, Walter was born in Iserlohn, Germany, and will be making his
first space flight.

    Walter graduated from Iserlohn's Markisches Gymnasium in
1972, graduated with a degree in physics from the University at
Cologne in 1980 and received a doctorate in solid state physics
from the University of Cologne in 1985.  He performed post-
doctoral work at the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago in
1986 and at the University of California-Berkley in 1987.

    Hans William Schlegel, 41, will be Payload Specialist 2
(PS2).  Nominated as a German astronaut in 1987, Schlegel was born
in Oberlingen, Germany, and will be making his first space flight.

    Schlegel graduated from Hansa Gymnasium in Cologne in 1970
and received a diploma in physics from the University of Aachen in
1979.

    From 1979-1986, Schlegel was a member of the academic staff
at Rheinisch Westfalische Technische Hochschule at the University
of Aachen as an experimental solid state physicist.  From 1986-
1988, he was a specialist in non-destructive testing methodology
in the research and development department of the Institut Dr.
Forster GmbH and Co. KG in Reutlingen, Germany.



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MISSION MANAGEMENT FOR STS-55

NASA HEADQUARTERS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Office of Space Flight

Jeremiah W. Pearson III - Associate Administrator
Bryan O'Connor - Deputy Associate Administrator
Tom Utsman - Space Shuttle Program Director
Leonard Nicholson - Space Shuttle Program Manager (JSC)
Col. Brewster Shaw - Deputy Space Shuttle Program Manager (KSC)

Office of Space Science and Applications

Dr. Lennard Fisk - Associate Administrator
Al Diaz - Deputy Associate Administrator
Robert Rhome - Director, Microgravity Science
  and Applications Division
Dr. Bradley Carpenter - Program Scientist, Microgravity
  Science and  Applications Division
Joseph Alexander, Acting Director, Life Sciences Division
Dr. William Gilbreath, Program Manager, Life Sciences Division
Dr. Ronald White, Program Scientist, Life Sciences Division

Office of Safety and Mission Quality

Col. Frederick Gregory - Associate Administrator
Charles Mertz - (Acting) Deputy Associate Administrator
Richard Perry - Director, Programs Assurance

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA.

Robert L. Crippen - Director
James A. "Gene" Thomas - Deputy Director
Jay F. Honeycutt - Director, Shuttle Management and Operations
Robert B. Sieck - Launch Director
Bascom W. Murrah - Columbia Flow Director
J. Robert Lang - Director, Vehicle Engineering
Al J. Parrish - Director of Safety Reliability
  and Quality Assurance
John T. Conway - Director, Payload Management and Operations
P. Thomas Breakfield - Director, Shuttle Payload Operations



MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, HUNTSVILLE, ALA.

Thomas J. Lee - Director
Dr. J. Wayne Littles - Deputy Director
Alexander A. McCool - Manager, Shuttle Projects Office
Harry G. Craft, Jr. - Manager, Payload Projects Office
Dr. George McDonough - Director, Science and Engineering
James H. Ehl - Director, Safety and Mission Assurance
Otto Goetz - Manager, Space Shuttle Main Engine Project
Victor Keith Henson - Manager, Redesigned Solid
 Rocket Motor Project
Cary H. Rutland - Manager, Solid Rocket Booster Project
Parker Counts - Manager, External Tank Project

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON

Aaron Cohen - Director
Paul J. Weitz - Acting Director
Daniel Germany - Manager, Orbiter and GFE Projects
Dr. Steven Hawley - Acting Director, Flight Crew Operations
Eugene F. Kranz - Director, Mission Operations
Henry O. Pohl - Director, Engineering
Charles S. Harlan - Director, Safety, Reliability and Quality
Assurance

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, BAY ST LOUIS, MISS.

Roy S. Estess - Director
Gerald Smith - Deputy Director
J. Harry Guin - Director, Propulsion Test Operations

AMES-DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH FACILITY, EDWARDS, CALIF.

