1996

In the microgravity

environment of space, the

masking forces of Earth’s gravity

are stripped away, allowing

scientists to pursue research not

possible in ground-based

laboratories.

NASA’s Microgravity Science Research Program

Annual Report
i

1996

NASA’s Microgravity

Science Research

Program

Annual Report

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

George C. Marshall Space Flight Center

Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama 35812

NASA TM–108536
ii
iii

Descriptions of the cover photographs are given

below. Earth-based samples are shown on the

left; by comparison, samples produced in

microgravity are shown on the right.

Materials Science: This discipline studies

how materials form and how the forming

process controls various properties. For

example, the speed and amount of

information that can be stored and sent

by computers may be increased by better

control of how the semiconductor’s

structure forms.

9. A semiconductor’s usefulness is

determined by how atoms are ordered

within the crystal’s underlying threedimensional structure. While this

mercury telluride and cadmium telluride

alloy sample mixes completely in Earthbased laboratories, convective flows

prevent them from mixing uniformly.

Compositional variation is denoted by

the grey scale.

10. In space, the ingredients mix more

homogeneously, resulting in a superior

product.

Biotechnology: Tissues grown in NASA’s

bioreactor system provide scientists with

invaluable information about treatments

for human diseases.

1. Colon cancer manifests as polyps in the

colon. Standard culture techniques do not

provide three-dimensional models.

2. The space-based bioreactor grows

three-dimensional tumors with 10 times

more clarity than cultures grown on

Earth.

Combustion Science: Soot from combustion is critical to many manufacturing and

power generation industries. The practical

implications of this research range from

energy conservation, to pollution control

and fire safety.

3. Scientists now know that gravity affects

soot particle size and aggregation, and that

microgravity offers a unique way to study

combustion products. The soot particle

formed in normal gravity is linear and is

0.5-micron long.

4. The soot particle formed in microgravity is much larger, with a length of

18 micrometers and a different geometrical

shape.

Fluids Physics: To enable advances in

materials processed on Earth, scientists

need a better understanding of fluid

processes that play a role in the production of most materials, including new

high-strength alloys and temperatureresistant glasses and ceramics for building

everything from better electric power

plants to future spacecraft.

5. Two-phase flow is important in a

variety of industrial, as well as space

processes. This two-phase liquid flow in

a horizontal pipe tends to separate into

layers, with gas flowing into the upper

part of the pipe.

6. In microgravity, the flow becomes more

symmetrical and has a different structure.

Fundamental Physics: NASA research

lays a foundation for new discoveries by

allowing scientists to study with unprecedented precision the most fundamental

physics laws that govern the behavior of

matter.

7. In a fluid near its phase transition,

Earth’s gravity makes the fluid nonuniform, causing the bottom of the sample

to have a density greater than the top, so

the region very near to the transition is

occupied by only a small portion of the

fluid.

8. In microgravity, the fluid is uniform,

and the whole sample approaches the

phase transition under the science team’s

control.

1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8

9 10

On the Cover
iv

NASA Continued to Build a

Solid Research Community

of Microgravity Researchers

for the Forthcoming International

Space Station Era

During FY 1996, the NASA Microgravity Science Research Program

continued investigations selected from

the 1994 combustion science, fluid

physics (which included fundamental

physics), and materials science NASA

Research Announcements (NRA’s). The

third biennial NRA in the area of

microgravity biotechnology was released

that year, with more than 130 proposals

received in response. Selection of

research for funding is expected in early

1997. The principal investigators (PI’s)

chosen from these NRA’s will form the

core of the program at the beginning of

the International Space Station (ISS) era.

The number of PI’s in FY 1996 increased

almost 20 percent over FY 1995, the

number of journal articles increased

12 percent, and the number of technical

presentations increased almost 30 percent.

The total number of tasks funded grew

from 347 in FY 1995 to 508 in FY 1996.

The National Research Council’s (NRC)

Committee on Microgravity Research

(CMGR) began work to identify the most

appropriate role for the microgravity

science community to play in support of

NASA’s Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) Enterprise. In

FY 1996, the NRC CMGR also published

an assessment of the NASA microgravity

flight data archiving activities, affirming

the use of the Experiment Data Management Plan (EDMP) as the appropriate

mechanism for an archival system.

Continuing Strides Were Made

in International and Inter-Governmental Cooperation

Data from microgravity research equipment

placed on the Russian space station Mir

continue to be analyzed by NASA

microgravity scientists and engineers.

Planning for ISS facilities continued with

respect to the Biotechnology Facility (BTF),

the Space Station Furnace Facility (SSFF),

The ongoing challenge faced by NASA’s Microgravity Science

Research Program is to work with the scientific and engineering

communities to secure the maximum return from our Nation’s

investments by: (1) assuring that the best possible science emerges

from the science community for microgravity investigations,

(2) ensuring the maximum scientific return from each investigation

in the most timely and cost-effective manner, and (3) enhancing the

distribution of data and applications of results acquired through

completed investigations to maximize their benefits.

Executive Summary
v

the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF),

and a newly planned Low-Temperature

Microgravity Physics (LTMP) facility.

Letters of agreement with Japan and

Canada have improved the research

facilities available to U.S. ground-based

microgravity PI’s. Japan made their highly

sophisticated 10-second drop tower

facilities available to a broad range of U.S.

combustion scientists. The Canadian

Space Agency (CSA) has developed and

offered to the United States a large motion

isolation mount that can be used in U.S.

parabolic aircraft to provide an improved

lower gravity environment on the aircraft,

an integral part of the ground-based

research program.

Cooperation with the National Institutes

of Health (NIH) continued to address the

technical challenges of three-dimensional

tissue growth, crystallization of high

quality protein crystals, and the early

detection of cataracts by supporting

multidisciplinary research teams. These

research teams allow some of the best

American scientists and bioengineers to

address these complex problems and

accelerate technology development.

Through NASA–NIH cooperation, NASA

has funded 28 research proposals and has

also supported NIH-approved researchers

to test tissue samples in NASA bioreactors

at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC).

The Third United States

Microgravity Payload and the

Life and Microgravity Spacelab

Missions, and Other Space

Shuttle Missions, Yielded

Significant Results for

Microgravity Investigations

The Third United States Microgravity

Payload (USMP–3) and the Life and

Microgravity Spacelab (LMS) missions

yielded a wealth of microgravity data in

FY 1996. The USMP–3 mission included

a fluids facility and three solidification

apparatus, each designed to examine a

different type of crystal growth. The

fundamental physics Critical Fluid Light

Scattering Experiment/Zeno successfully

completed its second flight on USMP–3.

Also on USMP–3, the Isothermal

Dendritic Growth Experiment (IDGE)

became the first U.S. microgravity

experiment to be commanded and

controlled from the PI’s home institution,

in this case, a university. LMS research in

biotechnology, fluid physics, and materials

science allowed U.S. investigators to use

instruments developed by the European

Space Agency (ESA), thus broadening the

basis for international cooperation in

space research. The LMS mission was the

first to fly the ESA Advanced Gradient

Heating Furnace (AGHF).

During FY 1996, the biotechnology

program supported 20 experimental

instrument flights in protein crystal

growth (PCG) and cell science, with more

than 1,500 protein samples flown. The

first long-duration flight of a cell and

tissue culturing device was placed in orbit

on the Mir during FY 1996.

Microgravity Science Research

Program Expands Education

and Outreach Activities

Microgravity News, which provides

quarterly updates on NASA’s Microgravity Science Research Program, has

been reaching increasing numbers of

people in the past year. The total

distribution of each issue of the newsletter reached 9,000 for CY 1996, up from

2,500 in 1995. Progress continued in

FY 1996 on the Microgravity Science

Research Program World Wide Web

(WWW) sites, beginning an effort to

integrate numerous microgravity Web

pages.

Through NASA’s Graduate Student

Research Program (GSRP), 43 graduate

students were funded to perform

ground-based microgravity research in

FY 1996. That year, more than 6,000

microgravity science educational posters,

teachers guides, and supplementary

curricular materials were distributed at

various conferences. Over 1,200 teachers

requested that they be added to the

microgravity education and outreach

mailing list. This brought the total

number of kindergarten through grade

12 (K–12) teachers on the mailing list to

1,865 (including 445 kindergarten and

elementary, 522 middle school, and

898 high school educators).
vi
vii

1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 1

2. Program Goals for FY 1996 ........................................................................ 3

3. Program Approach for FY 1996.................................................................. 4

Program Overview ........................................................................................... 4

National Institutes of Health Cooperation .......................................................... 4

International Cooperation ................................................................................ 5

Advisory Groups ............................................................................................... 7

4. Microgravity Research Conducted in FY 1996 .......................................... 8

Biotechnology................................................................................................... 8

Combustion Science........................................................................................ 13

Fluid Physics .................................................................................................. 18

Fundamental Physics ...................................................................................... 25

Materials Science ........................................................................................... 30

5. Technology, Hardware, and Education Outreach .................................... 38

Advanced Technology Development 1996 ........................................................ 38

Hardware ...................................................................................................... 42

Education and Outreach Activities .................................................................. 46

6. Program Resources for FY 1996 ................................................................ 48

7. For More Information .................................................................................. 50

Microgravity Research Division homepage:

Table of Contents

http://microgravity.msad.hq.nasa.gov/
viii

AADSF Advanced Automated Directional

Solidification Furnace

ACCG American Conference on Crystal Growth

AGHF Advanced Gradient Heating Facility

AIAA American Institute of Aeronautics

and Astronautics

AIChE American Institute of Chemical Engineers

ANL Argonne National Laboratory

APCF Advanced Protein Crystallization Facility

ASI Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (Italian Space Agency)

ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers

ATD Advanced Technology Development

BCAT Binary Colloidal Alloy Test

BTF Biotechnology Facility

BTS Biotechnology System

CGH Coupled Growth in Hypermonotectics

CHeX Confined Helium Experiment

CMGR Committee on Microgravity Research

CNES French National Center for Space Studies

CSA Canadian Space Agency

DARA Deutsche Agentur für Raumfahrt

Angelegenheiten (German Agency

for Space Affairs)

DARTFire Diffusive and Radiative Transport in Fires

DYNAMX Critical Dynamics in Microgravity Experiment

EDMP Experiment Data Management Plan

ESA European Space Agency

EXPRESS Expedite Payload Resources to Space Station

FCF Fluids and Combustion Facility

FDA Food and Drug Administration

FFFT Forced Flow Flamespread Test

FGB Functional Cargo Block

GAS Get Away Special

GSFC Goddard Space Flight Center

GSRP Graduate Student Research Program

HEDS Human Exploration and Development of Space

IDGE Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment

ISS International Space Station

JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory

JSC Johnson Space Center

LaRC Langley Research Center

LeRC Lewis Research Center

LMD Liquid Metal Diffusion

LMS Life and Microgravity Spacelab

LMSAAC Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications

Advisory Committee

LTMP Low Temperature Microgravity Physics

MEPHISTO Materials for the Study of Interesting Phenomena

of Solidification on Earth and in Orbit

MGBX Microgravity Glovebox

MICREX Microgravity Research Experiments

Abbreviations

and Acronyms
ix

MIM Microgravity Isolation Mount

MISTE Microgravity Investigation of Scaling

Theory Experiment

MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MSAD Microgravity Science and Applications Division

MSDA Microgravity Science Data Archive

MSFC Marshall Space Flight Center

MSL Microgravity Science Laboratory

NASDA National Space Development Agency of Japan

NEDO New Energy and Industrial Technology

Development Organization (Japan)

NIH National Institutes of Health

NMRP NASA/Mir Research Program

NRA NASA Research Announcement

NRL Naval Research Laboratory

OLMSA Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences

and Applications

PCAM Protein Crystallization Apparatus

for Microgravity

PCG protein crystal growth

PEP Particle Engulfment and Pushing

PI principal investigator

PMZF Programmable Multizone Furnace

RSA Russian Space Agency

SAL Spread Across Liquids

SAMS Space Acceleration Measurement System

SDLE Self-Diffusion in Liquid Elements

SIV stereo imaging velocity

SOFBALL Structure of Flame Balls at Low Lewis Number

SPARTAN Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool

for Astronomy

SPIE Society of Photo-Optical

Instrumentation Engineers

SQUID Superconducting Quantum Interference Device

SSFF Space Station Furnace Facility

STEP Satellite Test of the Equivalence Principle

STS Space Transportation System

SUE Superfluid Universality Experiment

TEM Technology Evaluation of the MIM

TSSA Two-Stage Series Array SQUID amplifier

UCLA University of California, Los Angeles

UCR University of California, Riverside

USC University of Southern California

USML United States Microgravity Laboratory

USMP United States Microgravity Payload

VCU Virginia Commonwealth University

WWW World Wide Web
x
1

Introduction 1

This FY 1996 annual report describes key

elements of the NASA Microgravity Science

Research Program as conducted by the

Microgravity Science and Applications

Division (MSAD) within NASA’s Office of

Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications (OLMSA). The Program’s goals,

approach taken to achieve those goals, and

resources that were available are summarized.

A “snapshot” of the Program’s status at the

end of FY 1996 and a review of highlights

and progress in the ground- and flight-based

research during that year are provided. Also

described are major space missions that flew

during FY 1996, plans for utilization of the

research potential of the Russian Mir space

station and the International Space Station

(ISS), the Advanced Technology Development (ATD) Program, and various educational/outreach activities. This NASA-funded

program supports investigators from

university, industry, and Government

research communities needing a space

environment to study phenomena directly

or indirectly affected by gravity.

The Microgravity Science Research Program

is a natural extension of traditional Earthbased laboratory science, in which experiments performed benefit from the stable,

long-duration microgravity environment

available in orbiting spacecraft. The

microgravity environment affords substantially reduced buoyancy forces, hydrostatic

pressures, and sedimentation rates, allowing

gravity-related phenomena and phenomena

masked by Earth’s gravity to be isolated and

controlled, permitting measurements to be

made with an accuracy that cannot be

obtained in ground-based laboratories.

The Microgravity Science Research Program

supports both basic and applied research in

five key areas:

• Biotechnology—focusing on macromolecular crystal growth as well as the use

of the unique space environment to

assemble and grow mammalian tissue.

• Combustion science—focusing on the

processes of ignition, propagation, and

extinction during combustion of

gaseous, liquid, and solid fuels, and on

combustion synthesis in a low-gravity

environment.

• Fluid physics—including aspects of

fluid dynamics and transport phenomena affected by the presence of gravity.

• Fundamental physics—including the

study of critical phenomena; lowtemperature, atomic, and gravitational

physics; and other areas of fundamental

physics where significant advantages

exist for studies in a low-gravity

environment.

• Materials science—including electronic

and photonic materials, glasses and

ceramics, polymers, and metals and

alloys.

development of new theories explaining

unexpected results. These results and the

improved understanding accompanying

them can lead to: improving combustion

efficiency and fire safety; reducing combustion-generated pollutants; developing new

technologies in industries as varied as

medicine, chemical processing, and materials

processing; developing or improving

pharmaceuticals; and expanding fundamental knowledge in a broad range of science

disciplines destined to become the foundation for scientific and technological discoveries in the future.

A complementary document to this

Microgravity Science Research Program

annual report is the Microgravity Science and

Applications Program Tasks and Bibliography

for FY 1996, NASA Technical Memorandum

4780, March 1997. Detailed information on

the research tasks funded by the Microgravity

Science Research Program during FY 1996 is

listed in that report, which serves as an

excellent reference for supplementary

information to this annual report. Also of

interest is the NASA Microgravity Science and

Applications Program Strategic Plan, issued in

June 1993, a guide for development and

implementation of the Microgravity Science

Research Program plans and activities to the

year 2000. The Marshall Space Flight Center

(MSFC) Strategic Implementation Plan,

January 1996, describes MSFC’s Lead

Center role for the Microgravity Science

Research Program. Another complementary

document is NASA’s Microgravity Technology

Report, first published in December 1995,

summarizing advanced technology

development and technology transfer

Experiments in these areas are typically

directed at providing a better understanding

of gravity-dependent physical phenomena

and exploring phenomena obscured by the

effects of gravity. Scientific results are used to

challenge or validate contemporary scientific

theories, identify and describe new experimental techniques that are unique to the

low-gravity environment, and engender the
2

FY 1993 FY 1994 FY 1995 FY 1996

Total Number of Principal Investigators 196 243 290 358*

Total Number of Co-Investigators 268 252 287 396

Total Number of Research Tasks 243 316 347 508

Total Number of Bibliographic Listings 767 944 1,200 1,573

• Proceeding Papers 110 145 140 237

• Journal Articles 446 371 526 600

• NASA Technical Briefs 6 13 11 14

• Science/Technical Presentations 201 391 509 706

• Books/Chapters 5 24 14 16

Total Number of Patents Applied for or Awarded 7 1 1 2

Number of Graduate Students Funded 329 434 534 780

Number of Graduate Degrees Based 61 125 178 247

on MSAD-Funded Research

Number of States With Funded Research 32 36 34 35

(Including District of Columbia)

FY Microgravity Science 179.3 188.0 163.5 159.0

($ in Millions) and Applications Budget

activities through FY 1994. The second

Technology Report, covering FY 1995

activities, was published in 1996. A third

edition, covering FY 1996 activities, will be

published in the spring of 1997.

Table 1 summarizes information from the

Microgravity Science and Applications Program

Tasks and Bibliography for FY 1996, which

may be of particular interest to the reader.

Microgravity Science and Applications Research Tasks and Types

– Responsibilities by Center –

Types of Research (by Fiscal Year)

Center Ground Flight ATD Center Totals

1993 1994 1995 1996 1993 1994 1995 1996 1993 1994 1995 1996 1993 1994 1995 1996

Jet Propulsion 29 27 28 45 7 7 5 7 3 3 3 3 39 39 36 55

Laboratory

Johnson 11 10 34 32 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 12 10 35 34

Space Center

Langley 5 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 85 5 3

Research Center

Lewis 87 131 125 203 29 35 32 46 5 5 6 6 121 170 163 255

Research Center

Marshall Space 36 62 76 124 25 25 25 32 2 4 6 4 63 91 107 160

Flight Center

Goddard Space 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 01 1 1

Flight Center

Research Task 168 233 266 406 64 69 65 87 11 13 16 15 243 316 347 508

Totals

TABLE 1.—FY 1993 through FY 1996 research task summary: overview information and statistics.

Data for FY 1993, FY 1994, and FY 1995

are shown for comparison with FY 1996

statistics.

*Number includes no-cost extensions.
3

2 Program Goals

for FY 1996

To use the microgravity environment of space as a tool to advance

knowledge; to use space as a laboratory to explore the nature of

physical phenomena, contributing to progress in science and

technology on Earth; and to study the role of gravity in

technological processes, building a scientific foundation for

understanding the consequences of gravitational environments

beyond Earth’s boundaries.

During FY 1996, the NASA Microgravity

Science Research Program’s plans for

establishing a Lead Center for Microgravity Research progressed to the

implementation stage. The plan to

implement the Lead Center at MSFC

was signed by Dr. Arnauld Nicogossian,

Associate Administrator for Life and

Microgravity Sciences and Applications

at NASA Headquarters (HQ), and by

Mr. Wilbur Trafton, NASA HQ Associate

Administrator for Space Flight. The

Microgravity Science Research Program

goals for FY 1996 were:

Goal 1—Sustain a leading edge research

program focused in the areas of biotechnology, combustion science, fluid physics,

fundamental physics, and materials science

that effectively engages the National

research community.

Goal 2—Foster an interdisciplinary

community to promote synergy, creativity,

and value in carrying out the research

program.

Goal 3—Enable research through development of appropriate infrastructure of

ground-based facilities, diagnostic capabilities, and flight facilities/opportunities,

including international cooperative efforts,

to meet science requirements.

Goal 4—Promote the exchange of

scientific knowledge and technological

advances among academic, governmental,

and industrial communities. Disseminate

results to the general public and to

educational institutions.

Goal 5—Raise the awareness of the

microgravity research community regarding the long-term direction of the Human

Exploration and Development of Space

strategic enterprise, and discuss with the

community the role of the microgravity

research in support of Agency objectives.

From the Microgravity Science Research Program’s

FY 1996 Mission Statement
4

3

Program Approach

for FY 1996

Program Overview

The Microgravity Science Research Program

conducts research in space using an established process to select scientific investigations via the periodic release of NASA

Research Announcements (NRA), with

external peer review of proposals received in

response to these announcements. All new

investigations are selected by the external

peer review process for either ground-based

or flight-definition studies. In the latter case,

there is an initial ground-based definition

phase to establish the concept, verify the

need for flight experiments, and define the

scope of these experiments; further peer

review is then utilized to determine which of

the flight-definition experiments will actually

be approved to progress to using space

facilities. With this overall approach, research

within the Microgravity Science Research

Program extends from analytical studies and

relatively low-resource ground-based

experimental studies to substantial spaceflight experiments.