Kenneth J. Szalai - Director
Robert R. Meyers, Jr. - Assistant Director
James R. Phelps - Chief, Shuttle Support Office.

DARA

Prof. Heinz Stoewer - Program Director
Wilfried Geist - Program Coordinator

DLR

Prof. Dr. Walter Kroll - Chairman of Board of Director
Dr. Jurgen Beck - Director of Operations
Norbert Kiehne - Head of Management Department
Dr. Hauke Dodeck - D2 Mission Manager
Werner Gross - Head of Section D2 Administration
Hermann-Josef Kurscheid - Head of Section D2 Integration
Walter Brungs - Head of Section D2 Engineering
Reinhold Karsten - Head of Section D2 Payload
 Development and Coordination
Horst Schurmanns - Head of Section D2 Quality and
 Mission Assurance
Dr. Klaus Gardy - Head of Section D2 Operations
Ludger Frobel - Head of Section D2 Data Management
Prof. Dr. Peter Sahm - D2 Program Scientist
Dr. Manfred Keller - D2 Mission Scientist
Hans-Ulrich Steimle - Department Head Crew Operations
Dr. Raimund Lentzen - Head of Astronaut Office
Dr. Wolfgang Wyborny - Section Head of DLR Payload Operations
Dr. Franz-Josef Schlude - Head of Manned Space Control Center
Karl Friedl - MSCC D2 Coordination

ESA

F. Engstrom - Director of ESA Space Station and
 Microgravity Programme
G. Seibert - Head of Microgravity and Columbus
 Utilization Strategy and Planning Division
H. Martinides - Head of Microgravity Payload Division
K. Knott - Head of Columbus Interfaces and Payload Studies
Division

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STS-55 PRESS KIT

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STS-55 MEDIA SERVICES INFORMATION

NASA Select Television Transmissions

    NASA Select television is available on Satcom F-2R,
Transponder 13, located at 72 degrees west longitude; frequency
3960.0 MHz, audio 6.8 MHz.

    The schedule for television transmissions from the Shuttle
orbiter and for the mission briefings will be available during the
mission at Kennedy Space Center, Fla; Marshall Space Flight
Center, Huntsville; Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards,
Calif.; Johnson Space Center, Houston, and NASA Headquarters,
Washington, D.C.  The television schedule will be updated to
reflect changes dictated by mission operations.

    Television schedules also may be obtained by calling COMSTOR
713/483-5817.  COMSTOR is a computer data base service requiring
the use of a telephone modem.  A voice update of the television
schedule is available daily at noon EST.

Status Reports

    Status reports on countdown and mission progress, on-orbit
activities and landing operations will be produced by the
appropriate NASA newscenter.

Briefings

    A mission press briefing schedule will be issued prior to
launch.  During the mission, status briefings by a flight director
or mission operations representative and when appropriate,
representatives from the science team will occur at least once per
day.  The updated NASA Select television schedule will indicate
when mission briefings are planned.

D2 NewsRoom Operations

    A D2 mission news center will be established at DLR's
Operations Control Center/German Space Operations Center (GSOC) at
Oberpfaffenhofen, where mission science operations will be
controlled.  Media work space and facilities will be available on
a limited basis and will be allocated on a daily first-come,
first-served basis.

    News media planning to cover the mission from the D2 news
center should contact DLR's Public Affairs Office, Linder Hohe,
5000 Koln-Porz, by writing or sending a request via fax at (02203)
601-3249.

Operating Hours

    The D2 news center will be open from 9 a.m. untill 6 p.m.
local time.  Media which plan mission related reports early in the
morning will have access to the news center and will be provided
with pertinent information.  Media will have access to mission
timing and tracking displays.

Staffing

    The D2 news center will be staffed by DLR public affairs
officers, by public affairs officers representing the German Space
Agency, the European Space agency, the German space industry, NASA
and other experts.  An interview desk in the news center will
arrange and schedule interviews with mission participants.

Briefings, Status Reports And Press Releases

    D2 status briefings will originate from the D2 news center
at 12:30 p.m. local time, daily throughout the mission.  Status
reports and press releases in German will be issued once daily at
1 p.m. local time.  English translations will be provided soon
after release.

Mission Television

    Coverage emanating from GSOC will include television from
Spacelab and Space Shuttle and its payload bay and from the
Payload Control Rooms in Oberpfaffenhofen and special programming.
Special programming includes video highlights as well as comments
and interviews by mission participants.

    The "All-TV" program will originate from GSOC and will be
distributed by Deutsche Bundespost/Telekom.  "All-TV" is available
on DFS Kopernikus 2, Transponder A2, located at 28.5 degrees, best
downlink fequency 11.525 GHz.  The transmission is scheduled from
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.


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STS-55 Quick Look


Launch Date/Site:     Feb. 25, 1993/Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
                       Pad 39A

Launch Time:           10:20 a.m. EST

Orbiter:               Columbia (OV-102) - 14th Flight

Orbit/Inclination:       160 nautical miles/28.45 degrees

Mission Duration:        8 days, 22 hours, 2 minutes

Landing Time/Date:        8:25 a.m. EST/March 6, 1993

Primary Landing Site:     Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

Abort Landing Sites:
Return to Launch Site    Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
TransAtlantic Abort      Banjul, The Gambia
                          Ben Guerir, Morroco
                          Moron, Spain
Abort Once Around         Edwards AFB, Calif.
                          Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
                          White Sands, N.M.

Crew:                     Steve Nagel, Commander (CDR)
                          Tom Henricks, Pilot (PLT)
                          Jerry Ross, Mission Specialist 1 (MS1)
                          Charles Precourt, Mission
                          Specialist 2 (MS2)
                          Bernard Harris, Jr.,
                          Mission Specialist 3 (MS3)
                          Ulrich Walter, Payload
                          Specialist 1 (PS1)
                          Hans W. Schlegel, Payload
                          Specialist 2 (PS2)

Blue Team:                Nagel, Henricks, Ross, Walter
Red Team:                 Precourt, Harris, Schlegel

Cargo Bay Payloads:       Spacelab D2
                          Reaction Kinetic in Glass Melts GAS

In-Cabin Payloads:        Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment-II



STS-55 Orbital Events Summary

Event       Elapsed Time     Velocity         Orbit (n.m.)
                                                Change

Launch      00/00:00:00       N/A                N/A
OMS-2       00/00:42:00      220.9 fps       160 x 162
Deorbit     08/21:05:00      TBD                N/A
Landing     08/22:05:00      N/A                N/A


STS-55 Vehicle and Payload Weights

Vehicle/Payload                              Pounds

Orbiter (Columbia) empty and 3 SSMEs         181,034

Spacelab D-2                                 25,025

RKGM                                           200

RKGM GAS Support Equipment                     190

SAREX-II                                       24

Total Vehicle at SRB Ignition              4,518,724

Orbiter Landing Weight                      227,494



STS-55 Summary Timeline

Flight Day One                          Flight Day Seven
Launch                                  Spacelab-D2 operations
OMS-2
Spacelab-D2 activation                   Flight Day Eight
                                         Spacelab-D2 operations
Flight Day Two
Spacelab-D2 operations                   Flight Day Nine
SAREX-II set-up                          Spacelab-D2 operations
                                          Reaction Control System
                                          hot-fire
Flight Day Three                          Flight Control Systems
checkout
Spacelab-D2 operations                     Medical DSOs

                                           Flight Day Ten
Flight Day Four                            SAREX deactivation
Spacelab-D2 operations                     Spacelab-D2
                                           deactivation
                                           Cabin stow
Flight Day Five                             Deorbit burn
Spacelab-D2 operations                      Entry
                                            Landing
Flight Day Six
Spacelab-D2 operations



SPACE SHUTTLE ABORT MODES


     Space Shuttle launch abort philosophy aims toward safe and
intact recovery of the flight crew, orbiter and its payload.
Abort modes include:


     * Abort-To-Orbit (ATO) -- Partial loss of main engine thrust
late enough to permit reaching a minimal 105-nautical-mile orbit
with orbital maneuvering system engines.