In 1996, NASA continued investigations

selected from the 1994 combustion science,

fluid physics (including fundamental

physics), and materials science NRA’s. The

investigations currently supported will define

the first phase of International Space Station

(ISS ) microgravity research. NASA received

550 proposals in response to the 1994 NRA’s

in the areas of fluid physics, low-temperature/laser cooling physics, and materials

science. Of those proposals, 168 scientists

have been selected to receive grants worth a

total of approximately $17 million for

conducting ground- and space-based

research. The breakdown of recipients by area

is as follows: fluid physics, 84; low-temperature/laser cooling physics, 25; and materials

science, 63. Also recently announced was the

selection of researchers for the 1995 NRA in

combustion science. Out of 110 proposals,

NASA chose to fund 20 researchers with

grants totaling more than $7 million.

The third biennial NRA in the area of

microgravity biotechnology was released

in 1996. More than 130 proposals were

received in response to the announcement.

Selection of research for funding is expected

in early 1997.

The Microgravity Science Research Program

supports a relatively large number of

analytical and experimental studies utilizing

ground-based facilities, development of highquality flight investigations, and further

development of ground-based facilities and

advanced diagnostics for both ground-based

and flight experiments. In the ground-based

facilities, low-gravity test environments of

varying duration are available—up to

5 seconds of high-quality microgravity time

in drop tubes/towers, 20 seconds of considerably lower-quality microgravity time in

parabolic aircraft, and up to 12 minutes of

high-quality microgravity time in suborbital

rockets. To support the space-based investigations, the flight program selects the most

cost-effective option from a broad range of

hardware and carrier resources.

To ensure the best use of resources and

scientific talent to achieve program goals, the

Microgravity Science Research Program

observes the following rules to guide the

decision making process:

• Identify and nurture emerging

experimental concepts and areas

of investigation with substantial

scientific potential.

• Identify and sustain a broad capability

for experimentation in space, utilizing

all available carriers.

• Identify and pursue initiatives to

support effective changes and growth

within the Microgravity Science

Research Program.

These decision rules are discussed in more

detail in the NASA Microgravity Science and

Applications Program Strategic Plan published

in 1993.

The FY 1996 NASA appropriations included

augmentations for collaborative NASA–

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

biotechnology programs. In using these

funds, the NASA areas of emphasis are:

National Institutes

of Health Cooperation

• Maintain and, when successive peerevaluation warrants, complete the

ongoing program.

• Continuation of joint NASA–NIH

centers to accelerate the transfer of

NASA technology and allow its

application to biomedical research.

• Development of advanced tissue

culturing technology and application

of this breakthrough technology to

biomedical research and developmental biology.

• Development of advanced protein

crystal diagnostic technologies to

advance structural biology and drug

design to fight a number of diseases.
5

The NASA–NIH collaboration offers an

opportunity to address the technical

challenges of three-dimensional tissue

growth, crystallization of high-quality

protein crystals, and the early detection of

cataracts by supporting multidisciplinary

research teams. These research teams allow

some of the best American scientists and

bioengineers to address these complex

problems and accelerate development of

the technologies.

To speed up the pace of technology transfer

in the biotechnology areas begun under the

NASA–NIH interagency agreement, two

multidisciplinary research centers are

currently supported—the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA, and the Wistar Institute in

Philadelphia, PA. Through NASA–NIH

cooperation, NASA has funded 28 research

proposals and has also supported NIHapproved researchers to test tissue samples in

NASA bioreactors at NASA’s JSC. This has

proven to be a very important undertaking

in stimulating researchers to test NASA

technology and gaining acceptance in the

larger biomedical community.

A cooperative effort continued with the

National Institute of Child Health and

Human Development to transfer NASA’s

bioreactor technology for use in AIDS

research, with researchers using human

tonsil, lung, adenoid, and lymph node

cultures to assess infectivity of the HIV

virus on these tissues.

The Microgravity Science Research Program

also has begun collaborative work with the

NIH Laboratory for Structural Biology to

develop the next generation of x-ray

diagnostic tools for laboratory use. Using

new technology, early development has

shown this x-ray system to produce a much

brighter beam, with a significant reduction

in power use. This cooperative arrangement

includes developing standard manufacturing

processes and infusing this new technology

into laboratories across the country.

(LMS), and the Microgravity Science

Laboratory (MSL) missions. The Spacelab

glovebox that flew on USML–2 in November 1995 was developed by ESA.

In exchange for U.S. use of this glovebox

during that mission, NASA has twice flown

two units of the ESA Advanced Protein

Crystallization Facility (APCF) in the space

shuttle middeck. Both U.S. and European

investigators used the APCF on this quidpro-quo agreement with ESA. Each flight

involved two APCF units, with a total of

96 protein crystal growth (PCG) cells, 48

of which were contributed by U.S.

investigators.

International

Cooperation

Research aboard the LMS mission in

biotechnology, fluid physics and transport

phenomena, and materials science allowed

U.S. investigators to use instruments

developed by ESA, thus broadening the basis

for international cooperation in microgravity

research. Both U.S. and international PI’s

used the European-developed Materials for

the Study of Interesting Phenomena of

Solidification on Earth and in Orbit

(MEPHISTO) furnace and the AGHF, and

the U.S.-developed Isothermal Dendritic

Growth Experiment (IDGE) to conduct

numerous materials science experiments.

Letters of agreement with Japan and Canada

have improved the research facilities available

to U.S. ground-based microgravity principal

investigators (PI). Collaborative research

between Japan and the United States was

established and successfully conducted in the

Japanese 10-second drop tower and NASA

Lewis Research Center’s (LeRC) 2.2-second

and 5-second drop towers for investigations

of fuel droplets and solid fuel burning. This

collaborative research saved substantial

resources for each country by avoiding

duplicative construction of hardware, while

gaining new scientific knowledge. The

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has developed and offered to the United States a large

motion isolation mount that can be used

in U.S. parabolic aircraft to provide an

improved lower gravity environment on the

aircraft, an integral part of the ground-based

research program.

The European Space Agency (ESA)

developed the Spacelab module used in the

United States Microgravity Laboratory

(USML), the Life and Microgravity Spacelab

Mir: The Russian Space Station

The Microgravity NASA/Mir Research

Program (NMRP) seeks to mitigate risk in

scientific, technological, logistical, and

operational planning for use of the ISS.

Additional goals of the NMRP are to

characterize the microgravity environment
6

on the Mir and to conduct specific U.S.

investigations in microgravity science and

applications research disciplines. The NMRP

has utilized modified space shuttle experiment apparatus, flight samples, science

operations, and data analysis/procedures in

order to allow U.S. investigators to fully

maximize the capabilities of the Mir space

station.

Mir research and support provides for early

science opportunities during ISS Phase 1 by

conducting long-duration science aboard the

Mir, as well as shorter duration science

investigations on the space shuttle rendezvous missions to Mir. The primary objectives

of these flights are to rendezvous and dock

with the Mir; perform on-orbit, joint U.S./

Russian science and research; perform onorbit joint operations to serve as a platform

for future ISS operations; resupply Mir

logistics; and exchange the American

astronauts on board the Mir. Four space

shuttle missions to Mir were completed by

the end of FY 1996.

During FY 1996, the Microgravity Science

Research Program significantly increased its

participation in scientific experiments

conducted on the Mir. Three investigative

facilities were located on board the Mir and

15 long-duration investigations performed.

An international cooperative effort was used

to transport payloads to the Mir, using both

U.S. Space Transportation System (STS) and

Russian launch vehicles.

In November 1995, the STS–74 mission

delivered a new Russian-built docking

module to the Mir to allow the space shuttle

to dock in a more favorable position with

the Russian space station. Two more space

shuttle missions, using Spacehab modules,

were flown to the Mir in FY 1996. The

Space Acceleration Measurement System

(SAMS) has continued to collect and record

data to characterize the Mir’s microgravity

environment and support the microgravity

experiments manifested on that space

station. The remainder of the microgravity

experiment apparatus planned for the Mir

was delivered to Russia for installation in the

Priroda module. This microgravity hardware

included the glovebox; in collaboration with

Canada, the Microgravity Isolation Mount

(MIM); and biotechnology hardware to

support PCG, and cell and tissue culture

growth.

One of the first pieces of hardware launched

was the Microgravity Glovebox (MGBX).

This facility provides work space, filtration,

video recording, lighting, and containment

control capabilities to support a large array of

on-orbit investigations. During the past year,

the MGBX provided investigative resources

to support two combustion experiments and

three fluid physics experiments.

Extending the Microgravity Science

Research Program’s international cooperation

efforts, the Canadian-sponsored MIM

facility was included in the Program. This

valuable piece of hardware was launched on

an early flight and provided acceleration

isolation for a U.S. fluid physics evaluation

and a Canadian study of liquid metal

diffusion.

New technology for protein crystal growth

and bioreactors for cell tissue growth were

tested, with the samples being exchanged

during shuttle flights to the Mir. These

technologies appear to be promising, based

on 1996 work. Several methods of long-term

crystallization were studied and a Biotechnology System (BTS) was installed and

tested on orbit for the purpose of supporting

biomedical research. This research facility

later supported successful growth of threedimensional structured cartilage tissue.

Continued development is under way

aboard the Mir.

The Microgravity Science Research Program

continues to collect data and gain experience

in conducting long-duration space flight

operations and investigations. The knowledge and technique refinement acquired

through various projects will optimize

operations and science return planned

for the ISS.

International Space Station

The ISS represents an unprecedented level of

international cooperation and complexity.

The Administration expanded the international scope of the ISS dramatically by

forming a cooperative agreement with the

Russian Space Agency (RSA). ISS team

members now include NASA, RSA, ESA,

CSA, the National Space Development

Agency of Japan (NASDA), and the Italian

Space Agency (ASI). Through FY 1996,

CSA, ESA, and NASDA have invested

nearly $6 billion for design and development, and anticipate a total expenditure

of $10 billion.

The development of the ISS Program is laid

out in three phases. Phase 1, which is

currently under way, includes up to nine

shuttle-Mir docking missions. Phase 2

begins with the launch of the U.S.-funded/

Russian-built-and-launched Functional

Cargo Block (FGB) in 1998, and includes

limited science capabilities. Phase 3 completes the pressurized volume space and crew

accommodations by integrating the

international modules and the U.S. Habitation Module in 2002.

In FY 1996, NASA consolidated the

management of ISS research and technology,

science utilization, and payload development

with the ISS Development and Operations

Program in order to develop an integrated

management structure for the program. The

NASA HQ Office of Life and Microgravity

Science and Applications (OLMSA)

continues to be responsible for establishing

the research requirements to be accommodated on the ISS.

During FY 1996, the BTF experiment

control computer flew on the Mir to

control cell and tissue culture experiments.

The Mir precursor flights will reduce the

risk in the design and development of fullfacility operations for the ISS. NASA and

ESA are examining ways to combine efforts

in the research to understand the protein

crystallization process. This may include

sharing next-generation hardware on

the ISS.
7

NASA’s MSAD requested that the Committee on Microgravity Research, a standing

committee of the National Research

Council’s Space Studies Board, provide

advice regarding the need for preserving and

archiving microgravity data and samples.

The committee issued its findings in the

Archiving Microgravity Flight Data and

Samples report published in March 1996.

The report examined the rationale and

methodologies for archiving microgravity

flight samples and data and included the

following recommendations:

(1) The Microgravity Science Research

Program should continue to use the

Experiment Data Management Plan

(EDMP) as the document that defines

sample and data archiving requirements

for each microgravity experiment.

(2) The process of establishing a mutually

agreeable EDMP should take place early in

the mission planning process.

(3) The EDMP process should be used to

frame, answer, and then review the question

of what portion of flight-generated samples

will be retained by the investigator and what

portion will be transferred to NASA for

archiving.

(4) The requirement for the submission

of EDMP’s should be described explicitly

in each NRA.

(5) EDMP format and content should be

uniform across all the microgravity experiments sponsored by NASA.

(6) EDMP’s should be an item of discussion at each of the NASA science reviews

at which peer review occurs. A tentative

EDMP, developed jointly by the PI’s and

NASA project scientists, should be presented as early as the Science Requirements

Review stage, and then subsequently

amended at each of the following reviews.

(7) NASA should take advantage of the

growth in the Internet-based World Wide

Web (WWW) to post EDMP’s online for

all its microgravity flight experiments.

Preliminary talks began during 1996

to continue the ongoing cooperation in

sharing shuttle hardware.

The combustion and fluids module

scientists for the Fluids and Combustion

Facility (FCF) completed their Requirements Definition Review in October 1996.

After successful completion of the review,

the facility proceeded to the preliminary

design and development phase.

Advisory Groups

The Microgravity Science Research

Program collaborated with, and received

valuable guidance from, several advisory

and review groups during FY 1996.

Program content, plans, and priorities were

reviewed periodically by the Microgravity

Science and Applications Advisory Subcommittee, consisting of the chairs of the

Microgravity Discipline Working Groups,

PI’s, and representatives from industry and

academia. The Space Station Utilization

Advisory Subcommittee, which includes

technology and commercial representatives,

continually reviews the program with regard

to ISS utilization. Both are subcommittees

of the Life and Microgravity Sciences and

Applications Advisory Committee

(LMSAAC), a committee of the NASA

Advisory Council.

The science Discipline Working Groups for

biotechnology, combustion science, fluids

physics, and materials science continued the

process of recommending discipline

refinements and science priorities in

FY 1996. The Discipline Working Groups

are responsible for maintaining an overview

of the efforts in the discipline areas and

providing an annual program assessment.

They are charged with identifying the most

promising areas for scientific investigation

and most advantageous approaches for

experimentation. A fundamental physics

steering group provided external advice

related to the emerging microgravity

fundamental physics research field.
8

4

Overview

Biotechnology is broadly defined as any

technology concerned with research on,

manipulation of, and manufacture of

biological molecules, tissues, and living

organisms to produce or obtain products or

perform functions. The NASA microgravity

biotechnology program uses the advantage of

the microgravity environment to aid in that

research. The program is currently active in

two major areas: (1) protein crystal growth

(PCG) and (2) mammalian cell and tissue

culture. In the first area, researchers seek to

grow protein crystals suitable for structural

analysis by x-ray diffraction and understand

how these crystals form. In the second area,

investigators study and evaluate the benefit

of low gravity for growing cells and tissues.

NASA’s MSFC is the microgravity biotechnology management center, providing direct

support for PCG research. NASA’s Johnson

Space Center (JSC) provides support for

research in cell and tissue culturing. NASA is

also moving ahead with cooperative activities

with the National Institutes of Health

(NIH), as described in section 3 of this

report.

Funding in biotechnology includes financial

support for research centers at MIT and the

Wistar Institute. A cooperative program

between NASA and NIH also has been

established for support of research utilizing

bioreactor technology at NIH’s Institute for

Child Health and Human Development.

Another NASA–NIH cooperative program,

at NIH’s Laboratory for Structural Biology,

has been established to enhance laboratorybased protein crystallography. This effort

strives to improve x-ray diagnostic technology and then transfer that technology to the

U.S. biotechnology community.

In the area of PCG, academic, industrial, and

Federal Government researchers, armed with

advanced biotechnology techniques and

detailed data on the structure of key proteins,

are creating a new generation of drugs.

Researchers use data on the structure of

proteins to design drugs at the molecular

level that will interact with specific proteins

and treat specific diseases. This approach

promises to produce superior medicines for a

wide range of conditions, replacing the trialand-error approach to pharmaceutical

development that has been the rule for

centuries. Schering Plough (NJ); Eli Lilly

(NJ); Upjohn (MI); Bristol-Myers Squibb

(NJ); Smith Kline Beecham (PA); BioCryst

(AL); DuPont Merck (DE); Eastman Kodak

(NY); and Vertex (MA) are working with

NASA and NASA-funded researchers to

produce high-quality protein crystals for new

drug development.

The first set of such drugs resulting from

NASA-sponsored research have reached

phase three of clinical trials, the last set of

trials before a new drug can be approved for

Microgravity Research

Conducted in FY 1996

In FY 1996, NASA funded a robust Microgravity

Science Research Program in the five microgravityrelated disciplines—biotechnology, combustion science,

fluid physics, fundamental physics, and materials science.

Experiments promoted deeper understanding of phenomena within a variety of scientific disciplines and often

yielded interdisciplinary benefits. Investigations sponsored as part of this Program shared one characteristic—

they all required reduced or near-zero-gravity conditions

in order to achieve their objectives. FY 1996 highlights

are presented below.

The overall Microgravity Science Research Program is

conducted through integrated ground-based and flight

programs. In addition to providing meaningful

microgravity results as “stand-alone” programs, the

ground-based research program also is used to develop

concepts leading to flight experiments, determine limitations of various terrestrial processing techniques, and

provide analysis and modeling support to the flight

program. A successful ground-based research program

generally represents a necessary first step toward flight

experimentation.

Biotechnology
9

general use. Although not all drugs successfully complete clinical trials, moving forward

to this stage indicates progress in bringing

NASA’s research results to the general public.

Scientists have used space shuttle missions to

produce superior protein crystals for research

on clinical conditions including cancer,

diabetes, emphysema, influenza, and

immune system disorders.

NASA also supported research on the

recently released new generation of protease

inhibitors used to treat HIV (the virus that

causes AIDS). That research focused on the

transport of the new drug throughout the

human body. Finally, researchers working

with NASA’s MSFC are using microgravity

to understand how protein crystals form and

grow. This information will be used to

improve the success rate of crystal growth in

terrestrial laboratories across the United

States. Specific examples of activities in the

protein crystal growth area are:

• Dr. Lawrence J. DeLucas, O.D.,

Ph.D., of the University of Alabama

in Birmingham Center for Macromolecular Crystallography, grew crystals

of influenza neuraminidase with

improved resolution over previously

grown crystals, permitting additional

x-ray diffraction data.

• Dr. Mark Wardell completed and

refined the structure of human

antithrombin III from crystals grown

during 1995. The improvements in

microgravity-grown crystals revealed

new insights into the active site. The

contributions of microgravity to this

important research effort are clearly

described in two manuscripts

describing the results which were

submitted in 1996. These papers are

now in press in Acta Crystallographica

and the Journal of Molecular Biology.

• Dr. Gerry Bunick and his research

group grew crystals of the nucleosome

core particle on STS–76 which were

significantly larger than any previously obtained by any method. The

highest resolution data sets for this

important fundamental research have

been obtained from crystals produced

in microgravity experiments.

Growing tissue samples—known as tissue

culturing—is one of the fundamental goals of

biomedical research; laboratory containers

called bioreactors are used to grow, or

“culture,” samples of body tissues. Of major

importance, scientists could use cancer

tumors and other tissues that are successfully

grown outside the body to test and study

treatments, such as chemotherapy, without

risking harm to patients. Tissues from

bioreactors will also offer important medical

insights into how tissues grow and develop in

the body. Highlights of recent research in this

area include the following examples:

• Dr. John M. Jessup, Harvard

University School of Medicine, has

used the NASA bioreactor system to

construct three-dimensional models

of human colon cancer and has flown

cancer cells in space to demonstrate

the advantages of microgravity in

promoting tissue assembly. These

tumor models are invaluable in

understanding the dynamic interactions that result in tumor growth and

in establishing models for novel

therapeutic strategies.

• Dr. Lisa Freed, MIT, was the PI for

the longest continuous cell culture in

space (more than 140 days), wherein

cartilage tissue was propagated in a

NASA bioreactor to demonstrate the

advantages of microgravity in

engineering cartilage. It is anticipated

that this approach will advance our

ability to engineer replacement

cartilage for transplants.

• Dr. Joshua Zimmerberg and

Dr. Leonid Margolis, NIH, are using

the NASA ground-based bioreactor

system to assemble lymphoid cell

constructs to investigate the pathogenesis of the HIV virus.

Meetings, Awards, and Publications

NASA Biotechnology Cell Science and

Protein Crystal Growth investigators

conducted a symposium at the International

Congress of the Society of In Vitro Biology

on June 25, 1996, in San Francisco, CA. The

Program Manager for Cell Science was an

invited plenary lecturer for the International

Cellular Transplant Society annual meeting

in Miami, FL, on September 29–October 2,

1996.

The NASA Protein Crystal Conference was

held in Panama City, FL, on April 28–30,

1996. This meeting addressed fundamental

questions in protein crystallization for both

flight and ground-based experiments. There

were approximately 20 presentations from

NASA and international investigators.

The International Workshop on Microgravity Biotechnology for the International

Space Station took place at the University of

California, Riverside (UCR), on February

15–16, 1996. The goal of the workshop was

to bring together international partners to

coordinate and communicate the types of

flight hardware and experiments under

consideration for the ISS. Agencies represented included NASA, the Canadian Space

Agency (CSA), the German Space Agency

(DARA), ESA, NASDA, and the French

National Center for Space Studies (CNES).

Along with the presentations and discussions

of Agency plans, the workshop included a

tour of UCR protein crystallography

facilities, conducted by microgravity PI

Dr. Alexander McPherson, Jr.

Dr. McPherson published a paper on the

results from the first flights of flash-frozen

protein samples on the Mir. This paper

showed that the innovative use of this

crystallization technique could potentially

allow for inexpensive deployment of large

numbers of samples for determination of

optimum crystallization conditions.
10

Flight Experiments

Increment 4 of the NASA/Mir program

hosted the first long-term tissue culture

experiment in space. Dr. Freed is conducting

research on the engineering of cartilage for

research and transplanting. Bovine

chondrocytes were assembled in groundbased reactors and transitioned to a space

bioreactor flown to the Mir on STS–79.

On Earth, the NASA bioreactor supports

tissue growth up to 1 centimeter, whereas

microgravity may afford growth beyond this

limit. Early results suggest that the cartilage

returned in a healthy, viable state and were

spherical, while the ground controls were

small disks. Critical physical and biological

analysis will determine the unique aspects of

cartilage development in space.

The PCG project flew 13 instruments

during 1996. Those instruments contained

more than 2,000 individual samples of a

total of 69 different proteins. Evaluation of

the flight results from these experiments is in

varying stages, depending on the flight date.

Structural data returned from these flights

will be used to begin or augment the process

of designing drugs to attack diseases in the

area of research. As a result of those flights

and flights in previous years, more than 25

scientific papers were published and more

than 60 citations of previous papers were

reported in 1996. These papers represent the

key method of communicating the results

of NASA’s PCG research to the scientific

research community. Citations of previous

papers are an indication of the usefulness of

the research results, as other scientists use the

information revealed in the original work.

The FY 1996 biotechnology ground and

flight tasks are listed in table 2. Further

details on these tasks may be found in the

complementary document Microgravity

Science and Applications Program Tasks and

Bibliography for FY 1996, NASA Technical

Memorandum 4780, March 1997.

TABLE 2.—Biotechnology tasks funded by MSAD in FY 1996 (includes no-cost extensions).

Flight Experiments

Protein Crystal Growth Vapor-Diffusion

Flight Hardware and Facility

Dr. Daniel C. Carter

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Protein Crystal Growth in Microgravity

Dr. Lawrence J. DeLucas

University of Alabama, Birmingham

Birmingham, AL

Electrophoretic Separation of Cells and Particles

From Rat Pituitary

Dr. Wesley C. Hymer

Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA

Growth, Metabolism, and Differentiation

of MIP–01 Carcinoma Cells

Dr. John M. Jessup

Harvard Medical School

Boston, MA

Membrane Transport Phenomena

Mr. Larry W. Mason

Lockheed Martin Astronautics

Denver, CO

An Observable Protein Crystal Growth

Flight Apparatus

Dr. Alexander McPherson, Jr.

University of California, Riverside

Riverside, CA

Enhanced Dewar Program

Dr. Alexander McPherson, Jr.

University of California, Riverside

Riverside, CA

Investigation of Protein Crystal Growth

Mechanisms in Microgravity

Dr. Keith B. Ward

Naval Research Laboratory

Washington, DC

Ground-Based Experiments

The Use of Bioactive Glass Particles as

Microcarriers in Microgravity Environment

Prof. Portonovo S. Ayyaswamy

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

Evaluation of Ovarian Tumor Cell Growth

and Gene Expression

Dr. Jeanne L. Becker, Ph.D.

University of South Florida

Tampa, FL

Expansion and Differentiation of Cells in

Three-Dimensional Matrices Mimicking

Physiological Environments

Prof. Rajendra S. Bhatnagar

University of California, San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

Quantitative, Statistical Methods for Pre-Flight

Optimization, and Post-Flight Evaluation of

Macromolecular Crystal Growth

Dr. Charles W. Carter

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC

Microgravity Simulated Prostate Cell Culture

Prof. Leland W. Chung

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA

Noninvasive Near-Infrared Sensor for

Continual Cell Glucose Measurement

Dr. Gerard L. Cote

Texas A&M University

College Station, TX

A Comprehensive Investigation of

Macromolecular Transport During Protein

Crystallization

Dr. Lawrence J. DeLucas

University of Alabama, Birmingham

Birmingham, AL
11

Development of Robotic Techniques for

Microgravity Protein Crystal Growth

Dr. Lawrence J. DeLucas

University of Alabama, Birmingham

Birmingham, AL

Macromolecular Crystallization: Physical

Principles, Passive Devices, and Optimal

Protocols

Dr. George T. DeTitta

Hauptman-Woodward Medical

 Research Institute

Buffalo, NY

The Effect of Microgravity

on the Human Skin Equivalent

Dr. S. D. Dimitrijevich

University of N. Texas Health

 Science Center, Fort Worth

Fort Worth, TX

Use of Microgravity-Based Bioreactors to Study

Intercellular Communication in Airway Cells

Dr. Ellen R. Dirksen

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA

Microgravity Thresholds for Anti-Cancer

Drug Production on Conifer Cells

Dr. Don J. Durzan

University of California, Davis

Davis, CA

Laser Scattering Tomography for the Study

of Defects in Protein Crystals

Dr. Robert S. Feigelson

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Role of Fluid Shear on 3-D Bone Tissue Culture

Prof. John A. Frangos

University of California, San Diego

La Jolla, CA

Microgravity Studies of Cell-Polymer

Cartilage Implants

Dr. Lisa E. Freed, M.D., Ph.D.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA

Microgravity Tissue Engineering

Dr. Lisa E. Freed, M.D., Ph.D.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA

Protein and DNA Crystal Lattice Engineering

Dr. D.T. Gallagher

Center for Advanced Research in

 Biotechnology

Rockville, MD

Microgravity-Based Three-Dimensional

Transgenic Cell Models

Dr. Steve R. Gonda, Ph.D.

NASA JSC

Houston, TX

Lymphocyte Invasion Into Tumor Models

Emulated Under Microgravity Conditions

In Vitro

Mr. Thomas J. Goodwin, M.S.

NASA JSC

Houston, TX

Differentiation of Cultured Normal Human

Renal Epithelial Cells in Microgravity

Dr. Timothy G. Hammond

Tulane University

New Orleans, LA

Excitable Cells and Growth Factors Under

Microgravity Conditions

Dr. Charles R. Hartzell

Alfred I. DuPont Institute

Wilmington, DE

Determining the Conditions Necessary for the

Development of Functional Replacement

Cartilage Using a Microgravity Reactor

Prof. Carole A. Heath

Iowa State University

Ames, IA

The Effects of Microgravity on Viral Replication

Dr. John H. Hughes, Ph.D.

Ohio State University

Columbus, OH

Sensitized Lymphocytes for Tumor Therapy

Grown in Microgravity

Dr. Marylou Ingram

Huntington Medical Research Institutes

Pasadena, CA

Three-Dimensional Tissue Interactions

in Colorectal Cancer Metastasis

Dr. John M. Jessup

New England Deaconess Hospital

Boston, MA

Use of Rotating Wall Vessel (RWV) to Facilitate

Culture of Norwalk Virus

Dr. Philip Johnson, M.D.

University of Texas Medical School at Houston

Houston, TX

Fibril Formation by Alzheimer’s Disease

Amyloid in Microgravity

Dr. Daniel A. Kirschner

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA

Applications of Atomic Force Microscopy

to Investigate Mechanisms

of Protein Crystal Growth

Dr. John H. Konnert

National Research Laboratories

Washington, DC

Regulation of Skeletal Muscle Development

and Differentiation In Vitro

by Mechanical and Chemical Factors

Dr. William E. Kraus

Duke University Medical Center

Durham, NC

Neuro-Endocrine Organoid Assembly In Vitro

Dr. Peter I. Lelkes

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Milwaukee, WI

Multidisciplinary Studies of Cells, Tissues,

and Mammalian Development

in Simulated Microgravity

Prof. Elliot M. Levine

The Wistar Institute

Philadelphia, PA

Analysis of Electrophoretic Transport

of Macromolecules Using Pulsed

Field Gradient NMR

Dr. Bruce R. Locke

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL

Ground-Based Program for the Physical

Analysis of Macromolecular Crystal Growth

Dr. Alexander J. Malkin

University of California, Riverside

Riverside, CA
12

Thyroid Follicle Formation in Microgravity:

Three-Dimensional Organoid Construction

in a Low-Shear Environment

Dr. Andreas Martin, M.D.

Mount Sinai School of Medicine

New York, NY

Biological Particle Separation in Low Gravity

Dr. D. J. Morré

Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN

Continuous, Noninvasive Monitoring

of Rotating Wall Vessels and Application

to the Study of Prostate Cancer

Prof. David W. Murhammer

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Insect-Cell Cultivation in Simulated

Microgravity

Prof. Kim O’Connor

Tulane University

New Orleans, LA

Shear Sensitivities of Human Bone Marrow

Cultures

Dr. Bernhard O. Palsson

University of California, San Diego

La Jolla, , CA

Microgravity and Immunosuppression: A

Ground-Based Model in the Slow Turning

Lateral Vessel Bioreactor

Dr. Neal R. Pellis

NASA JSC

Houston, TX

Microgravity Crystallization

of Avian Egg White Ovostatin

Dr. Marc L. Pusey

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Isolation of the Flow, Growth and Nucleation

Rate, and Microgravity Effects on Protein

Crystal Growth

Dr. Marc L. Pusey

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Stem Cell Expansion in Rotating Bioreactors

Dr. Peter J. Quesenberry

University of Massachusetts

Worcester, MA

Study of Crystallization and Solution

Properties of Redesigned Protein Surfaces

Dr. David C. Richardson

Duke University Medical Center

Durham, NC

Convective Flow Effects on Protein Crystal

Growth and Diffraction Resolution

Prof. Franz E. Rosenberger

University of Alabama, Huntsville

Huntsville, AL

Nucleation and Convection Effects

in Protein Crystal Growth

Prof. Franz E. Rosenberger

University of Alabama, Huntsville

Huntsville, AL

Enhancement of Cell Function in Culture

by Controlled Aggregation

Under Microgravity Conditions

Prof. W.M. Saltzman

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Robotic Acquisition and Cryogenic Preservation

of Single Crystals of Macromolecules

for X-Ray Diffraction

Dr. Craig D. Smith

University of Alabama, Birmingham

Birmingham, AL

Influence of Microgravity Conditions on Gene

Transfer Into Expanded Populations of Human

Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Dr. F.M. Stewart

University of Massachusetts

Worcester, MA

Mechanisms for Membrane Protein

Crystallization: Analysis by Small Angle

Neutron Scattering

Dr. David M. Tiede

Argonne National Laboratory

Argonne, IL

Preparation and Analysis of RNA Crystals

Dr. Paul Todd

University of Colorado, Boulder

Boulder, CO

Development of Microflow Biochemical Sensors

for Space Biotechnology

Dr. Bruce Towe

Arizona State University

Tempe, AZ

Experimental Studies of Protein Crystal Growth

Under Simulated Low-Gravity Conditions

Dr. Eugene H. Trinh

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Two-Dimensional Protein Crystallization

at Interfaces

Dr. Viola Vogel

University of Washington

Seattle, WA

Automation of Protein Crystallization

Experiments: Crystallization by Dynamic

Control of Temperature

Dr. Keith B. Ward

National Research Laboratories

Washington, DC

Thermal Optimization of Growth

and Quality of Protein Crystals

Dr. John M. Wiencek

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Search for a Dilute Solution Property

to Predict Protein Crystallization

Dr. W.W. Wilson

Mississippi State University

Mississippi State, MS

A Rational Approach for Predicting

Protein Crystallization

Dr. W.W. Wilson

Mississippi State University

Mississippi State, MS

Phase Shifting Interferometric Analysis

of Protein Crystal Growth Boundaries

and Convective Flows

Dr. William K. Witherow

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Characterization of Solvation Potentials

Between Small Particles

Dr. Charles F. Zukoski

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Urbana, IL
13

Overview

The Microgravity Combustion Research

Program currently includes research in the

areas of premixed gas flames, gaseous

diffusion flames, droplet/spray combustion,

surface combustion, smoldering, and

combustion synthesis. In addition, a number

of advanced diagnostic instrumentation

technologies are being developed for various

experimental studies in the limited confines

available for most microgravity experiments.

In the area of premixed gas combustion,

NASA supports experimental and modeling

studies of the effects of gravity on flammability limits, flame stability and extinction, lowflow turbulent flames, and laminar flame

structure and shape. Modeling activities

include simplified analytical approaches

aimed at elucidating mechanisms and

detailed numerical analysis aimed at

quantifying them. To date, several discoveries, all important to hazard control and basic

combustion science and made possible only

via microgravity experiments, have been

made in this area. Activities in the area of

gaseous diffusion flames include study of the

effects of gravity on soot formation, relationships between chemical kinetic time scales

and flow time scales, flammability limits and

burning rates, and structure of gas-jet

diffusion flames.

In the area of combustion of fuel droplets,

particles, and sprays, research includes

examining combustion of single-component

and multicomponent spherical droplets, as

well as ordered arrays of fuel droplets and

sprays for improved understanding of the

interactions of combustion of individual

droplets in sprays. Several new droplet

combustion phenomena have been revealed

in drop tower microgravity testing; these are

expected to lead to major improvements in

design of combustors utilizing liquid fuels.

In addition, NASA supported several

experimental and analytical studies of the

spread of flames across solid- and liquid-fuel

surfaces, both in quiescent oxidizer environments and with low-velocity flows; benefits

here lie mainly in the area of fire safety.

Experimental and analytical studies of

smoldering combustion, which should have

significant impact on prevention of unwanted fires both on the ground and in

space, are also supported.

Collaborative research between Japan/New

Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and the United

States/NASA was established and conducted

successfully in the Japanese 10-second drop

tower and NASA LeRC’s 2.2- and 5-second

drop towers for investigations of fuel droplets

and solid fuel burning. This collaborative

research saved substantial resources for each

country, by avoiding duplicative construction of hardware, while gaining new

scientific knowledge on these phenomena.

A relatively new area of combustion science

is the combustion synthesis of materials; one

subcategory of particular interest is referred

to as self-deflagrating high-temperature

synthesis. Gravity fields can have major

impact on this process, through buoyancyinduced flow effects on heat transport

processes and through gravity-driven flow of

liquid-phase intermediates through a porous

solid matrix prior to cool-down/freezing of

the product behind the reaction front. Since

the crystal morphology of the final product

(which strongly affects its properties) tends

to be very sensitive to the temperature-time

history seen during the passing of the selfdeflagrating high-temperature synthesis

combustion wave, these gravity-dependent

effects can have major effects on the product

produced.

To date, the work in microgravity combustion has demonstrated major differences in

structures of various types of flames from

that seen in normal gravity. Besides the

practical implications of these results to

combustion efficiency (energy conservation),

pollutant control (environmental considerations), and flammability (fire safety), these

studies establish that better mechanistic

understanding of individual processes

making up the overall combustion process

can be obtained by comparing the results

gathered in microgravity versus normal

gravity tests.

On May 14, 1996, a patent entitled

“Apparatus and Method for Burning a Lean

Premixed Fuel/Air Mixture with Low NOx

Emission” was awarded to researchers at the

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,

under contract to NASA LeRC, for the

performance of microgravity combustion

science research into a new method to lower

pollutant emissions and increase efficiency in

natural-gas appliances such as residential

heating furnaces and hot water heaters.

Burners with their “ring flame stabilizer”

reduce significantly the emissions of nitrogen

oxides (NOx) that are major contributors to

smog and atmospheric contamination. In a

test on a home furnace, the ring flame

stabilizer reduced the amount of pollutants

released by 90 percent, and at the same time

improved energy efficiency by 2 percent.

From both an environmental and economic

standpoint, these values are significant.

Examples of spinoff technologies developed

in this project include:

• Under NASA funding, Dr. Joel Silver

and coworkers at Southwest Sciences,

Inc., developed a High Frequency

Modulated Line Absorption

Spectroscopy system for the

nonintrusive, nonperturbative

measurement of methane, water

vapor, and temperature in microgravity flames. This technology has

Combustion Science
14

been licensed and an ammonia

monitor for industrial and electric

utility power plants developed and

marketed; instruments for other

stack gases are currently under

development.

• In conducting microgravity experiments on wrinkled laminar flames

in the NASA/LeRC drop towers,

Dr. Robert Cheng and Dr. Larry

Kostiuk, of the Lawrence Berkeley

Laboratory, discovered that a metal

ring placed above the fuel nozzle

could stabilize a fuel-lean flame,

leading to the capability for burning

fuels at air/fuel ratios that result in

significant reduction of NOx

emissions, of major importance in

regards to combustion-generated air

pollution.

• Soot and polycyclic aromatic

hydrocarbons arise through fuel

pyrolysis reactions common to all

combustion processes. Several

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

and soot are known or suspected

carcinogenic or mutagenic agents.

By using advanced optical diagnostics

such as laser-induced fluorescence

and laser-induced incandescence,

these by-products may be detected

within combustion processes, with

determination of the evolution of

soot formation proceeding from

gaseous molecular fragments to solid

carbon-like soot readily visualized.

Such data can critically test soot

control strategies.

• Knowledge of the soot concentration

in combustion exhaust gases (such

as from cars or power plants) is

important to several devices such as

engines or combustors. In other

applications involving soot reduction

strategies, the spatial distribution of

soot, important for assessing mixing

processes or flow uniformity, is

required. Recently, the applicability

of laser-induced incandescence for

measuring soot in post-combustion

exhaust was demonstrated using a

laboratory-scale chimney designed to

simulate a soot-laden exhaust stream.

In FY 1996, NASA made awards to

17 proposing academic, industrial, and

Governmental institutions for microgravity

combustion science investigations. The

awards range from basic scientific research to

the development of advanced instrumentation that will be of use not only to the

microgravity research community, but to

terrestrial research and applications as well.

New topical areas include the study of flamesynthesized fullerenes in microgravity (the

material for which the Nobel Prize in

Chemistry was recently awarded) and metals

combustion in microgravity. Research in

these areas will be conducted for the next

4 years, with extensive utilization of NASA’s

drop towers and low-gravity aircraft to

perform microgravity experimentation.

In addition to these ground-based investigations, NASA awarded grants to three new

proposers for spaceflight experimentation in

microgravity combustion science. These

involve the development of testing methodology and apparatus for categorizing the

flammability of spacecraft materials in

microgravity; the study of multicomponent

fuel droplets; and the study of so-called “cool

flames,” applicable to internal combustion

engine performance. The definition of these

experiments and subsequent peer reviews for

approval for spaceflight will take place over

the next few years.

Meetings, Awards, and Publications

presented at this biennial international

meeting. Also at the meeting, Prof. William

Sirignano, Spread Across Liquids (SAL) coinvestigator, was awarded the Combustion

Institute’s Gold Medal for Lifetime

Achievement.

Enterprise scientist Dr. Merrill King chaired

the Microgravity Combustion Session of the

10th Microgravity Science and Space

Processing Symposium held at the American

Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

(AIAA) 34th Aerospace Sciences Meeting

in Reno, NV, January 15–18, 1996.

NASA participated in the Space ’95

conference in Japan in October 1995. An

overview of the NASA combustion science

program was presented. NASA officials also

visited Japanese microgravity drop towers

at Hokkaido and Nagoya.

Flight Experiments

The 26th International Symposium on

Combustion, the most prestigious gathering

of the combustion science community, was

held in Naples, Italy, during the week of

July 28–August 2, 1996. At the symposium,

29 papers were presented by NASA-funded

microgravity combustion science researchers,

making up nearly 10 percent of the papers

The microgravity combustion science

program had a very productive year, with

successful investigations being performed in

half of the research topical areas and on all

available carriers.

The Diffusive and Radiative Transport in

Fires (DARTFire) experiment flew for the

first of three planned tests on a sounding

rocket, investigating flame initiation, fire

spread, and post-spread steady-state

combustion of a thick solid-fuel sample

under various low-speed oxidizer flows.

Small amounts of radiant heating were

imposed on the fuel sample to determine

if this kind of assisted heating of the fuel

sample will enable the flame to survive and

spread. This was the first experimental

control and measurement of radiative

heating in a microgravity combustion

experiment. It is also realistic in the sense

that nearby burning material provides

radiant heating in both practical and

accidental fires.

The third of the planned sounding rocket

tests of the SAL experiment was flown in

March 1996. All three flights were highly
15

successful, revealing new flame-spread

behavior attributable to the absence of

gravitational effects and also proving the

feasibility in microgravity of several novel,

advanced diagnostics and fluid management

technologies. Even with forced air velocities

of the same order of magnitude as that

induced naturally by buoyancy in normal

gravity, the flame behavior in microgravity

was found to be completely different. Based

on these results, an additional five flights

were approved to verify hypotheses that

attempt to explain some of the aforementioned, surprising behaviors.