     * Abort-Once-Around (AOA) -- Earlier main engine shutdown
with the capability to allow one orbit around before landing at
either Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., White Sands Space Harbor,
N.M., or the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center,
Fla.

     * Trans-Atlantic Abort Landing (TAL) -- Loss of one or more
main engines midway through powered flight would force a landing
at either Banjul, The Gambia; Ben Guerir, Morroco or Moron, Spain.

     * Return-To-Launch-Site (RTLS) -- Early shutdown of one or
more engines, without enough energy to reach Banjul, would result
in a pitch around and thrust back toward KSC until within gliding
distance of the Shuttle Landing Facility.


     STS-55 contingency landing sites are Edwards Air Force Base,
the Kennedy Space Center, White Sands Space Harbor, Benjul, Ben
Guerir and Moron.


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SPACELAB D2

Overview

    The Spacelab D2 mission is the second under German mission
management and responsibility.  The D1 mission was conducted in
November 1985 with German and European astronauts on board.

    Besides continuing research areas and scientific experiments
from D1, the D2 mission will be multi-disciplinary covering the
fields of materials and life sciences mainly dedicated to micro-g
research and also to technology, automation, robotics and Earth
and space observations.  Both the D1 and D2 missions are the only
two Spacelab missions with payload operations control from foreign
countries.

    Mission management resides in the German Research Aerospace
Establishment (DLR) and program management in the German Space
Agency (DARA).  Tasks performed by DLR are training of astronauts,
flight planning and flight operations and payload control and
operations.  Some 16 experiments are furnished by DLR, covering
the fields of material sciences, life sciences, robotics (ROTEX)
and earth observation (MOMS-02).  DASA/ERNO Raumfahrttechnik is
responsible for payload integration, including preparation,
corresponding tests and mission support.

    The experimental program of the D2 mission is oriented
towards the goals of the space utilization program of the Federal
Republic of Germany and also of the microgravity program of ESA.
D2 includes some 90 experiments ranging from investigations of the
dynamics of the solidification boundary to the electrofusion of
cells.  Numerous universities, research institutes and industrial
concerns in Germany and other countries, contribute to the
scientific experimental program.

    The cooperation with NASA goes beyond the provision of the
Shuttle/Spacelab System.  The experiment Baroreflex and two
further investigations are supported by the U.S. agency.
Furthermore ESA, CNES (France) and MITI (Japan) are taking part in
the mission.

    To guarantee that the D2 mission goes successfully, the
payload specialists and the flight operations crew have been
prepared for their tasks under "real" conditions.  The cooperation
between the astronauts in space and the experts on Earth has been
practiced within the framework of these "integrated simulations",
as they are known.

    For this purpose, the astronauts were "on board" the DLR
Spacelab simulator in Cologne-Porz, while the ground teams were in
the DLR Space Operation Control Center in Oberpfaffenhofen.
"Shuttle" and "ground" worked round-the-clock in two 12-hour
shifts.  Voice communication was by radio, as during the real
flight.

    DLR's Control Center at Oberpfaffenhofen offers scientific
spaceflight a modern ground system that allows control of all the
experiments.  During the D1 mission, some still had to be
monitored from Houston because the data transmission capacity was
insufficient at that time.  However, it has been expanded
considerably since then, and the data transmitted via satellite
are now received by ground stations on the premises of the DLR and
then forwarded to the computer installations in the Control
Center.

    Once the data have been edited and stored, they are
distributed to the computers of the experimenters in the user
control rooms in real-time mode.  The main data stream is
forwarded to the processing system of the Control Center.  It is
there that telemetry and telecommand data processing, mission
planning and timeline compilation are handled, as well as
distribution of the roughly 10,000 parameters to the workstations
in the control and user rooms.