Three combustion investigations were

performed on the USMP–3 mission in

February/March 1996, in order to begin to

directly address on-orbit safety of the crew

from accidental fire. The Radiative Ignition

and Transition to Spread Investigation and

the Forced Flow Flamespread Test (FFFT)

studied the transition from a momentary

ignition to a fire spread situation. From a

scientific perspective these were highly

successful, as they identified new and

unpredicted behavior. The third investigation, Comparative Soot Diagnostics,

provided the first test data on the in-space

performance of the space shuttle and the ISS

smoke detection systems, while determining

particulate sizes and concentrations from the

combustion of typical spacecraft materials

and a selected hydrocarbon fuel.

The first combustion experiments were

flown on the Mir space station throughout

the summer of 1996. Within the Candle

Flames in Microgravity glovebox apparatus,

candles burned for many minutes in the Mir

environment and appear to have answered

long standing questions about whether a

quiescent diffusion flame can persist in

microgravity. In addition, using the FFFT

apparatus, solid fuel samples were burned in

various oxidizer flows to provide some of the

first data on flame spread over thick fuels. A

follow-on experiment involving solid fuel

samples was developed and is planned for

flight on the Mir in 1997.

The Fiber Supported Droplet Combustion

investigation, conceived to study fundamental phenomena related to liquid fuel droplet

combustion in air, flew on USML–2 in

October/November 1995. A major portion

of the energy produced in the world today

comes from burning liquid hydrocarbon

fuels in the form of a spray of droplets. A

detailed understanding of the fundamental

physical processes involved in droplet combustion is important not only in energy

production, but also in propulsion, reduction of combustion-generated pollution, and

controlling fire hazards when handling liquid

combustibles. These experiments were the

first to study large isolated single droplets

with and without forced air convection.

The FY 1996 ground and flight tasks for

combustion science are listed in table 3.

Further details on these tasks may be found

in the complementary document

Microgravity Science and Applications

Program Tasks and Bibliography for FY 1996,

NASA Technical Memorandum 4780,

March 1997.

TABLE 3.—Combustion science tasks funded by MSAD in FY 1996 (includes no-cost extensions).

Flight Experiments

Scientific Support for an Orbiter Middeck

Experiment on Solid Surface Combustion

Prof. Robert A. Altenkirch

Washington State University

Pullman, WA

Low-Velocity, Opposed-Flow Flame Spread in a

Transport-Controlled, Microgravity Environment

Prof. Robert A. Altenkirch

Washington State University

Pullman, WA

Reflight of the Solid Surface Combustion

Experiment With Emphasis on Flame Radiation

Near Extinction

Prof. Robert A. Altenkirch

Washington State University

Pullman, WA

Gravitational Effects on Laminar, Transitional,

and Turbulent Gas-Jet Diffusion Flames

Dr. M.Y. Bahadori

Science Applications International Corporation

Torrance, CA

Sooting and Radiation Effects

in Droplet Combustion

Prof. Mun Y. Choi

University of Illinois, Chicago

Chicago, IL

Candle Flames in Microgravity

Dr. Daniel L. Dietrich

NASA LeRC

Cleveland, OH

Investigation of Laminar Jet Diffusion Flames

in Microgravity: A Paradigm for Soot Processes

in Turbulent Flames

Prof. Gerard M. Faeth

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

Unsteady Diffusion Flames: Ignition, Travel,

and Burnout

Dr. Frank Fendell

TRW

Redondo Beach, CA

Fundamental Study of Smoldering Combustion

in Microgravity

Prof. A.C. Fernandez-Pello

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA

Flammability Diagrams of Combustible Materials

in Microgravity

Prof. A.C. Fernandez-Pello

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA

Ignition and the Subsequent Transition

to Flame Spread in Microgravity

Dr. Takashi Kashiwagi

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD
16

The High-Lewis Number Diffusive-Thermal

Instability in Premixed Gas Combustion

and Low Temperature Hydrocarbon Oxidation

and Cool Flames

Dr. Howard G. Pearlman

University of Southern California

Cleveland, OH

Studies of Premixed Laminar and Turbulent

Flames at Microgravity

Prof. Paul D. Ronney

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA

Ignition and Flame Spread of Liquid Fuel Pools

Dr. Howard D. Ross

NASA LeRC

Cleveland, OH

Combustion Experiments in Reduced Gravity

With Two-Component Miscible Droplets

Prof. Benjamin D. Shaw

University of California, Davis

Davis, CA

Combustion of Solid Fuel in Very Low Speed

Oxygen Streams

Prof. James S. T’ien

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

Droplet Combustion Experiment

Prof. Forman A. Williams

University of California, San Diego

La Jolla, CA

Ground-Based Experiments

Effects of Energy Release on Near Field Flow

Structure of Gas Jets

Prof. Ajay K. Agrawal

University of Oklahoma

Norman, OK

Radiant Extinction of Gaseous Diffusion Flames

Prof. Arvind Atreya

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

Multicomponent Droplet Combustion in

Microgravity: Soot Formation, Emulsions,

Metal-Based Additives, and the Effect of

Initial Droplet Diameter

Prof. C.T. Avedisian

Cornell University

Ithica, NY

Gas-Phase Combustion Synthesis

of Metal and Ceramic Nano-Particles

Prof. Richard L. Axelbaum

Washington University

St. Louis, MO

Development of Advanced Diagnostics

for Characterization of Burning Droplets

in Microgravity

Dr. William D. Bachalo

Aerometrics, Inc.

Sunnyvale, CA

Ignition and Combustion of Bulk Metals in

Microgravity (Ground-Based Experiment)

Prof. Melvyn C. Branch

University of Colorado, Boulder

Boulder, CO

Modeling of Microgravity Combustion

Experiments—Phase II

Prof. John D. Buckmaster

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Urbana, IL

A Numerical Model for Combustion of Bubbling

Thermoplastic Materials in Microgravity

Dr. Kathryn M. Butler

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD

Heterogeneous Combustion of Porous Solid Fuel

Particles Under Microgravity: A Comprehensive

Theoretical and Experimental Study

Prof. H.K. Chelliah

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA

Buoyancy Effects on the Structure and Stability

of Burke-Schumann Diffusion Flames

Prof. L.-D. Chen

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Gravitational Effects on Premixed Turbulent

Flames: Microgravity Flame Structures

Dr. Robert K. Cheng

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

Berkeley, CA

Combustion of Interacting Droplet Arrays

in a Microgravity Environment

Dr. Daniel L. Dietrich

NASA LeRC

Cleveland, OH

Internal and Surface Phenomena in

Heterogeneous Metal Combustion

Dr. Edward L. Dreizin

AeroChem Research Laboratories, Inc.

Princeton, NJ

Interaction of Burning Metal Particles

Dr. Edward L. Dreizin

AeroChem Research Laboratories, Inc.

Princeton, NJ

Flame-Vortex Interactions Imaged in Microgravity

Prof. James F. Driscoll

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

Aerodynamic, Unsteady, Kinetic, and Heat Loss

Effects on the Dynamics and Structure of WeaklyBurning Flames in Microgravity

Prof. Fokion N. Egolfopoulos

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA

Detailed Studies on the Structure and Dynamics

of Reacting Dusty Flows at Normal

and Microgravity

Prof. Fokion N. Egolfopoulos

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA

Effects of Gravity on Sheared and Nonsheared

Turbulent Nonpremixed Flames

Prof. Said E. Elghobashi

University of California, Irvine

Irvine, CA
17

Soot Processes in Freely-Propagating Laminar

Premixed Flames

Prof. Gerard M. Faeth

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

Combustion of Electrostatic Sprays of Liquid

Fuels in Laminar and Turbulent Regimes

Prof. Alessandro Gomez

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Characteristics of Non-Premixed Turbulent

Flames in Microgravity

Dr. Uday Hegde

NYMA, Inc.

Cleveland, OH

Three-Dimensional Flow in a Microgravity

Diffusion Flame

Prof. Jean R. Hertzberg

University of Colorado, Boulder

Boulder, CO

Combustion Synthesis of Fullerenes and Fullerenic

Nanostructures in Microgravity

Prof. Jack B. Howard

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA

Unsteady Numerical Simulations of the Stability

and Dynamics of Flames in Microgravity

Dr. K. Kailasanath

National Research Laboratories

Washington, DC

Real Time Quantitative 3-D Imaging

of Diffusion Flame Species

Dr. Daniel J. Kane

Southwest Sciences, Inc.

Santa Fe, NM

Soot and Radiation Measurements in

Microgravity Turbulent Jet Diffusion Flames

Prof. Jerry C. Ku

Wayne State University

Detroit, MI

Studies of Flame Structure in Microgravity

Prof. Chung K. Law

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

Chemical Inhibitor Effects on Diffusion Flames

in Microgravity

Dr. Gregory T. Linteris

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg , MD

Computational and Experimental Study

of Laminar Diffusion Flames

in a Microgravity Environment

Prof. Marshall B. Long

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Dynamics of Liquid Propellant Combustion

at Reduced Gravity

Dr. Stephen B. Margolis

Sandia National Laboratories

Livermore, CA

Structure and Dynamics of Diffusion Flames

in Microgravity

Prof. Moshe Matalon

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Filtration Combustion for Microgravity

Applications: (1) Smoldering, (2) Combustion

Synthesis of Advanced Materials

Prof. Bernard J. Matkowsky

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Combustion of PTFE: The Effect of Gravity

on Ultrafine Particle Generation

Prof. J.T. McKinnon

Colorado School of Mines

Golden, CO

Premixed Turbulent Flame Propagation

in Microgravity

Prof. Suresh Menon

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA

Gravitational Influences on Flame Propagation

Through Non-Uniform Premixed Gas Systems

Dr. Fletcher J. Miller

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

A Fundamental Study of the Combustion

Syntheses of Ceramic-Metal Composite Materials

Under Microgravity Conditions—Phase II

Prof. John J. Moore

Colorado School of Mines

Golden, CO

Stretched Diffusion Flames

in Von Karman Swirling Flows

Dr. Vedha Nayagam

Analex Corporation

Brook Park, OH

Flow and Ambient Atmosphere Effects

on Flame Spread at Microgravity

Prof. Paul D. Ronney

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA

Flammability Limits and Flame Dynamics

of Spherical Flames in Homogeneous

and Heterogeneous Mixtures

Prof. Paul D. Ronney

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA

Combustion Research

Dr. Howard D. Ross

NASA LeRC

Cleveland, OH

Combustion of Unconfined Droplet Clusters

in Microgravity

Dr. Gary A. Ruff

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

Reduced Gravity Combustion With 2-Component

Miscible Droplets

Prof. Benjamin D. Shaw

University of California, Davis

Davis, CA

Quantitative Measurement of Molecular Oxygen

in Microgravity Combustion

Dr. Joel A. Silver

Southwest Sciences, Inc.

Sante Fe, NM
18

Numerical Modeling of Flame-Balls

in Fuel-Air Mixtures

Prof. Mitchell D. Smooke

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Combustion of Rotating Spherical Premixed

and Diffusion Flames in Microgravity

Dr. Siavash H. Sohrab

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Diffusion Flame Structure, Shape and Extinction:

Geometrical Considerations

Prof. Jose L. Torero

University of Maryland

College Park, MD

Interactions Between Flames on Parallel Solid

Surfaces

Dr. David L. Urban

NASA LeRC

Cleveland, OH

Gasless Combustion Synthesis From Elements

Under Microgravity: A Study of StructureFormation Processes

Prof. Arvind Varma

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

Studies of Wind-Aided Flame Spread Over

Thin Cellulosic Fuels in Microgravity

Prof. Indrek S. Wichman

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

High-Pressure Combustion of Binary Fuel Sprays

Prof. Forman A. Williams

University of California, San Diego

La Jolla, CA

Laser Diagnostics for Fundamental Microgravity

Droplet Combustion Studies

Dr. Michael Winter

United Technologies Research Center

East Hartford, CT

Combustion of a Polymer (PMMA) Sphere

in Microgravity

Dr. Jiann C. Yang

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD

Overview

Fluid physics is the study of properties and

motion of fluids (liquids and gases) and

the effects of such motion. Fluid motions

are responsible for most transport and

mixing that take place in the environment,

in industrial processes, in vehicles, and in

living organisms. The ultimate goal of

research in fluid physics is to improve our

ability to predict and control the behavior

of fluids in all of the above situations, so as

to improve our ability to design devices

and to regulate them. Fluid motion

involved in most situations is strongly

influenced by gravity. The reduced-gravity

environment of space offers a powerful

research tool for the fluid physicist,

enabling the observation and control

of fluid phenomena in ways not possible

on Earth.

The primary objective of the microgravity

fluid physics program is to utilize the

reduced-gravity environment to provide

new insight into phenomena that are

otherwise masked or confounded by the

effects of Earth’s gravity. Through a rigorous peer review process, 84 researchers were

selected to receive grants as a part of the

1994 fluid physics NRA process. These

awards total over $32 million, over

more than a 4-year period, and include

71 ground-based and 13 flight-experiment

definition studies. A listing of all the fluid

physics grants, along with their PI’s, is

given in table 4. These grants cover the

broad field of fluid physics, including the

areas of capillary phenomena, contact-line

dynamics, colloid physics, complex fluids,

thermocapillary and solutocapillary

phenomena, bubble or droplet migration

and interaction, coalescence and aggregation, multiphase flows and phase change,

electrokinetics and electrochemistry,

biofluid mechanics, and measurement

of equilibrium and transport properties

of fluids.

Some of the highlights of the FY 1996

fluid physics research conducted in space,

as well as in ground-based laboratories, are

discussed below.

Physicists study the behavior of colloidal

crystals to gain understanding of processes

involved in growth of atomic crystals that

can lead to development of novel materials. In their experiments on the formation

of colloidal crystals conducted aboard the

USML–2 space shuttle mission, coinvestigators Prof. Paul Chaikin and Prof.

William Russel, Princeton University,

obtained results that upset the current

understanding of phase transitions and

surprised the condensed matter physics

community. Colloidal suspensions of

nearly perfect hard spheres allowed to

crystallize in microgravity show large

crystals with dendritic arms previously

undetected and unpresumed from groundbased studies. In space, they also observed

crystallization of “glass” colloidal samples

that fail to crystallize after more than

1 year in Earth’s gravity. They also found

that in space the crystals grow purely via

random stacking of hexagonal planes,

lacking any of the face-centered cubic

components evident in the crystals grown

on Earth. These observations run counter

to current understanding of the fundamental aspects of phase transitions.

Fluid Physics
19

Also aboard USML–2, Prof. John Hart,

the University of Colorado, observed

pattern formation in an experimental

model of planetary atmospheres, using a

device that, in a microgravity environment, simulates planetary-scale forces,

including radial gravity. He obtained both

qualitative and quantitative information

on pattern selection and turbulent

transitions that will guide future models of

geophysical flow. On the same mission,

Prof. Simon Ostrach, Case Western

Reserve University, found and characterized a type of fluid motion, driven by the

thermodynamic properties of gas-liquid

interfaces, that plays an important role in

materials processing in space and on

Earth. These experiments have provided

the scientific community with the first

conclusive evidence of transition from

steady to oscillatory flows, a transition that

can have major consequences for crystal

growth and other processing technologies.

NASA and the National Eye Institute of

the NIH signed an interagency agreement

to conduct further research in detecting

eye diseases at their earliest stages using a

compact, dynamic light scattering probe

developed at NASA’s LeRC. The probe

was developed for conducting fluid physics

experiments in challenging conditions of a

microgravity environment on board a

space shuttle orbiter or space station. The

easy-to-use probe requires neither sensitive

optical alignment, nor the use of vibration

isolation devices. In a clinical setting, the

probe is simply mounted on an Hruby

lens holder on a regular slit-lamp apparatus available in every ophthalmologist’s or

optometrist’s office. The NASA–NIH

agreement will use the unique talents and

experience of both agencies to explore the

use of the probe for early detection and

diagnosis of eye diseases such as cataracts,

diabetic retinopathy, and the inflammatory

diseases of the anterior chamber of the eye.

The agreement will allow characterization

of the instrument, aiding in its eventual

commercial acceptance and Food and

Drug Administration (FDA) approval, and

ensuring its eventual availability to the

biomedical community.

Prof. Alice Gast, Stanford University,

reported the development of Spatially

Resolved Diffusing Wave Spectroscopy,

a novel technique that allows accurate

measurements of optical and dynamic

properties of ordered colloidal suspensions.

The high opacity of these colloids usually

renders the previously existing scattering

techniques unsuitable.

Prof. Van Carey, the University of California, Berkeley, used the NASA DC–9

aircraft to conduct reduced-gravity

experiments to demonstrate that the use

of binary fluid mixtures, rather than pure

fluids, can produce significant enhancements (a factor of 3 increase for water

using water/2-propanol mixture) in critical

heat flux in boiling. These results could

lead the way to significant improvements

in the performance of power generation

and thermal control for space- and Earthbased systems.

Prof. S. George Bankoff, fluid physics PI

and a member of the Microgravity Fluid

Physics Discipline Working Group, was

awarded the 1995 Donald Q. Kern award

by the AIChE in recognition of his

outstanding career contributions in the

field of heat transfer, especially in the areas

of boiling and two-phase flow, and his

ongoing contributions to those practicing

the science of heat transfer and educating

future heat transfer engineers. Prof.

Bankoff was also elected a member of

the National Academy of Engineering

in 1996.

Fluid physics PI Prof. Bruce Ackerson,

Oklahoma State University, won the 1996

Journal of Rheology publication award with

Mr. Liang Chen, Helene Curtis, Inc., in

Chicago, and Mr. Charles Zukoski, the

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

They were cited for their paper “Rheological Consequences of Microstructural

Transitions in Colloidal Crystals,”

published in the journal in 1994.

Several U.S. microgravity researchers made

presentations at the Second European

Symposium on Fluids in Space held

in Naples, Italy, April 22–26, 1996.

Dr. Simon Ostrach, Case Western Reserve

University, gave the plenary lecture on

oscillatory thermocapillary flows and

included results of his Surface Tension

Driven Convection Experiment, which

flew on USML–2. Dr. R.S. Subramanian,

Clarkson University, spoke on thermocapillary migration of bubbles and drops,

a subject that he explored further with an

experiment aboard the LMS mission flown

in June/July 1996.

The International School on Nonlinear

Problems of Hydrodynamic Stability

Theory was held in Moscow, Russia,

February 18–25, 1996. Most of the

attendees were Russian researchers,

providing NASA the opportunity to gain a

better understanding of the scope of current

fluid physics activities in that country.

Meetings, Awards, and Publications

The Third Microgravity Fluid Physics

Conference, held in Cleveland, OH on

June 13–15, 1996, was attended by

385 scientists and engineers from around the

world. It was a very successful meeting with

135 presentations, including three keynote

addresses. Most of the papers presented were

included in the conference proceedings

(NASA Conference Publication 3338, 1996).

In addition, the results of the work sponsored

by the Program were presented at many

national and international conferences,

including the American Physical Society

Fluid Dynamics Meeting, the 31st National

Heat Transfer Conference, the Second

European Symposium on Fluids in Space, the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

(ASME) International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, the AIAA

Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, and

the American Institute of Chemical Engineers

(AIChE) Annual Meeting.
20

Flight Experiments

Fluid physics experiments were conducted

on the USMP–3 mission, in Getaway

Special (GAS) Cans on two shuttle

flights—on the LMS mission and during

NASA-Mir joint missions Mir–3, –4, and

–5. Scientists are still in the process of

analyzing the results of these experiments.

Two successful GAS Can flights (STS–72

and STS–77) of the Pool Boiling Experiment completed the five-flight experiment

program of Prof. Herman Merte, University of Michigan. The objectives of the

Pool Boiling experiments were to improve

understanding of the fundamental

mechanisms of pool boiling by conducting

tests in microgravity; the low-gravity

environment removes the buoyancy effects

that mask other phenomena in Earth’s

gravity.

Two U.S. experiments were conducted

in ESA’s Bubble, Drop, and Particle Unit

on the 17-day LMS mission in June/July

1996. The objective of the first experiment, Thermocapillary Migration and

Interactions of Bubbles and Drops, was

designed to study the motion of bubble

and drops in a liquid under the action of

temperature gradient. Temperature

gradients cause variation in the interfacial

tension at the surface of the bubble or

drop which propel it in the direction of

the warmer liquid. The objective of the

second experiment, Studies in Electrohydrodynamics, was designed to study the

stability characteristics of cylindrical liquid

columns under the influence of varying

electric fields. This experiment focused on

the series of shape changes that occur in a

liquid bridge suspended between two

electrodes. Both experiments were

conducted successfully and the vast

amounts of data generated are now being

analyzed by the respective scientific teams.

The first flight of the Mechanics of

Granular Materials experiment was

completed on the Mir–4 mission (September 1996). The science objectives of the PI

were to obtain quantitative knowledge of

the behavior of bulky granular materials

under low confining pressures. The

resultant data will be important in the

understanding of soil mechanics and

geotechnical engineering, earthquake

engineering, coastal and off-shore engineering, mining engineering, planetary

geology, granular flow processes, and

engineering with granular materials.

A second flight is scheduled for STS–86

in 1997 to complete the experiment data

requirements matrix.

The Interface Configuration Experiment

was conducted in May 1996 aboard the

Mir space station in the MGBX facility

by crew member Dr. Shannon Lucid.

The experiment was developed to explore

certain aspects of liquid/vapor interface

behavior, primarily the uniqueness of

certain mathematical predictions of fluid

configurations in the absence of gravity. A

brief audio report included confirmation

of video recordings and completion of

experiment operations. The science team

retrieved the data tapes when Dr. Lucid

returned to Earth in September 1996.

The Technological Evaluation of the

Microgravity Isolation Mount experiment,

know as the TEM, was launched to the

Mir space station on the Priroda module

in April 1996. Dr. Lucid conducted the

technology demonstration in four sessions

during mid-July. The TEM interfaced with

the MGBX, the Mir Interface to Payload

System (MIPS), the SAMS, and the MIM

in order to asses the performance of the

Canadian-built MIM. The second

Technological Evaluation of the MIM

(TEM–2) and the Binary Colloidal Alloy

Test (BCAT) MGBX investigation were

launched to the Mir on the Mir–4

mission. The objective of TEM–2 was to

demonstrate the ability of the MIM to

eliminate the effects of g-jitter on fluid free

surface oscillations in low gravity and

obtain new data on the free surface

response of fluids to controlled g-jitter.

The objective of BCAT was to conduct

fundamental studies of the formation of

colloidal superlattices and large scale

fractal colloidal aggregates/gels using longduration exposure to microgravity, which

is not available in space shuttle missions.

The FY 1996 ground and flight tasks for

fluid physics are listed in table 4. Further

details on these tasks may be found in the

complementary document Microgravity

Science and Applications Program Tasks and

Bibliography for FY 1996, NASA Technical

Memorandum 4780, March 1997.
21

TABLE 4.—Fluid physics tasks funded by MSAD in FY 1996 (includes no-cost extensions).

Flight Experiments

Surface Controlled Phenomena

Prof. Robert E. Apfel

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Two-Phase Gas-Liquid Flows in Microgravity:

Experimental and Theoretical Investigation

of the Annular Flow

Prof. Vemuri Balakotaiah

University of Houston

Houston, TX

The Dynamics of Disorder-Order Transitions

in Hard Sphere Colloidal Dispersions

Prof. Paul M. Chaikin

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

Investigations of Mechanisms Associated

With Nucleate Boiling Under

Microgravity Conditions

Dr. Vijay K. Dhir

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA

The Melting of Aqueous Foams

Prof. Douglas J. Durian

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA

Microscale Hydrodynamics

Near Moving Contact Lines

Prof. Stephen Garoff

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Geophysical Fluid Flow Cell

Dr. John E. Hart

University of Colorado, Boulder

Boulder, CO

Growth and Morphology of Phase Separating

Supercritical Fluids

Dr. John Hegseth

University of New Orleans

New Orleans, LA

An Experimental Study of Richtmyer-Meshkov

Instability in Low Gravity

Dr. Jeffrey W. Jacobs

University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ

Microgravity Segregation in Binary Mixtures

of Inelastic Spheres Driven

by Velocity Fluctuation Gradients

Prof. James T. Jenkins

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Bubble Dynamics on a Heated Surface

Dr. Mohammad Kassemi

NASA LeRC

Cleveland, OH

Magnetorheological Fluids: Rheology and

Nonequilibrium Pattern Formation

Prof. Jing Liu

California State University, Long Beach

Long Beach, CA

Extensional Rheology Experiment

Prof. Gareth H. McKinley

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Study of Two Phase Gas-Liquid Flow Behavior

at Reduced Gravity Conditions

Dr. John McQuillen

NASA LeRC

Cleveland, OH

Pool Boiling Experiment

Prof. Herman Merte, Jr.

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

Surface Tension-Driven Convection Experiment

(STDCE–1, STDCE–2)

Prof. Simon Ostrach

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

Behavior of Rapidly Sheared Bubbly

Suspensions

Prof. Ashok S. Sangani

Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY

Studies in Electrohydrodynamics

Dr. Dudley A. Saville

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

Mechanics of Granular Materials

Dr. Stein Sture

University of Colorado, Boulder

Boulder, CO

Thermocapillary Migration and Interactions

of Bubbles and Drops

Prof. R.S. Subramanian

Clarkson University

Potsdam, NY

Drop Dynamics Investigation

Prof. Taylor G. Wang

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

A Study of the Constrained Vapor

Bubble Heat Exchanger

Prof. Peter C. Wayner, Jr.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy, NY

Physics of Colloids in Space

Prof. David A. Weitz

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

Ground-Based Experiments

Experimental and Analytical Study of TwoPhase Flow Parameters in Microgravity

Dr. Davood Abdollahian

S. Levy, Inc.

Campbell, CA
22

Study of Nonaxisymmetric Liquid Bridges

Prof. J. Iwan D. Alexander

University of Alabama, Huntsville

Huntsville, AL

Stability Limits and Dynamics

of Nonaxisymmetric Liquid Bridges

Prof. J. Iwan D. Alexander

University of Alabama, Huntsville

Huntsville, AL

Numerical Simulation of Electrochemical

Transport Processes in Microgravity

Environments

Prof. Sanjoy Banerjee

University of California, Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA

Control of Flowing Liquid Films

by Electrostatic Fields in Space

Prof. S. G. Bankoff

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Forced Oscillation of Pendant and Sessile Drops

Dr. Osman A. Basaran

Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN

Dynamics of Granular Materials

Prof. Robert P. Behringer

Duke University

Durham, NC

Investigation of Drop Formation

by a Vortex Ring in Microgravity

Prof. Luis P. Bernal

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

Dynamic Modeling of the Microgravity Flow

Dr. Jeremiah U. Brackbill

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos, NM

Marangoni Instability Induced Convection

in Evaporating Liquid Droplets

Dr. An-Ti Chai

NASA LeRC

Cleveland, OH

Structure, Hydrodynamics, and Phase

Transitions of Freely Suspended Liquid Crystals

Prof. Noel A. Clark

University of Colorado, Boulder

Boulder, CO

Fluid Interface Behavior Under Lowand Zero-Gravity Conditions

Prof. Paul Concus

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA

Interface Morphology During Crystal Growth:

Effects of Anisotropy and Fluid Flow

Dr. Sam R. Coriell

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD

Phoretic and Radiometric Force Measurements

on Microparticles Under Microgravity

Conditions

Dr. E.J. Davis

University of Washington

Seattle, WA

Cell and Particle Interactions and Aggregation

During Electrophoretic Motion

Prof. Robert H. Davis

University of Colorado, Boulder

Boulder, CO

Theory of Solidification

Prof. Stephen H. Davis

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Microgravity Foam Structure and Rheology

Prof. Douglas J. Durian

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA

Magnetothermal Convection in Nonconducting

Diamagnetic and Paramagnetic Fluids

Prof. Boyd F. Edwards

West Virginia Unversity

Morgantown, WV

Effects of Gravity on Sheared Turbulence

Laden With Bubbles or Droplets

Prof. Said E. Elghobashi

University of California, Irvine

Irvine, CA

Evaporation, Boiling, and Condensation

on/in Capillary Structures of High Heat Flux

Two-Phase Devices

Prof. Amir Faghri

University of Connecticut

Storrs, CT

The Influence of Gravity on Nucleation,

Growth, Stability and Structure in Ordering

Soft-Spheres

Prof. Alice P. Gast

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Material Instabilities in Particulate Systems

Dr. Joe D. Goddard

University of California, San Diego

La Jolla, CA

Thermoacoustic Effects at a Solid-Fluid

Boundary: The Role of a Second-Order

Thermal Expansion Coefficient

Dr. Ashok Gopinath

Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey, CA

Capillary-Elastic Instabilities in Microgravity

Prof. James B. Grotberg

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Instability Mechanisms in Thermally-Driven

Interfacial Flows in Liquid-Encapsulated

Crystal Growth

Prof. Hossein Haj-Hariri

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA

A Study of the Microscale Fluid Physics

in the Near Contact Line Region

of an Evaporating Capillary Meniscus

Prof. Kevin P. Hallinan

University of Dayton

Dayton, OH

A Geophysical Flow Experiment

in a Compressable Critical Fluid

Dr. John Hegseth

University of New Orleans

New Orleans, LA
23

Experimental Investigation of Pool Boiling

Heat Transfer Enhancement in Microgravity

in the Presence of Electric Fields

Dr. Cila Herman

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Problems in Microgravity Fluid Mechanics:

Thermocapillary Instabilities and G-Jitter

Convection

Prof. George M. Homsy

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Surfactant-Based Critical Phenomena

in Microgravity

Prof. Eric W. Kaler

University of Delaware

Newark, DE

Bubble Generation in a Flowing Liquid

Medium and Resulting Two-Phase Flow

in Microgravity

Dr. Yasuhiro Kamotani

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

Studies in Thermocapillary Convection

of the Marangoni-Bénard Type

Prof. Robert E. Kelly

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA

Two-Phase Annular Flow in Helical Coil Flow

Channels in a Reduced Gravity Environment

Prof. Edward G. Keshock

Cleveland State University

Cleveland, OH

Investigation of Pool Boiling Heat Transfer

Mechanisms in Microgravity Using an Array

of Surface Mounted Heat Flux Sensors

Prof. Jungho Kim

University of Denver

Denver, CO

Molecular Dynamics of Fluid-Solid Systems

Prof. Joel Koplik

City College of New York

New York, NY

Thermocapillary Convection in Low Pr

Materials Under Simulated Reduced-Gravity

Conditions

Prof. Sindo Kou

University of Wisconsin

Madison, WI

Electric Field Induced Interfacial Instabilities

Dr. Robert E. Kusner

NASA LeRC

Cleveland, OH

The Breakup and Coalescence of Gas Bubbles

Driven by the Velocity Gradients of a NonUniform Flow

Dr. L.G. Leal

University of California, Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA

The Micromechanics of the Moving

Contact Line

Prof. Seth Lichter

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Absolute and Convective Instability

of a Liquid Jet at Microgravity

Prof. Sung P. Lin

Clarkson University

Potsdam, NY

Rheology of Concentrated Emulsions

Prof. Michael Loewenberg

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Investigation of Thermal Stress Convection

in Nonisothermal Gases

Under Microgravity Conditions

Dr. Daniel W. Mackowski

Auburn University

Auburn, AL

The Dissolution of an Interface

Between Miscible Liquids

Prof. James V. Maher

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA

Passive or Active Radiation Stress Stabilization

of (and Coupling to) Liquid Bridges

and Bridge Networks

Prof. Philip L. Marston

Washington State University

Pullman, WA

Fundamental Processes of Atomization

in Fluid-Fluid Flows

Prof. Mark J. McCready

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

A Study of Nucleate Boiling With Forced

Convection in Microgravity

Prof. Herman Merte, Jr.

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

Determination of Interfacial Rheological

Properties Through Microgravity Oscillations

of Bubbles and Drops

Dr. Ali Nadim

Boston University

Boston, MA

NMRI Measurements and Granular Dynamics

Simulations of Segregation

of Granular Mixtures

Prof. Masami Nakagawa

The Lovelace Institutes

Golden, CO

Non-Coalescence Effects in Microgravity

Prof. G.P. Neitzel

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA

Production of Gas Bubbles in Reduced Gravity

Environments

Dr. Hasan N. Oguz

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Waves in Radial Gravity Using Magnetic Fluid

Dr. Daniel R. Ohlsen

University of Colorado

Boulder, CO
24

Industrial Processes Influenced by Gravity

Prof. Simon Ostrach

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

On the Boundary Conditions at an Oscillating

Contact Line: A Physical/Numerical

Experimental Program

Dr. Marc Perlin

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

Fluid Dynamics and Solidification of Molten

Solder Droplets Impacting on a Substrate

in Microgravity

Dr. Dimos Poulikakos

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, IL

Acoustic Bubble Removal from Boiling Surfaces

Prof. Andrea Prosperetti

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Containerless Ripple Turbulence

Dr. Seth J. Putterman

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA

Decoupling the Role of Inertia and Gravity

on Particle Dispersion

Dr. Chris B. Rogers

Tufts University

Medford, MA

Design/Interpretation of Microgravity

Experiments to Obtain Fluid/Solid Boundary

Conditions in Non-Isothermal Systems

Prof. Daniel E. Rosner

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Ground Based Studies of Internal Flows

in Levitated Laser-Heated Drops

Prof. Satwindar S. Sadhal

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA

Terrestrial Experiments on G-Jitter Effects

on Transport and Pattern Formation

Dr. Michael F. Schatz

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA

Free-Surface and Contact-Line Motion

of Liquids in a Microgravity Environment

Dr. Leonard W. Schwartz

University of Delaware

Newark, DE

Drop Breakup in Flow Through Fixed Beds

as Model Stochastic Strong Flows

Dr. Eric S. Shaqfeh

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Transport Processes Research

Dr. Bhim S. Singh

NASA LeRC

Cleveland, OH

Solute Nucleation and Growth

in Supercritical Fluid Mixtures

Dr. Gregory T. Smedley

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, CA

The Development of Novel, High-Flux,

Heat Transfer Cells for Thermal Control

in Microgravity

Prof. Marc K. Smith

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA

Dynamics of the Molten Contact Line

Dr. Ain A. Sonin

Massachusetts Institue of Technology

Cambridge, MA

Marangoni Effects on Drop Deformation

and Break-Up in an Extensional Flow: The

Role of Surfactant Physical Chemistry

Dr. Kathleen J. Stebe

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Stability of Shapes Held by Surface Tension

and Subjected to Flow

Prof. Paul H. Steen

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Instabilities in Surface-Tension-Driven

Convection

Prof. Harry L. Swinney

University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX

Crystal Growth and Fluid Mechanics Problems

in Directional Solidification

Prof. Saleh Tanveer

Ohio State University

Columbus, OH

Microgravity Effects on Transendothelial

Transport

Dr. John M. Tarbell

Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA

Studies of Particle Sedimentation

by Novel Scattering Techniques

Prof. Penger Tong

Oklahoma State University

Stillwater, OK

Acoustic Streaming in Microgravity: Flow

Stability and Heat Transfer Enhancement

Dr. Eugene H. Trinh

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Fluid Physics in a Stochastic Acceleration

Environment

Prof. Jorge Viñals

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL
25

Fundamental Physics

Overview

The goal of the fundamental physics

program is to use the microgravity environment of space to shed light on the most

fundamental physical laws that govern the

behavior of matter. An understanding of

these laws, and the advanced technology

developed in order to study these laws with

unprecedented precision, are used in

applications that support and enhance the

human presence in space, improve the

quality of life on Earth, and contribute to

the competitiveness of American industry.

One example is completed and planned

high-resolution tests of the Renormalization

Group (RG) theory. The RG theory

constitutes one of the greatest achievements

of theoretical physics of the past 30 years.

The increased understanding of the validity

of use of the RG theory to such disciplines

as percolation, pattern formation, and

evolution of turbulence, will help scientists

develop better models for how water seeps

through soil, how frost heaving occurs in

arctic climates, and how turbulent weather

systems evolve.

Examples of uses of the advanced technologies being developed in the program are:

superconducting magnetometers for

efficient resource mining and noninvasive

medical diagnostics; management of

cryogenic fluids for life support systems

and manufacturing use; and use of highly

accurate low-temperature clocks for

navigation, global positioning, and

communications.

The fundamental physics program saw

significant growth in FY 1996, as 25 new

investigators were selected for multiyear

funding from the 1994 fluids NRA. Two

of the selections were for flight definition

studies requiring the extended lifetime of

the planned Low Temperature Microgravity

Physics (LTMP) facility for the ISS to

accomplish their science objectives. Four of

the fundamental physics selections were in

the relatively new area of laser cooling of

atoms; the use of microgravity in this field

promises to significantly enhance uncovering scientific principles masked by gravity.

The advanced technology that will result

from these gains in our basic understanding

of atoms, such as high-stability clocks, will

enhance the ability of humans to live and

work in space and contributes to improving

the quality of life on Earth. The Confined

Helium Experiment (CHeX) flight

experiment, which studies fundamental

questions regarding the influence of

boundaries on the behavior of matter,

started system integration and testing at JPL

in January 1996. CHeX will be launched

on the space shuttle as part of USMP–4,

currently planned for November 1997.

Another planned shuttle experiment, the

Critical Dynamics in Microgravity Experiment (DYNAMX), conducted its Science

Concept Review in January 1996. This

experiment will reuse most of the CHeX

flight hardware to study fundamental

principles of nature under dynamic

conditions that occur near transitions

from one state of matter to another.

The selection of 23 ground-based investigations for the fundamental physics program

from the 1994 fluids NRA represented a

50-percent increase in the number of

ground-based research tasks supported in

this program, and has introduced new areas

of research into the discipline. The addition

of four investigations of laser-cooled atoms

into the fundamental physics program adds

many very basic topics to be studied, such

as phenomena occurring in Bose-Einstein

condensates and tests of the Standard

Model of physics using precise measurements made possible by the very cold

temperatures (within 10–9 degree of

absolute zero) of the atomic sample. The

growing community of investigators and

the maturity of their investigations has led

to increases in the number of publications

produced, and should also lead to a larger

number of proposals for flight experiments

in the next NRA for this discipline.

Achievements during FY 1996 from the

ground-based investigations include:

• Investigators at JPL have developed a

superconducting magnet technique

that allows up to a 100 times

reduction in the impacts of gravity on

fluid samples. This technique can be

used to simulate the gravity environment of both the Moon and Mars in

most types of fluid systems. Smallscale cryogenic fluid management

systems can be developed and tested

under realistic conditions with this

technique to help optimize designs

for use in lunar or Mars colonies.

• Produced 17 presentations, 43 proceedings papers, and 12 articles in

refereed journals, plus a chapter in a

book.

• Supported 33 students working

toward their doctoral degrees and 6

undergraduate students. Three of the

doctoral candidates obtained their

degrees during FY 1996, as did one

undergraduate.

• The results of the Lambda Point

Experiment were published in the

premier journal of the physics

community, Physical Review Letters

(76, 944 (1996)). The JPL Fundamental Physics Steering Group,

consisting mostly of scientists in the

ground-based research program,

prepared a document describing

11 significant accomplishments that

the flight experiment achieved.

• The Fundamental Physics Steering

Group, with advice and assistance
26

from other scientists in the groundbased and flight programs, prepared a

draft science plan for the fundamental

physics in microgravity discipline,

including the subject areas of lowtemperature physics, condensed

matter physics, laser cooling atomic

physics, and gravitation and relativity

physics.

Meetings, Awards, and Publications

The 1996 NASA/JPL Low-Temperature

Microgravity Physics Workshop attracted 82

attendees to Pasadena, CA, to present and

hear descriptions of ideas for research in

microgravity. Scientists described research

topics in critical point statics and dynamics

in liquid helium (He) at the 3He gas-liquid

critical point and in 3He–4He mixtures near

the tricritical point; topics in laser-cooled

atoms that included precise measurements

of the electric dipole moment of the electron

to test the Standard Model, studies of BoseEinstein condensed atoms, and laser-cooled

atoms for clock applications; and relativity

and gravitation experiments to test assumptions of the Theory of General Relativity,

such as the Equivalence Principle. Discussions of subjects appropriate to the Science

Plan for this discipline elicited several new

topics to be included, but also illustrated the

common ground that these science areas

share. A proceedings document (NASA

D–13845, 1996) was published with

summaries of the workshop presentations.

The 15th International Atomic Physics

Conference took place August 5–9, 1996,

in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Dr. Don

Strayer, JPL, represented the microgravity

fundamental physics program at the

conference.

The 21st International Conference on LowTemperature Physics was held in Prague, the

Czech Republic, August 8–14, 1996. The

conference drew approximately 1,500

participants from around the world,

including a majority of the Microgravity

Science Research Program-sponsored

investigators in fundamental physics, who

presented papers. Dr. Ulf Israelsson, lead

scientist for fundamental physics at JPL, gave

an invited paper on the potential of lowtemperature research on the ISS.

The 1996 Nobel Prize for physics was

awarded to Dr. David M. Lee (Cornell

University), Dr. Douglas D. Osheroff

(Stanford University), and Dr. Robert C.