Payload Operations

    The task "payload operations" covers all activities for
operation of the payload, i.e. the experiments on board and the
support from ground control during the preparation and execution
of the D2 mission.  A large variety of activities are included:

    The responsibility to operate the payload lies within the
German Aerospace Research Establishment (DLR).  This means that
the D2 mission will be executed from two different agencies, NASA
and DLR, and from two different countries, the United States and
Germany.  The Mission Control Center (MCC) in Houston and the
German Space Operations Center (GS0C) at Oberpfaffenhofen near
Munich are supporting the mission in close cooperation.

    In GSOC is located the mission operation support team which
includes all the experimenters/investigators and their technical
industrial support.  The cadre team directs the entire payload and
is split into several subteams responsible for real time mission
execution, replanning efforts and communication (data, voice, TV).
In case of anomalies, experimenters and cadre team together to
work out a solution that the astronauts in orbit will execute.
The astronauts in orbit will work in two shifts around the clock,
so GSOC and MCC are staffed for 24 hours a day during the 9-day
mission.

    Three voice loops, data channels and TV channels are
available between the orbiter/spacelab and the two control
centers.  For communication between the two control centers, 19
voice loops, data lines, TV-lines and fax lines will be used via
different satellite systems.



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    The first line of the file:

SPACELAB D2 Material Sciences Laboratory/Experiments

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SPACELAB D2 OPTICS LABORATORY/EXPERIMENTS

Holographic Optics Laboratory (HOLOP)

    The Holographic Optics Laboratory (HOLOP) is a multi-user
experiment facility where fluid physics experiments are conducted
under microgravity conditions.  Located in rack 11, the aim of
HOLOP is to investigate phenomena such as transient heat transfer,
mass transfer, surface convections and particle motion in gatical
transparent media through holographic methods.  One of the four
experiments is a test subject for studying the application of
"telescience" techniques for preparation of utilization of space
station missions.

    *MARANGONI CONVECTION IN A RECTANGULAR CAVITY

    There are various types of liquid motion (convection) due to
inhomogeneities of the interfacial tension in free liquid surfaces
which are called Marangoni effects.  The MARCO experiment
investigates one of the Marangoni effects, namely thermocapillary
convection driven by temperature gradients applied parallel to the
free liquid-gas surface.  MARCO investigates the pure
thermocapillary effect under microgravity to reduce the complexity
of the highly non-linear coupled hydrodynamic system on Earth.

    *Interferometric Determination of the Differential
     Interdiffusion Coefficient of Binary Molten Salts

    Interdiffusion coefficients are transport data that are
difficult to measure.  Under microgravity conditions, it is
possible to exclude convection and to obtain exact reference
values for the diffusion coefficients.  The initial concentration
step profile is generated with a flowing junction cell and the
diffusion process is observed by means of holographic real time
interferometry.  The chosen system is Potassium Nitrate/Silver
Nitrate at eutectic composition.  The diffusion coefficient is
going to be determined in dependence on temperature.

    *Idile:  Measurements of Diffusion Coefficients
     In Aqueous Solution

    IDILE is an experiment dedicated to measurements of
diffusion coefficients through interferometric holography
observation of refractive index changes due to evolution of
concentration profiles as a function of time.

    *NUGRO:  Phase Separation in Liquid Mixtures with
     Miscability Gap

    Phase separation of a demixing binary liquid mixture under
1-g conditions is observed by holographic image recording.  A
pressure jump technique is applied to induce the phase transition.

    Radiation Detector (RD) is a set of four experiments in
which different types of material and biological probes are
exposed to different environmental conditions.  The scientific
products will be brought back for analyses to learn and develop
techniques for radiation protection in space.