Richardson (Cornell University). The prize

was awarded for their discovery of the

superfluidity of 3He at a temperature of

approximately two-thousandths of a degree

above absolute zero. Dr. Lee has agreed to

serve on the 1994 NRA low-temperature

physics review panel, and will be asked

to serve on the 1996 NRA panel as well.

Dr. Richardson served on the science

review panel for Gravity Probe B

(NASA’s Relativity Mission).

The CHeX will complete the environmental

testing phase early in 1997 and will then

prepare to ship to Kennedy Space Center

(KSC) for integration with the space shuttle.

A Science Concept Review (SCR) for the

DYNAMX experiment was conducted

in January 1996. The DYNAMX PI is

Prof. Robert Duncan, the University of New

Mexico. DYNAMX has been preparing for

the Requirements Definition Review during

the latter part of FY 1996. The DYNAMX

team’s achievements during FY 1996 include:

Flight Experiments

The CHeX will take data very near the

superfluid phase transition in liquid helium,

investigating helium confined between closespaced silicon wafers. These data will be used

to test theories of finite-size effects when a

system is constrained to two dimensions. The

data will be taken at resolutions and length

scales not achievable on Earth. To achieve its

science goals, this experiment will take

advantage of the microgravity environment of

space, of the unique properties of helium, and

of superconducting high-resolution thermometry. The scientific results from CHeX will

have important applications in understanding

the behavior of thin samples of materials used,

for example, in the semiconductor industry.

The CHeX PI is Prof. John Lipa, Stanford

University. Achievements during FY 1996

include:

• Completed instrument assembly

 and test

• Completed instrument/cryostat

integration

• Demonstrated remote operations

at the PI’s home facility (Stanford

University)

• Completed all system environmental tests.

• Prepared for and passed the Science

Concept Review, obtaining the review

panel’s recommendation for continuing to the Requirements Definition

Review sometime in FY 1997. Several

concerns raised by the Science

Concept Review panel were addressed

by the DYNAMX team during

FY 1996.

• Developed high-resolution thermometers and installed them in a new

cryostat probe at the University of

New Mexico for the ground-based

measurements. This cryoprobe has a

novel caged cell that limits the

amount of stray heat going in or

coming out of the cell.

• Fabricated two cells for ground-based

measurements—one for a heat-fromabove test, the other for a heat-frombelow test. The data taken at the

University of New Mexico with the

heat-from-above cell demonstrated for

the first time in liquid helium the

phenomenon of self-organizing

criticality. This new result has been

accepted for publication in Physical

Review Letters.

• Developed designs for the flight

instrument hardware, including

structural elements for the flight

experimental cell, and a vibration

isolation system for the instrument.

Fabricated a prototype cell and tested

it to launch vibration levels.
27

• Analyzed the heating that will occur

from ionizing radiation during the

flight experiment and devised a design

for smaller high-resolution thermometers to alleviate heating effects of the

radiation on data.

• Studied the ability of a heat current

to stabilize the interface between the

superfluid and the normal fluid in

microgravity. On Earth, gravity

stabilizes the position of this interface.

The results on self-organizing critical

behavior demonstrate that, in the

absence of gravity effects, the heat

current can also stabilize the interface.

Analysis work by collaborators at

California Institue of Technology

also indicates the conditions for

stabilization of the interface.

DYNAMX will study this interface in

space under conditions that cannot be

obtained on Earth.

The Satellite Test of the Equivalence Principle

(STEP) experiment has the objective of

testing the scientific principle underpinning

the Theory of General Relativity—the

principle of the equivalence of inertial mass

and gravitational mass. STEP has been

downscaled to become MiniSTEP, a smaller,

less expensive flight mission. Agreements for

cooperation are being negotiated with

representatives of the ESA and with national

space agencies. During FY 1996, several

accomplishments were realized in the

development of the instrument technology:

• Minor improvements have been made

in the flux microscope that will be

used to examine the uniformity of

magnetic flux in the magnetic bearings

of the differential accelerometers.

• The Superconducting Quantum

Interference Device (SQUID)

position sensor test-bed has undergone

its third major revision, applying

quartz flats to support the niobium

thin-film pick-up coils. Commercial

SQUID devices are now being used

with electronics developed for the

Gravity Probe B experiment.

• The system for photolithography on

cylinders has been improved so that

now the deposition of thin film

patterns of niobium is reproducible

to better than a micron.

• The system for electrostatic positioning of the levitated masses is now

capable of making position measurements in 6 degrees of freedom. The

sensitivity was shown to achieve submicrometer resolution. A new test-bed

is being developed to demonstrate

sensitivity at the nanometer level.

• The major components of a tipper

table have been assembled. This table

will be used to develop control laws for

the levitated masses of the differential

accelerometers.

• A vacuum probe has been constructed

to test components at liquid helium

temperatures by dipping them into a

liquid helium storage Dewar, and has

been used to measure the motions of

flux with a direct current SQUID.

Similar probes will be assembled for

studying other superconducting

components that are needed to

operate the differential accelerometers.

The Microgravity Investigation of Scaling

Theory Experiment was also chosen for flight

definition for operation on the ISS from the

1994 fluids NRA. The PI is Dr. Martin

Barmatz, NASA JPL. This experiment will

measure three parameters near the gas-liquid

critical point in 3He, thus allowing tests of

theories for the scaling and hyperscaling

relationships between these parameters. This

experiment will provide all three parameters

measured from one sample in one series of

measurements so, for the first time, these

relations can be tested without the uncertainties of calibration and sample differences that

have plagued earlier comparisons of critical

scaling. Performing the measurements in

microgravity will permit these critical

parameters to be measured very close to the

phase transition where the anomalous critical

point behavior is clearly dominant, so corrections to the theory caused by noncritical

behavior will be negligible and the tests will

be more characteristic of the predictions of

critical point theories. During FY 1996,

Dr. Barmatz participated in the planning

of the ISS LTMP facility by serving on the

science planning committee.

The Critical Fluid Light Scattering Experiment/Zeno successfully completed its second

flight on the USMP–3 mission. This experiment extends and improves measurements

of the decay rates and the correlation length

of critical fluctuations in a simple fluid very

near its liquid-vapor critical point. This

second flight completes the flight-experiment

program of PI Dr. Robert Gammon,

University of Maryland. The flight data are

now being analyzed.

The FY 1996 ground and flight tasks for

fundamental physics are listed in table 5.

Further details on these tasks may be found in

the complementary document Microgravity

Science and Applications Program Tasks and

Bibliography for FY 1996, NASA Technical

Memorandum 4780, March 1997.

The Superfluid Universality Experiment

(SUE) was chosen in February 1996 to be a

flight definition experiment for operation on

the ISS. SUE will measure properties of

superfluid helium just below the phase

transition to determine critical parameters at

the transition. These measurements will be

repeated at several pressures to test the

universality predictions of theories of such

transitions. Performing the experiment in

space will accelerate discoveries, allowing

measurements much closer to the transition

temperature to greatly improve testing of the

theories. The PI for SUE is Prof. John Lipa,

Stanford University. In FY 1996, Prof. Lipa

participated on the science planning team for

the ISS LTMP facility.
28

TABLE 5.—Fundamental physics tasks funded by MSAD in FY 1996 (includes no-cost extensions).

Flight Experiments

Microgravity Test of Universality and Scaling

Predictions Near the Liquid-Gas Critical Point

of 3He

Dr. Martin B. Barmatz

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Critical Viscosity of Xenon

Dr. Robert F. Berg

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD

Critical Dynamics in Microgravity

Prof. Robert V. Duncan

University of New Mexico

Albuquerque, NM

Satellite Test of the Equivalence Principle

(STEP)

Prof. C.W.F. Everitt

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Critical Fluid Light Scattering

Experiment—Zeno

Prof. Robert W. Gammon

University of Maryland

College Park, MD

Confined Helium Experiment (CHeX)

Prof. John A. Lipa

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

A New Test of Critical-Point Universality

by Measuring the Superfluid Density

Near the Lambda Line of Helium

Prof. John A. Lipa

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Ground-Based Experiments

Superfluid Transition of 4

He in the Presence

of a Heat Current

Prof. Guenter Ahlers

University of California, Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA

The Superfluid Transition of 4He

Under Unusual Conditions

Prof. Guenter Ahlers

University of California, Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA

Microgravity Test of Universality and Scaling

Predictions Near the Liquid-Gas Critical Point

of 3He

Dr. Martin B. Barmatz

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

New Phenomena in Strongly Counterflowing

He-II Near Tl

Dr. Stephen T. Boyd

University of New Mexico

Albuquerque, NM

Prediction of Macroscopic Properties of Liquid

Helium From Computer Simulation

Prof. David M. Ceperley

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Urbana, IL

Measurement of the Heat Capacity

of Superfluid Helium in a PersistentCurrent State

Dr. Talso C. Chui

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Nonequilibrium Phenomena Near

the Lambda Transition of 4

He

Dr. Talso C. Chui

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

The Lambda Transition Under

Superfluid Flow Conditions

Dr. Talso C. Chui

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Nucleation of Quantized Vortices

From Rotating Superfluid Drops

Prof. Russell J. Donnelly

University of Oregon

Eugene, OR

Kinetic and Thermodynamic Studies of

Melting-Freezing of Helium in Microgravity

Prof. Charles Elbaum

Brown University

Providence, RI

Critical Dynamics of Ambient Temperature

and Low Temperature Phase Transitions

Prof. Richard A. Ferrell

University of Maryland, College Park

College Park, MD

Dynamics of Superfluid Helium

in Low Gravity

Mr. David J. Frank

Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space Co.

Palo Alto, CA

Investigation of Future Microgravity

Atomic Clocks

Prof. Kurt Gibble

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Condensate Fraction in Superfluid

Helium Droplets

Prof. J. Woods Halley

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN

Ultra-Precise Measurements With Trapped

Atoms in a Microgravity Environment

Dr. Daniel J. Heinzen

University of Texas

Austin, TX

Precision Measurements With Trapped, LaserCooled Atoms in a Microgravity Environment

Dr. Daniel J. Heinzen

University of Texas

Austin, TX

Collisional Frequency Shifts Near

Zero-Energy Resonance

Prof. Randall G. Hulet

Rice University

Houston, TX

Dynamic Measurement Near the Lambda-Point

in a Low-g Simulator on the Ground

Dr. Ulf E. Israelsson

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Dynamic Measurements Along the Lambda

Line of Helium in a Low-Gravity Simulator

on the Ground

Dr. Ulf E. Israelsson

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA
29

Atom Interferometry in a Microgravity

Environment

Dr. Mark A. Kasevich

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Static Properties of 4He in the Presence

of a Heat Current in a Low-Gravity Simulator

Dr. Melora E. Larson

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Second Sound Measurements Near the

Tricritical Point in 

3

He–4He Mixtures

Dr. Melora E. Larson

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Effect of Confinement on Transport Properties

by Making Use of Helium Near the

Lambda Point

Prof. John A. Lipa

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Red-Shift Test of General Relativity on Space

Station Using Superconducting Cavity

Oscillators

Prof. John A. Lipa

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

A Renewal Proposal to Study the Effect

of Confinement on Transport Properties

by Making Use of Helium Along

the Lambda Line

Prof. John A. Lipa

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Theoretical Studies of the Lambda Transition

of Liquid 4He

Prof. Efstratios Manousakis

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL

Theoretical Studies of Liquid 

4

He Near

the Superfluid Transition

Prof. Efstratios Manousakis

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL

Dynamics and Morphology of Superfluid

Helium Drops in a Microgravity Environment

Prof. Humphrey J. Maris

Brown University

Providence, RI

Equilibration in Density and Temperature

Near the Liquid-Vapor Critical Point

Prof. Horst Meyer

Duke University

Durham, NC

Density Equilibration in Fluids Near the

Liquid-Vapor Critical Point

Prof. Horst Meyer

Duke University

Durham, NC

Indium Mono-Ion Oscillator II

Prof. Warren Nagourney

University of Washington

Seattle, WA

Nonlinear Relaxation and Fluctuations

in a Non-Equilibrium, Near-Critical Liquid

With a Temperature Gradient

Prof. Alexander Z. Patashinski

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Superfluid Density of Confined 4He Near Tl

Dr. David Pearson

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Finite Size Effects Near the Liquid-Gas Critical

Point of 3He

Dr. Joseph Rudnick

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA

Dynamics and Morphology of Superfluid

Helium Drops in a Microgravity Environment

Prof. George M. Seidel

Brown University

Providence, RI

Precise Measurements of the Density

and Thermal Expansion of 4He

Near the Lambda Transition

Dr. Donald M. Strayer

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Precise Measurements of the Density

and Critical Phenomena of Helium

Near Phase Transitions

Dr. Donald M. Strayer

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA
30

Overview

One of the goals of materials science is to

study how materials form and how the

forming process controls the material’s

properties. By careful modeling and

experimentation, the mechanisms by

which materials are formed can be better

understood, and processing controls

better designed and improved. In this way

materials scientists can design new metal

alloys, semiconductors, ceramics, glasses,

and polymers to improve the performance of a wide range of products, from

complex computers to stronger, more

durable metal alloys.

The production processes for most

materials includes steps that are very

heavily influenced by the force of gravity.

The opportunity to observe, monitor, and

study these processes in low gravity

promises to increase our fundamental

understanding of production processes

and their effects on the properties of the

materials produced. Of particular interest

is understanding the role of gravity driven

convection in the processing of such

materials. Scientists use the insights

gained from low-gravity and space

research to improve and control the

properties of materials ranging from glass

and steel to semiconductors and plastics.

The Requirements Definition Review was

held in March 1996, for the completion

of two materials science programs that

conducted initial investigations on the

LMS mission in June/July 1996, using

the AGHF. The science programs are

Coupled Growth in Hypermonotectics

(CGH), conducted by Dr. J. Barry

Andrews, the University of Alabama,

Birmingham, and Particle Engulfment

and Pushing Solidifying Interfaces (PEP),

conducted by Dr. Doru M. Stefanescu,

the University of Alabama. This peer

review also covered the High Gradient

Furnace With Quench hardware proposed

to conduct these projects on the ISS. This

apparatus was recommended by the

International Furnace Working Group for

development as a multiuser facility for

early use on the ISS to process metals and

alloys materials. Both the CGH and PEP

programs have great promise for direct

application to materials used in superconductors, magnetic materials, catalysts,

and electrical contacts. The objectives of

CGH include demonstrating the possibility of obtaining interface stability and

steady-state coupled growth in hypermonotectic alloys through microgravity

processing and mapping out the limits for

interface stability in hypermonotectic

alloys. The objectives of PEP include

improving the understanding of the

physics associated with solidification of

liquid metals/ceramic particles mixtures

and generating accurate value for critical

velocity in a convection-free environment.

NASA awarded 51 microgravity materials

science research and analysis investigations based on peer review of over 200

proposals received as the result of an NRA

released in 1994. These awards range

from basic and applied scientific research

to the development of advanced data

acquisition and thermophysical condition-generation technology. The awardees

will conduct research each year through

FY 2000. Science Concept Reviews for

these investigators are planned for

FY 1997, with Requirements Definition

Reviews planned for FY 1998.

Materials Science

Meetings, Awards, and Publications

MSFC hosted the Second Microgravity

Materials Science Conference in Huntsville, AL, June 10–11, 1996. The meeting

provided a forum for 60 PI’s in the

materials science discipline to make oral

and poster presentations about their

research to 320 conference participants.

The conference goals were to: stimulate

new ideas, expand the materials science

community’s interest in micro-gravity

research, present the status of existing and

planned microgravity materials science

research programs, and provide information about and solicit proposals for the

upcoming materials science NRA. The

proceedings from this conference were

published on the Internet, as well as

distributed in hard copy to all conference

attendees.

The 10th American Conference on

Crystal Growth (ACCG–10) was held in

Vail, CO, August 5–9, 1996. Sponsored

in part by the NASA HQ MSAD, the

conference offered the opportunity for

numerous NASA materials science

researchers to present their results to

a diverse audience. Additionally,

Dr. Stefanescu presented a paper at the

The Liquid Metal Diffusion investigation

was selected and approved in March 1996,

as a risk mitigation opportunity for the

Self-Diffusion in Liquid Elements (SDLE)

project, whose PI is Dr. Franz Rosenberger.

The SDLE project is currently in the

definition stage and is to be developed as a

flight experiment for the ISS. The technological goal of the project is to develop and

to test the technique of measuring diffusion

coefficients by in situ measurements using

radioactive tracers. These in situ measurements are desirable because the measurement of multiple diffusion measurements

at different temperatures should be attainable using a single sample. The SDLE

scientific goals are to accurately measure

diffusion coefficients of several elements at

multiple temperatures to determine if there

is class-like behavior in these materials and,

if so, what is the correct mathematical

description of that behavior.
31

Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society’s

125th Annual Meeting, February 4–8,

1996, in Anaheim, CA.

The Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) sponsored its first

conference on the space processing of

materials at its annual International

Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, held

August 4–9, 1996, in Denver, CO. SPIE

hopes to hold this space processing

conference annually. The 1996 conference

topics included materials for detectors

and electronics, and theory and applications of thin film technology. Special

sessions on microgravity experiments

and thin film technology were also held.

Researchers from MSFC, LeRC, and

JSC presented papers at the majority of

sessions. Dr. Narayanan Ramachandran,

from the Universities Space Research

Association at MSFC, served as conference chairman and editor of the conference proceedings.

and Dr. Ivan Clark, also of LaRC. The

purpose of the investigation is to determine how gravity-driven convection

affects the composition of alloys where

convection is driven by both thermal and

compositional gradients. This is accomplished by comparing alloy semiconductors grown by the directional

solidification technique on Earth and in

the microgravity environment of lowEarth orbit. To determine the maximum

sensitivity to microgravity forces occurring in orbital flight, the experiment

sample was divided into three distinct

sections in order to grow a complete

crystal with the microgravity acceleration:

(1) in the same direction as growth (along

the length of the sample), (2) opposite the

direction of growth (also along the length

of the sample), and (3) perpendicular to

the direction of growth (across the

diameter of the sample). During the

USMP–3 mission, the differences in space

and ground experiments conducted in the

AADSF began to manifest as the first

crystal started to form. The temperature

signature of the crystal nucleation in each

of the three cells was much more subdued

than observed in Earth-based experimentation. The analysis of the effects of

microgravity growth of these crystals is

proceeding at LaRC with Dr. Fripp and

his team of investigators.

19.7 percent. The samples had the same

solidification rate (1 micrometer per

second). The samples were processed as

planned and postflight analysis is continuing. Dr. Stefanescu’s experiment,

Particle Engulfment and Pushing at

Solidifying Interfaces, studies the physics

of solidifying liquid metals containing

ceramic particles. Two of his flight

samples were pure Al matrixes with

500-micrometer zirconium oxide (ZrO2)

spherical particles. The third sample was

an aluminum-nickel (Al-Ni) eutectic alloy

matrix with 500-micrometer ZrO2

spherical particles. The samples were

processed as planned and postflight

analysis is continuing. Both PI’s will

utilize results from the LMS flight to

further refine their processes in anticipation of more experimental opportunities

aboard the ISS.

The FY 1996 ground and flight tasks for

materials science are listed in table 6.

Further details on these tasks may be

found in the complementary document

Microgravity Science and Applications

Program Tasks and Bibliography for

FY 1996, NASA Technical Memorandum

4780, March 1997.

Flight Experiments

The successful processing of a mercurycadmium-telluride sample in the

Advanced Automated Directional

Solidification Furnace (AADSF) hardware

aboard the USMP–2 mission led to an

additional opportunity for processing of a

crystal growth sample in the USMP–3

mission. The AADSF hardware for

USMP–3 was series hardware, which is

hardware of the same or similar design

to previously flown hardware.

Dr. Archibald Fripp, LaRC, conducted

research on USMP–3 with an investigation entitled Compound Semiconductor

Growth in a Low-g Environment, using a

lead-tin-telluride (PbSnTe) sample. The

coinvestigators are Mr. William Debnam

Dr. Andrews and Dr. Stefanescu took

advantage of the “flight of opportunity”

aboard LMS in June/July 1996. Each PI

was able to process three samples for their

respective experiments. Dr. Andrews’

experiment, Coupled Growth in

Hypermonotectics, studies the effects

of convection during the solidifying

of aligned hypermonotectic or immiscible

alloys. The three samples were aluminumindium (Al-In), with the percentage by

weight of indium varying from 17.3 to
32

TABLE 6.—Materials science tasks funded by MSAD in FY 1996 (includes no-cost extensions).

Flight Experiments

In Situ Monitoring of Crystal Growth

Using MEPHISTO

Dr. Reza Abbaschian

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

Coupled Growth in Hypermonotectics

Dr. J. Barry Andrews

University of Alabama, Birmingham

Birmingham, AL

Fundamental Aspects of Vapor Deposition

and Etching Under Diffusion Controlled

Transport Conditions

Dr. Klaus J. Bachmann

North Carolina State University

Raleigh, NC

Investigation of the Relationship Between

Undercooling and Solidification Velocity

Dr. Robert J. Bayuzick

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Experiments on Nucleation

in Different Flow Regimes

Dr. Robert J. Bayuzick

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Equiaxed Dendritic Solidification Experiment

Prof. Christoph Beckermann

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Alloy Undercooling Experiments

in Microgravity Environment

Dr. Merton C. Flemings

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA

Measurement of the Viscosity and Surface

Tension of Undercooled Melts Under

Microgravity Conditions and Supporting

Magnetohydrodynamic Calculations

Dr. Merton C. Flemings

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA

Compound Semiconductor Growth

in Low-g Environment

Dr. Archibald L. Fripp

NASA LaRC

Hampton, VA

Gravitational Role in Liquid-Phase Sintering

Prof. Randall M. German

Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA

Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment

Prof. Martin E. Glicksman

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy, NY

Physical Properties and Processing of Undercooled Metallic Glass Forming Liquids

Dr. William L. Johnson

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, CA

Thermophysical Properties of Metallic Glasses

and Undercooled Alloys

Dr. William L. Johnson

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, CA

Orbital Processing of High Quality

Cadmium Telluride

Prof. David J. Larson, Jr.

State University of New York, Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY

Orbital Processing of Eutectic Rod-Like Arrays

Prof. David J. Larson, Jr.

State University of New York, Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY

Crystal Growth of II–VI Semiconducting Alloys

by Directional Solidification

Dr. Sandor L. Lehoczky

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Growth of Solid Solution Single Crystals

Dr. Sandor L. Lehoczky

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

The Study of Dopant Segregation Behavior

During the Growth of GaAs in Microgravity

Prof. David H. Matthiesen

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

GaAs Crystal Growth Experiment

Prof. David H. Matthiesen

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

Diffusion Processes in Molten Semiconductors

Prof. David H. Matthiesen

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

Space- and Ground-Based Crystal Growth

Using Magnetically Coupled Baffle

Dr. Aleksandar G. Ostrogorsky

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy, NY

Comparison of Structure and Segregation

in Alloys Directionally Solidified in Terrestrial

and Microgravity Environments

Prof. David R. Poirier

University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ

Temperature Dependence of Diffusivities

in Liquid Metals

Prof. Franz E. Rosenberger

University of Alabama, Huntsville

Huntsville, AL

Self-Diffusion in Liquid Elements

Prof. Franz E. Rosenberger

University of Alabama, Huntsville

Huntsville, AL

Particle Engulfment and Pushing

by Solidifying Interfaces

Dr. Doru M. Stefanescu

University of Alabama

Tuscaloosa, AL
33

Crystal Growth of ZnSe and Related Ternary

Compound Semiconductors by Physical Vapor

Transport

Dr. Ching-Hua Su

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Interface Pattern Selection Criterion for Cellular

Structures in Direction Solidification

Dr. Rohit K. Trivedi

Iowa State University

Ames, IA

Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures

Prof. Peter W. Voorhees

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Vapor Growth of Alloy-Type

Semiconductor Crystals

Dr. Heribert Wiedemeier

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy, NY

Ground-Based Experiments

Analysis of Residual Acceleration Effects

on Transport and Segregation During

Directional Solidification of Tin-Bismuth

in the MEPHISTO Furnace Facility

Prof. J. Iwan D. Alexander

University of Alabama, Huntsville

Huntsville, AL

Synthesis and Characterization of Single

Macromolecules: Mechanistic Studies

of Crystallization and Aggregation

Dr. Spiro D. Alexandratos

University of Tennessee

Knoxville, TN

Microgravity Impregnation of Fiber Preforms

Dr. M.C. Altan

University of Oklahoma

Norman, OK

An Electrochemical Method to Visualize Flow

and Measure Diffusivity in Liquid Metals

Dr. Timothy J. Anderson

University of Florida

Gainsville, FL

A Novel Electrochemical Method

for Flow Visualization

Dr. Timothy J. Anderson

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

The Effects of Convection on Morphological

Stability During Coupled Growth

in Immiscible Systems

Dr. J.B. Andrews

University of Alabama, Birmingham

Birmingham, AL

Foam Metallic Glasses

Prof. Robert E. Apfel

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Ostwald Ripening of Liquid and Solid Droplets

in Liquid Metal Matrices

Dr. Alan J. Ardell

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA

Nucleation and Cluster Formation

in Levitated Droplets

Prof. Stephen Arnold

Polytechnic University, New York

Brooklyn, NY

Molecularly Tailored Surfaces via Self-Assembly

Processes: Synthesis, Characterization

and Modeling

Dr. Mark A. Barteau

University of Delaware

Newark, DE

Studies of Nucleation and Growth

of Intermetallic Compounds

Dr. Robert J. Bayuzick

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Transport Phenomena During Equiaxed

Solidification of Alloys

Prof. Christoph Beckermann

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Equiaxed Dendritic Solidification Experiment

Prof. Christoph Beckermann

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Gravitational Effects on the Development

of Weld-Pool and Solidification Microstructures

in Metal Alloy Single Crystals

Dr. Lynn A. Boatner

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Oak Ridge, TN

Dispersion Microstructure and Rheology

in Ceramics Processing

Dr. John F. Brady

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, CA

Combustion Synthesis of Materials

in Microgravity

Dr. Kenneth Brezinsky

University of Illinois, Chicago

Chicago, IL

Modeling of Convection and Crystal Growth

in Directional Solidification of Semiconductor

and Oxide Crystals

Dr. Robert A. Brown

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA

Microstructure Formation During Directional

Solidification of Binary Alloys Without

Convection: Experiment and Computation

Dr. Robert A. Brown

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA

Application of Parallel Computing for Twoand Three-Dimensional Modeling of Bulk

Crystal Growth and Microstructure Formation

Dr. Robert A. Brown

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA

Evolution of Crystal and Amorphous Phase

Structure During Processing of Thermoplastic

Polymers

Prof. Peggy Cebe

Tufts University

Medford, MA
34

Optical Properties for High-Temperature

Materials Research

Dr. Ared Cezairliyan

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD

Thermophysical Properties of High-Temperature

Liquid Metals and Alloys

Dr. Ared Cezairliyan

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD

Three-Dimensional Velocity Field

Characterization in a Bridgman Apparatus:

Technique Development and Effect Analysis

Dr. Soyoung S. Cha

University of Illinois, Chicago

Chicago, IL

Microgravity Chemical Vapor Deposition

Dr. Ivan O. Clark

NASA LaRC

Hampton, VA

Glass Formation and Nucleation in

Microgravity: Containerless-Processed, Inviscid

Silicate/Oxide Melts (Ground-Based Studies)

Dr. Reid F. Cooper

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Madison, WI

Fundamental Studies of Solidification

in Microgravity Using Real-Time

X-Ray Microscopy

Dr. Peter A. Curreri

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Directional Solidification in 3

He-4He Alloys

Prof. Arnold Dahm

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

Adaptive-Grid Methods for Phase Field Models

of Microstructure Development

Dr. Jonathan A. Dantzig

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Urbana, IL

Atomistic Simulations of Cadmium Telluride:

Toward Understanding the Benefits

of Microgravity Crystal Growth

Dr. Jeffrey J. Derby

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN

Use of Synchrotron White Beam X-Ray

Topography for the Characterization of the

Microstructural Development of Crystal—

Normal Gravity Versus Microgravity

Dr. Michael Dudley

State University of New York, Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY

Combined Synchrotron White Beam X-Ray

Topography and High Resolution Triple Axis

X-Ray Diffraction Characterization and

Analysis of Crystals Grown in Microgravity

and Ground Based Experiments

Dr. Michael Dudley

State University of New York, Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY

Reverse Micelle Based Synthesis of Microporous

Materials in Microgravity

Prof. Prabir K. Dutta

Ohio State University

Columbus, OH

Studies on Nucleation, Polymerization, and

Nanoparticle Composites in Supersaturated

Vapors Under Microgravity Conditions

Dr. M.S. El-Shall

Virginia Commonwealth University

Richmond, VA

Theoretical and Experimental Investigation

of Vibrational Control of the Bridgman

Crystal Growth Technique

Dr. Alexandre I. Fedoseyev

University of Alabama, Huntsville

Huntsville, AL

The Impaction, Spreading, and Solidification

of a Partially Solidified Undercooled Drop

Dr. Merton C. Flemings

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA

Investigation of Local Effects

on Microstructure Evolution

Dr. Donald O. Frazier

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Melt Stabilization of PbSnTe

in a Magnetic Field

Dr. Archibald L. Fripp

NASA LaRC

Hampton, VA

Solidification of II-VI Compounds

in a Rotating Magnetic Field

Dr. Donald C. Gillies

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Electronic Materials

Mr. Thomas K. Glasgow

NASA LeRC

Cleveland, OH

Effect of Gravity on the Evolution of Spatial

Arrangement of Features in Microstructure:

A Quantitative Approach

Prof. Arun M. Gokhale

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA

Evolution of Microstructural Distance

Distributions in Normal Gravity

and Microgravity

Prof. Arun M. Gokhale

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA

Plasma Dust Crystallization

Dr. John A. Goree

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Utilizing Controlled Vibrations in a

Microgravity Environment to Understand

and Promote Microstructural Homogeneity

During Floating-Zone Crystal Growth

Dr. Richard N. Grugel

Universities Space Research Association

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL
35

Novel Directional Solidification Processing

of Hypermonotectic Alloys

Dr. Richard N. Grugel

Universities Space Research Association

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Influence of Free Convection in Dissolution

Prof. Prabhat K. Gupta

Ohio State University

Columbus, OH

Microgravity Processing of Oxide

Superconductors

Dr. William H. Hofmeister

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Dimensional Stability of Supermatrix

Semiconductors

Dr. Douglas E. Holmes

Electronic Materials Engineering

Camarillo, CA

Non-Equilibrium Phase Transformations

Dr. Kenneth A. Jackson

University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ

Dislocation Formation During Growth

of Semiconductor Crystals

Dr. Monica L. Kaforey

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

The Role of Dynamic Nucleation at Moving

Boundaries in Phase and Microstructure

Selection

Dr. Alain S. Karma

Northeastern University

Boston, MA

Identification of Gravity-Related Effects

on Crystal Growth From Melts

With an Immiscibility Gap

Dr. Mohammad Kassemi

Ohio Aerospace Institute

Cleveland, OH

Combined Heat Transfer Analysis

of Crystal Growth

Dr. Mohammad Kassemi

Ohio Aerospace Institute

Cleveland, OH

Measurement of Liquid-to-Solid Nucleation

Rates in Undercooled Metallic Melts

Dr. Joseph L. Katz

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Fundamentals of Thermomigration

of Liquid Zones Through Solids

Prof. Michael J. Kaufman

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

Compositional Dependence of Phase Formation

and Stability

Dr. Kenneth F. Kelton

Washington University, St. Louis

St. Louis, MO

Phase Formation and Stability: Composition

and Sample-Size Effects

Dr. Kenneth F. Kelton

Washington University, St. Louis

St. Louis, MO

Solutocapillary Convection Effects on Polymeric

Membrane Morphology

Dr. William B. Krantz

University of Colorado, Boulder

Boulder, CO

Influence of Natural Convection and Thermal

Radiation on Multi-Component Transport

and Chemistry in MOCVD Reactors

Dr. Anantha Krishnan

CFD Research Corporation

Huntsville, AL

Containerless Property Measurement

of High-Temperature Liquids

Dr. Shankar Krishnan

Containerless Research, Inc.

Evanston, IL

Noise and Dynamical Pattern Selection

in Solidification

Prof. Douglas A. Kurtze

North Dakota State University

Fargo, ND

Study of Magnetic Damping Effect

on Convection and Solidification Under

G-Jitter Conditions

Dr. Ben Q. Li

Louisiana State University

Baton Rouge, LA

Microstructural Development During

Directional Solidification of Peritectic Alloys

Dr. Thomas A. Lograsso

Iowa State University

Ames, IA

Numerical Investigation of Thermal Creep

and Thermal Stress Effects in Microgravity

Physical Vapor Transport

Dr. Daniel W. Mackowski

Auburn University

Auburn, AL

Polymerizations in Microgravity: Traveling

Fronts, Dispersions, Diffusion, and

Copolymerizations

Dr. Lon J. Mathias

University of Southern Mississippi

Hattiesburg, MS

Quantitative Analysis of Crystal Defects

by Triple Crystal X-Ray Diffraction

Dr. Richard J. Matyi

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Madison, WI

Numerical and Laboratory Experiments on the

Interactive Dynamics of Convection, Flow,

and Directional Solidification

Prof. Tony Maxworthy

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA

The Interactive Dynamics of Convection,

Flow, and Directional Solidification

Prof. Tony Maxworthy

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA

Y2

BaCuO5 Segregation in YBa2Cu3O7-x

During Melt Texturing

Dr. Paul J. McGinn

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN
36

Interaction of Hele-Shaw Flows With

Directional Solidification: Numerical

Investigation of the Nonlinear Dynamical

Interplay and Control Strategies

Prof. Eckart H. Meiburg

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA

The Synergistic Effect of Ceramic Materials

Synthesis Using Vapor-Enhanced Reactive

Sintering Under Microgravity Conditions

Prof. John J. Moore

Colorado School of Mines

Golden, CO

Diffusion, Viscosity, and Crystal Growth

in Microgravity

Dr. Allan S. Myerson

Polytechnic University, New York

Brooklyn, NY

An Electrochemical Method to Measure

Diffusivity in Liquid Metals

Prof. Ranga Narayanan

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

Crystal Growth and Segregation Using

the Submerged Heater Method

Dr. Aleksandar G. Ostrogorsky

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy, NY

Gravitational Effects on the Morphology and

Kinetics of Photo-Deposition of Polydiacetylene

Films From Monomer Solutions

Dr. Mark S. Paley

Universities Space Research Association

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Investigation of “Contactless” Crystal Growth

by Physical Vapor Transport

Dr. Witold Palosz

Universities Space Research Association

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Investigation of Convective Effects in Crystals

Growth by Physical Vapor Transport

Dr. Witold Palosz

Universities Space Research Association

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Containerless Processing of Composite Materials

Prof. John H. Perepezko

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Madison, WI

Analysis of Containerless Processing and

Undercooled Solidification Microstructures

Prof. John H. Perepezko

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Madison, WI

Containerless Processing for Controlled

Solidification Microstructures

Prof. John H. Perepezko

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Madison, WI

Comparison of the Structure and Segregation

in Dendritic Alloys Solidified in Terrestrial

and Low Gravity Environments

Prof. David R. Poirier

University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ

The Effects of Microgravity

on Vapor Phase Sintering

Prof. Dennis W. Readey

Colorado School of Mines

Golden, CO

Modeling of Detached Solidification

Dr. Liya L. Regel

Clarkson University

Potsdam, NY

Thermophysical Property Measurement

of Molten Semiconductors in 1-g and

Reduced-g Conditions

Dr. Won-Kyu Rhim

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Undercooling Limits and Thermophysical

Properties in Glass Forming Alloys

Dr. Won-Kyu Rhim

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Drop Tube Operation

Dr. Michael B. Robinson

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Measurement of the Optical and Radiative

Properties of High-Temperature Liquid

Materials by FTIR Spectroscopy

Dr. Michael B. Robinson

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

A Study of the Undercooling Behavior

of Immiscible Metal Alloys in the Absence

of Crucible-Induced Nucleation

Dr. Michael B. Robinson

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Determination of the Surface Energy

of Liquid Crystals From the Shape Anisotropy

of Freely Suspended Droplets

Dr. Charles S. Rosenblatt

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

Modeling of Macroscopic/Microscopic Transport

and Growth Phenomena in Zeolite Crystal

Solutions Under Microgravity

Dr. Albert Sacco

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Worcester, MA

Undercooling Limits in Molten Semiconductors

and Metals: Structure and Superheating

Dependencies

Prof. Frank G. Shi

University of California, Irvine

Irvine, CA

Gravitational Effect on the Development of Laser

Weld-Pool and Solidification Microstructure

Dr. Jogender Singh

Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA

Flight Experiment to Study Double

Diffusive Instabilities in Silver-Doped

Lead Bromide Crystals

Dr. N.B. Singh

Northrop-Grumman Corporation

Pittsburgh, PA
37

Double Diffusive Convection During

Growth of Lead Bromide Crystals

Dr. N.B. Singh

Northrop-Grumman Corporation

Pittsburgh, PA

Kinetics of Nucleation and Growth

From Undercooled Melts

Prof. Frans A. Spaepen

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Crystal Nucleation, Hydrostatic Tension, and

Diffusion in Metal and Semiconductor Melts

Prof. Frans A. Spaepen

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Micro- and Macro-Segregation in Alloys

Solidifying With Equiaxed Morphology

Dr. Doru M. Stefanescu

University of Alabama

Tuscaloosa, AL

Test of Magnetic Damping of Convective

Flows in Microgravity

Dr. Frank R. Szofran

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Magnetic Damping of Solid Solution

Semiconductor Alloys

Dr. Frank R. Szofran

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

The Features of Self-Assembling Organic

Bilayers Important to the Formation

of Anisotropic Inorganic Materials

in Microgravity Conditions

Dr. Daniel R. Talham

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

Microporous Membrane and Foam Production

by Solution Phase Separation: Effects

of Microgravity and Normal Gravity

Environments on Evolution

of Phase Separated Structures

Dr. John M. Torkelson

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Dynamically-Induced Nucleation of Deeply

Supercooled Melts and Measurement of Surface

Tension and Viscosity

Dr. Eugene H. Trinh

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

A Proposal to Further Investigate the Influence

of Microgravity on Transport Mechanisms

in a Virtual Space Flight Chamber

Dr. James D. Trolinger

MetroLaser, Inc.

Irvine, CA

Fundamentals of Mold-Free Casting

Experimental and Computational Studies

Prof. Grétar Tryggvason

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

Electromagnetic Field Effects in Semiconductor

Crystal Growth

Dr. Martin P. Volz

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Models of Magnetic Damping for

Semiconductor Crystal Growth

in Microgravity

Dr. John S. Walker

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Urbana, IL

Process-Property-Structure Relationships

in Complex Oxide Melts

Dr. Richard Weber

Containerless Research, Inc.

Evanston, IL

Thin Film Mediated Phase Change

Phenomena: Crystallization, Evaporation,

and Wetting

Prof. John S. Wettlaufer

University of Washington

Seattle, WA

Defect Generation in CVT Grown Hg1-xCdxTe

Epitaxial Layers Under Normal and Reduced

Gravity Conditions

Dr. Heribert Wiedemeier

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy, NY

Use of Microgravity to Control

the Microstructure of Eutectics

Dr. William R. Wilcox

Clarkson University

Potsdam, NY

BSO/BTO Identification of Gravity Related

Effects on Crystal Growth, Segregation, and

Defect Formation

Dr. August F. Witt

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA
38

5

Technology, Hardware,

and Education Outreach

The Advanced Technology Development

(ATD) Program was developed by NASA’s

Microgravity Science and Applications

Division (MSAD) in response to the

challenges researchers face when defining

experiment requirements and designing

associated hardware. Investing in technology

development is necessary if the United States

intends to remain a top competitor in future

scientific research. ATD researchers help

ensure that the Nation continues its forward

strides in the fields of technology development and scientific experimentation.

Technology development projects are

designed to address scientific concerns,

both focused and broadly based. Focused

development projects ensure the availability

of technologies that satisfy the science

requirements of specific flight- or groundbased programs. Broadly based development

projects encompass a long-term, proactive

approach to meeting the needs of future

projects and missions, such as human

exploration and development of space.

MSAD solicits new ATD projects each year

and selects the very best for funding. New

ATD projects are solicited through a twostep process, for which NASA centers are

eligible. First, concept papers are solicited

from each NASA Center involved in

microgravity research. Next, the MSAD

Director and ATD Program Manager form

an ATD Review Panel, consisting of

microgravity science representatives from

each NASA Center and from the MSAD

Science Program at NASA HQ. The panel

reviews concept papers for their technical

merit and significance to the microgravity

field and selects candidates for further

consideration.

These successful candidates must submit

fully detailed ATD proposals. These

proposals are peer-reviewed by experts in

corresponding technology areas who are

selected from non-NASA organizations.

Final selections are made based on the

panel’s recommendations on the relevance

to the anticipated technology needs of the

Microgravity Research Science Program,

potential for success, and the potential for

the project to enable new types of

microgravity investigations.

A listing of ATD tasks funded by MSAD in

FY 1996 is given in table 7. Further details

on these tasks may be found in the complementary document Microgravity Science and

Applications Program Tasks and Bibliography

for FY 1996, NASA Technical Memorandum

4780, March 1997.