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Baroreflex (BA )

    The Baroreflex (BA) experiment is located in rack 12.  This
experiment will investigate the theory that lightheadedness and a
reduction in blood pressures in astronauts upon standing after
landing may arise because the normal reflex system regulating
blood pressure behaves differently after having adapted to a
microgravity environment.

    In particular, the ability of the body's blood pressure
sensors to control heart rate (the baroreceptor reflex) will be
measured to see if the predicted impairment does indeed occur.
Space-based measurements of the baroreflex will be compared to
ground-based measurements to see if microgravity affects the
reflex.

    The tendency of a person to faint because of inadequate
blood flow to the brain is called orthostatic hypotension.  When
standing on Earth, gravity tends to pull blood toward the feet and
the baroflex acts to increase heart rate and blood pressure in the
blood vessels, maintaining normal blood flow to the head.
However, in microgravity the body does not have to make such
cardiovascular adjustments to compensate for changes in body
position.

    In space, blood shifts naturally toward the head rather than
the feet and the baroflex is not utilized during postural changes.
Therefore, impairment or desensitization of normal baroreflex
control of blood pressure may occur.

    The purpose of this experiment is to determine if there are
changes in the baroreflex in microgravity and if so, how they
contribute to postflight orthostatic hypotension.  Although
orthostatic hypotension disappears within a few days after flight,
it is very important to understand the causes of this condition
which affects the health and safety of the astronauts, including
the ability to land the Shuttle at the end of the mission.

    The experiment uses the Baroreflex cuff, a silicone rubber
cuff which seals around the neck when pressure is applied.  The
pressure system is controlled by a microprocessor.  The crew
member wears a rubber neck chamber and electrocardiograph (ECG)
electrodes.  Pulses of pressure and suction, which mimic natural
blood pressure, are applied through the neck chamber and
transmitted through the neck to baroreceptors.  The heart rate
change provoked by each pressure pulse is measured from the ECG.
Heart rate changes will be measured before, during and after the
spaceflight.


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MICROGRAVITY MEASUREMENT ASSEMBLY (MMA)

    The Microgravity Measurement Assembly (MMA) is the core
acceleration measurement system of D2.  It consists of 6 tri-axial
accelerometers, four of which are permanently mounted in
experiment racks.  Two packages can be placed at any suitable
location within the Spacelab module.

    *RESIDUAL ACCELERATION IN SPACELAB D2

    The majority of investigations performed on D2 is intended
to make use of the state of weightlessness which is virtually
simulated in a freely drifting spacecraft.  Deviations of the
spacecraft's dynamic state from ideal free fall conditions result
in residual gravity-like accelerations.  Despite orders of
magnitude below 1-g, this microgravity condition can seriously
affect the results of experiments.  A detailed knowledge of the
residual acceleration history, therefore, is mandatory for a
thorough experiment analysis.

    For the reason, Spacelab D2 is equipped with various
measurement systems to detect the spatial and temporarily
variation of the acceleration vector.  There is, however, a lack
of measurement data in the low-frequency range due to general
sensor bias problems.  Acceleration data in this regime will be
estimated on the basis of a dynamic atmospheric model and the
attitude data of the orbiter.

    *Transfer Function Experiment

    The proposed Transfer Function Experiment will cover the
empirical and systematic investigation of the disturbance
transmissibility characteristics and the transfer functions of the
spacecraft structure under weightlessness.  The microgravity
transfer function describes the transmissibility behavior of a
flexible spacecraft structure.  It describes how a flexible
structure will respond with vibrations/accelerations when excited
at another location of the structure by a disturbance source.  It
will be extended by an impulse hammer enabling the measurement of
inflight structural transfer functions.

    The results of this experiment will substantiate and improve
understanding of the on-orbit dynamic behavior of microgravity
spacecraft structures.  The evaluation of on-orbit transfer
function measurements and comparison with on-ground test data and
analytical predictions will improve the microgravity dynamics
database and will directly support the preparation of further
Spacelab missions and subsequent orbital microgravity spacecraft
such as Eureca and Columbus.


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