TABLE 7.—ATD tasks funded by MSAD in FY 1996.

Free Float Trajectory Management ATD

Mr. A.P. Allan

University of Delaware

Wilmington, DE

Low Temperature Magnetostrictive

Smart Actuator Mechanisms

Dr. Robert G. Chave

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Real-Time X-Ray Microscopy

for Solidification Processing

Dr. Peter A. Curreri

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Single Electron Transistor (SET)

Dr. Pierre Echternach

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Advanced Heat Pipe Technology

for Furnace Element Design

Dr. Donald C. Gillies

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Space Bioreactor Bioproduct Recovery System

Dr. Steve R. Gonda, Ph.D.

NASA JSC

Houston, TX

Microgravity Combustion Diagnostics

Mr. Paul S. Greenberg

NASA LeRC

Cleveland, OH

High Resolution Pressure Transducer

and Controller

Dr. Ulf E. Israelsson

NASA JPL

Pasadena, CA

Surface Fluctuation Spectrometers for the

Characterization of Fluid and Crystal Surfaces

Mr. William V. Meyer

Ohio Aerospace Institute

Cleveland, OH

Advanced Technology

Development 1996
39

The Laser Feedback Interferometer: A New,

Robust, and Versatile Tool for Measurements

of Fluid Physics Phenomena

Dr. Ben Ovryn

NYMA, Inc.

Cleveland, OH

Crystal Growth Instrumentation Development:

A Protein Crystal Growth Studies Cell

Dr. Marc L. Pusey

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

High-Resolution Thermometry and Improved

SQUID Readout

Dr. Peter Shirron

NASA GSFC

Greenbelt, MD

Passive Free Vortex, Two-Phase Separator

Dr. J.M. Shoemaker

Aerospace Design and Fabrication, Inc.

Brookpark, OH

Determination of Soot Volume Fraction Using

Laser-Induced Incandescence

Dr. Randall L. Vander Wal

NASA LeRC

Cleveland, OH

Ceramic Cartridges via Sintering

and Vacuum Plasma Spray

Mr. Frank R. Zimmerman

NASA MSFC

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Microgravity Technology

Development Goals

MSAD created the ATD Program with the

intent to provide efficient, cost-effective,

and ongoing support for microgravity

science investigations. The primary goal of

the ATD Program is to develop technology

that will enable new types of scientific

investigation. This goal is achieved by

enhancing the capability and quality of

experiment hardware available to researchers or by overcoming existing technologybased constraints to microgravity science

research capabilities. The ATD Program

provides opportunities to carry out the

goals of NASA’s Microgravity Science and

Applications Program by conducting stateof-the-art technology development.

MSAD funds technology development

through an initial feasibility demonstration

that verifies whether or not a technology is

suitable for use in either ground-based or

flight programs. The goal is to investigate

and develop high-risk microgravity

research technologies before they are

needed on the critical development path

for actual flight hardware.

Depending on its state of maturity, the

technology developed under the ATD

Program may either make a direct transition to use in a specific ground-based or

flight program, or require further development to satisfy a specific program requirement. Ideally, the successful progression or

completion of an ATD task will reduce

risk and cost in the transition from

ground-based research to flight hardware design and application in MSAD

programs.

Scope of Projects

Historically, ATD projects have encompassed a broad range of activities. Project

funding includes the development of

diagnostic instrumentation and measurement techniques, observational instrumentation and data recording methods,

acceleration characterization and control

techniques, and advancements in methodologies associated with hardware design

technology.

In FY 1996, five NASA Centers were

involved in the MSAD ATD Program:

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Jet

Propulsion Lab (JPL), Johnson Space

Center (JSC), Lewis Research Center

(LeRC), and Marshall Space Flight Center

(MSFC). The previous and current

projects listed below illustrate the breadth

of technologies covered by the ATD

Program.

targeted for transfer to the industrial and

research communities. Examples of

technologies derived from previous ATD

projects are given below.

Advanced Furnace Technology (LeRC).

Researchers for this project examined

means of controlling thermal gradients and

interface shapes in crystal growth. The

project provided the foundation for a

compact furnace design used for the

Coarsening of Solid-Liquid Mixtures flight

development project. This furnace achieves

the isothermality and tight thermal control

required by investigators, yet is compact

enough to fit in the Glovebox on board the

space shuttle. This design supplants

previous plans to build a special middecksized furnace, saving NASA several million

dollars and enabling the science to be

performed sooner than anticipated.

Some of the work conducted under the

ATD program also contributed to the

NASA-funded Programmable Multizone

Furnace (PMZF) project. Ground-based

research in support of a flight-definition

project entitled Diffusion Processes in

Molten Semiconductors is being carried

out in the PMZF, which was made possible

by this ATD technology.

Laser Light Scattering (LeRC). Laser light

scattering is a technique used to characterize very small particles by size, shape, and

tendency to associate. This project enabled

scientists to optically and noninvasively

Previously Funded ATD Projects

Several previously funded ATD projects

have been selected for further development

under MSAD’s Technology Transfer

Program. Under this program, research

conducted for the ATD Program is
40

measure particle sizes in fluids, using a

compact instrument suitable for

microgravity experimentation. This

miniature laser light scattering unit, based

on fiber optic technology, allows

microgravity investigations to be conducted in such areas as critical-point

studies, nucleation, spinodal decomposition, gelation and diffusion. The instrument has already been used to study

Colloidal Disorder-Order Transitions in a

flight experiment, the results of which

were unanticipated from ground-based

research. A variety of other experiments,

including the Physics of Hard Spheres

Experiment, is scheduled to fly aboard the

space shuttle. In addition, LeRC is helping

to design the Fluids and Combustion

Facility (FCF) to accommodate laser light

scattering experiments on the ISS.

Laser light scattering technology has also

proven its value in other fields. LeRC

researchers, working with the University of

Alabama, are designing special “in the

droplet” probes to be used in protein

crystal growth flight experiments. The

team has also helped to define another

design, which will perform simultaneous

multi-angle scattering from proteins

growing in gels. In addition, the compact

light scattering instrument may have

potential use as a diagnostic tool for

cataracts. MSAD is collaborating with the

NIH to use the tool to detect early signs

of the onset of cataract formation.

Theoretical models developed under the

ATD Program have also been used to show

that improved materials processing is

possible by using microwave energy to heat

ceramics. These analytical models can

accurately describe the microwavematerials interaction taking place in the

furnace and can predict the temperature

profiles within spherical and cylindrical

samples.

The researchers at JPL are in the process of

transferring this technology to the private

sector. They have signed four Technology

Cooperation Agreements: (1) Golden

Technologies, Inc., for a project entitled

Microwave Joining of High-Temperature

Ceramics Using an SHS Materials

Interlayer; (2) Lambda Technologies, Inc.,

for a project entitled Modeling of Microwave Processing Parameters for VariableFrequency Furnaces Under Various Load

Conditions; (3) Communications and

Power Industries, for a project entitled

Modeling of Microwave Processing

Parameters for Samples and Reactors

of Various Sizes and Shapes; and

(4) Supercond Technology, Inc., for a

project entitled Microwave Curing of

Carbon-Carbon Composites.

Stereo Imaging Velocimetry (LeRC).

Research in this area provided a method to

measure three-dimensional fluid velocities

quantitatively and simultaneously by

mapping and tracking multiple tracer

particles whose locations were determined

from two camera images. The threedimensional vector output of stereo

imaging velocimetry (SIV) may be

compared directly with the output of

numerical models. Uses of this technology

in microgravity research include a fluid

physics experiment to monitor flow

around a bubble during nucleate boiling

heat transfer and the combustion flight

experiment Structure of Flame Balls at

Low Lewis Number (SOFBALL), in which

cellular flame propagation will be studied.

SIV has also been used outside of NASA in

industrial research. LTV Steel is using SIV

to characterize flows in continuous steel

casting, using water models. Under a

NASA–LTV Space Act Agreement funded

by the Lewis Technology Utilization

Office, LeRC helped LTV improve their

water model and obtain data which they

have used to support capital investment

decisions. SIV equipment may also be

installed at the University of Toledo to

serve the needs of its industrial area.

Toledo companies showing strong interest

in this possibility include Teledyne, Surface

Combustion, and Toledo Mold and Die.

Microwave Furnace Development for

Materials Processing (JPL). This project

developed a high-efficiency, cold-wall,

direct-heating furnace that features

enhanced tuning techniques and allows for

the rapid heating and cooling of ceramics

and metals. This microwave furnace is

unique in two ways: it has the ability to

heat the interior of materials, and the

furnace’s power can be continuously

adjusted to provide fast and precise timetemperature heating profiles. The new

heating techniques will be used for

containerless material processing in space.

1996 Advanced Technology

Development Projects

Advanced Heat Pipe Technology for

Furnace Element Design in Spaceflight

Applications (MSFC). The goal of this

project is to develop a heat pipe that will

operate as an isothermal furnace liner

capable of processing materials at temperatures up to 1,500 °C. The isothermal

furnace liner is intended for use aboard the

ISS and for ground-based materials science

investigations in which precise temperature

control is beneficial.

Advancement of Solidification Processing

Through Real-Time X-Ray Microscopy

(MSFC). Under this ATD project, a highresolution x-ray microscope is being

developed to view, in situ and in real time,

the interfacial processes in metallic systems

during freezing (solidification). Research

goals of this project include studying the

solidification of metals and semiconductors and the dispersion of reinforcement

particles in composites.

Determination of Soot Volume Fraction

Via Laser-Induced Incandescence (LeRC).

Laser-induced incandescence (LII) is being

studied for use as a two-dimensional

imaging diagnostic tool for the measurement of soot volume fraction in

microgravity research. LII, which is

theoretically predicted to be a measure of

soot volume fraction, is more accurate than

current line-of-sight measurement

techniques.
41

Free-Float Trajectory Management

(LeRC). The objective of this technology

is to produce an extended, consistently

reproducible, cost-efficient acceleration

environment, specifically for free-float

packages, during the stabilized low-gravity

phase of the flight trajectory of the NASA

DC–9 reduced-gravity aircraft, which

serves as a test environment for microgravity investigations. The controller

monitors the location of the package and

sends control commands to the pilots,

which enable them to fly the aircraft about

the trajectory of the package.

High-Resolution Pressure Transducer and

Controller (JPL). High-resolution pressure

transducers and controllers are being

developed under this ATD project to

provide improved performance over those

currently available. These devices will be

combined with high-resolution thermometers to enable researchers to precisely

measure and control both pressure and

temperature in their investigations.

High-Resolution Thermometry and

Improved SQUID Readout (GSFC). This

research will develop a high-resolution

penetration depth thermometer using a

Two-Stage Series Array SQUID Amplifier

(TSSA) for readout. The TSSA will

overcome problems caused by thermal

fluctuations and particle radiation which

occur in measuring and controlling the

thermodynamic state of samples, particularly in the microgravity environment.

Laser Feedback Interferometer (LeRC).

This project will develop an instrument

that will use a laser as both a light source

and a phase detector in order to measure

phenomena which vary slowly over time

and dynamic phenomena over both

microscopic and macroscopic fields of

view. This technology has applications in

several scientific fields, including biomedical engineering, chemistry, materials

science, mechanical engineering, and

physics.

Low-Temperature Magnetostrictive Smart

Actuator Mechanisms (JPL). Under this

ATD project, magnetostrictive materials

will be developed into liquid helium valve

actuators, cryogenic heat switches, linear

actuators for variable volume calorimeters,

and other devices for use at low temperature. Magnetostrictive drive will enhance

the effectiveness of liquid and superfluid

helium valves.

Manufacturing of Refractory Containment Cartridges (MSFC). Plasma spray is

being used to form multiple layer containment cartridges, consisting of combinations of refractory metals and ceramics, for

use in single-crystal growth studies. The

monolithic cartridges can be formed from

the best combination for each particular

application and will be designed to meet a

demanding set of requirements, including

high service temperature, oxidation

resistance, and resistance to liquid semiconductor attack.

Microgravity Combustion Diagnostics

(LeRC). In order to improve the diagnostic

techniques available to microgravity

combustion scientists, the following

technologies, which promote nonintrusive

techniques, are being investigated under

this ATD project: two-dimensional

temperature and species measurement,

exciplex fluorescence for droplet diagnostics, full-field infrared emission imaging,

and velocity field diagnostics.

Passive Free-Vortex Separator (LeRC).

Future long-term experiments will require

that gas-liquid mixtures be separated into

single-phase states prior to reuse or

recycling. The passive free-vortex separator

will be developed under this ATD project

to separate two-phase fluid mixtures in

microgravity.

Protein Crystal Growth Studies Cell

(MSFC). Under this ATD project, a userfriendly system for conducting real-time

innovative PCG research in the microgravity environment will be developed,

along with a method for storing proteins

prior to use in experiments. Researchers

will be able to control the PCG system

from the ground, adjust the parameters of

their experiments, and perform follow-up

experiments based on previous results,

enabling a more rigorous study of the

PCG process than is currently possible.

Space Bioreactor Bioproduct Recovery

System (JSC). The current generation of

space bioreactors can support some aspects

of long-duration cell cultures, but cannot

be used to separate and preserve or remove

the bioproducts of these processes. The

goal of this project is to develop a bioproduct recovery system that allows the

selective removal of molecules of interest

from space bioreactors, thus enhancing

their productivity.

Surface Fluctuation Spectrometers

(LeRC). During this project, a surface

light scattering instrument using fiberoptics-based technology will be developed

to provide a noninvasive way to obtain

surface tension, viscosity, and temperature

data from fluid interfaces. The instrument

will also be able to measure displacements

of solid surfaces, such as those encountered

in crystal growth.

Microgravity Technology Report

In December 1995, NASA’s first

Microgravity Technology Report was

published. This document covers technology policies, technology development, and

technology transfer activities within the

Microgravity Science Research Program

from 1978 through FY 1994. It also

describes the recent major tasks initiated

under the ATD Program and identifies

current technology requirements. The

FY 1996 Annual Microgravity Technology

Report is available as a companion to this

annual Microgravity Science Research

Program report.
42

Hardware

Experiment Hardware for Space

Shuttle and Mir Flights

Significant efforts continued in FY 1996 in

preparation of multiuser and experimentunique apparatus for space shuttle and Mir

missions. Listed in table 8 are shuttle missions

with significant microgravity experiments,

followed by short descriptions of the U.S.-

developed flight experimental apparatus that

have been in use and are under development

in the Microgravity Science Research Program

to support these missions. A list of flight

experimental hardware being developed by

international partners, which will be used by

U.S. investigators, appears in table 9.

TABLE 8.—Shuttle missions with major microgravity equipment on board, chronologically by launch date.

Launch Date Flight Mission Full Name

April 1985 STS–51B SL–3 Spacelab–3

Jan. 1986 STS–61C Materials Science Demonstrations

Jan. 1992 STS–42 IML–1 International Microgravity Laboratory–1

June 1992 STS–50 USML–1 United States Microgravity Laboratory–1

Oct. 1992 STS–52 USMP–1 United States Microgravity Payload–1

March 1994 STS–62 USMP–2 United States Microgravity Payload–2

July 1994 STS–65 IML–2 International Microgravity Laboratory–2

June 1995 STS–71 Mir–1 Shuttle/Mir–1

Sept. 1995 STS–69 * Wake Shield Facility, Shuttle Pointed Autonomous

Research Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN)

Oct. 1995 STS–73 USML–2 United States Microgravity Laboratory–2

Nov. 1995 STS–74 Mir–2 Shuttle/Mir–2

Feb. 1996 STS–75 USMP–3 United States Microgravity Payload–3

March 1996 STS–76 Mir–3 Shuttle/Mir–3

June 1996 STS–78 LMS Life and Microgravity Spacelab

Sept. 1996 STS–79 Mir–4 Shuttle/Mir–4

Jan. 1997 STS–81 Mir–5 Shuttle/Mir–5

April 1997 STS–83 MSL–1 Microgravity Science Laboratory–1

May 1997 STS–84 Mir–6 Shuttle/Mir–6

July 1997 STS–83R MSL–1R Microgravity Science Laboratory–Space Reflight

Aug. 1997 STS–85 CRISTA–SPAS–2, Japanese Experiment

Module Flight Demonstration

Sept. 1997 STS–86 Mir–7 Shuttle/Mir–7

Nov. 1997 STS–87 USMP–4 United States Microgravity Payload–4

Feb. 2001 STS–113 MSP–1 Microgravity Science Payload–1

*Middeck and GAS microgravity payloads only.

GAS payloads also flew on STS–40, –41, –43, –45, –47, –54, –57, –60, –63, –64, –66, –72, and –77.
43

TABLE 9.—Flight experiment hardware used by NASA’s Microgravity Science Research Program developed by international partners.

Advanced Gradient Heating Furnace European Space Agency (ESA)

Advanced Protein Crystallization Facility European Space Agency (ESA)

Bubble, Drop, and Particle Unit European Space Agency (ESA)

Biolab German Agency for Space Affairs (DARA)

Critical Point Facility European Space Agency (ESA)

Cryostat German Agency for Space Affairs (DARA)

Electromagnetic Containerless Processing Facility (TEMPUS) German Agency for Space Affairs (DARA)

Electrophoresis, Recherché Appliqué Sur Les Methods

De Separation en Electrophorese Spatiale (RAMSES) French National Center for Space Studies (CNES)

Free Flow Electrophoresis Unit National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA)

Gloveboxes* European Space Agency (ESA)

Large Isothermal Furnace National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA)

MEPHISTO French National Center for Space Studies (CNES)

Microgravity Isolation Mount Canadian Space Agency (CSA)

Mirror Furnace National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA)

Microgravity Measurement Assembly European Space Agency (ESA)

Quasi-Steady Acceleration Measurement German Agency for Space Affairs (DARA)

*Middeck Glovebox, Mir Glovebox, and Microgravity Globevox (Spacelab)

Advanced Automated Directional Solidification Furnace. This instrument is a

modified Bridgman-Stockbarger furnace for

directional solidification and crystal growth

(USMP–2, –3, –4).

Bioreactor Demonstration Unit. This unit

flew on STS–70 and on STS–79 to the Mir.

It is a rotating cylinder bioreactor for the

investigation of tissue engineering, supported by subsystems that provide perfusion, medium exchange, pH monitoring,

and data storage (Mir).

Biotechnology Specimen Temperature

Controller. This is a programmable cell

culture incubator that can be used for flight

experiments in cell biology, microbiology,

and tissue engineering. The current version

has four individually controlled chambers

with a temperature range of 4 to 45 °C

(shuttle/Mir).

Biotechnology System. This instrument is

composed of a rotating wall vessel

bioreactor, a control computer, a fluid

supply system, and a refrigerator for sample

storage (Mir).

Combustion Module–1. This module is

being developed to perform multiple

combustion experiments in space; the first

two experiments will be the Laminar Soot

Processes experiment and the SOFBALL

experiment (MSL–1).

Critical Fluid Light Scattering Experiment.

This apparatus provides a micro-Kelvin

controlled thermal environment and

dynamic light scattering and turbidity

measurements for critical fluid experiments

(USMP–2, –3).

Critical Viscosity of Xenon. This apparatus

provides a precision controlled thermal

environment (micro-Kelvin) and an

oscillating screen viscometer to enable

viscosity measurements for critical fluids

(STS–85).

Crystal Growth Furnace. This instrument

is a modified Bridgman-Stockbarger furnace

for crystal growth from a melt or vapor

(USML–1, –2).

Drop Physics Module. This apparatus is

designed to investigate the surface properties of various suspended liquid drops, to

study surface and internal features of drops

that are being vibrated and rotated, and to

test a new technique for measuring surface

tension between two immiscible fluids

(USML–1, –2).

Droplet Combustion Experiment. The

apparatus is designed to study droplet

behavior during combustion by measuring

burning rates, extinction phenomena,

disruptive burning, and soot production

(MSL–1).

Geophysical Fluid Flow Cell. This

instrument uses electrostatic forces to

simulate gravity in a radially symmetric

vector field, centrally directed toward the

center of the cell. This allows investigators

to perform visualizations of thermal

convection and other research related topics

in planetary atmospheres and stars (SL–3,

USML–2).

Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment.

The apparatus is being used to study the

growth of dendritic crystals in transparent

materials that simulate the solidification of

some aspects of pure metals and metal alloy

systems (USMP– 2, –3, –4).
44

Low-Temperature Microgravity Physics

Cryogenic Dewar. This apparatus will

support different experiments on different

flights. On USMP–1, supported the

Lambda Point Experiment, testing the

theory of confined systems using helium

held near the lambda point and confined to

50-micron gaps. On USMP–4, it will

support the Confined Helium Experiment.

On the Microgravity Science Payload–1

(MSP–1), it supported the Critical Dynamics in Microgravity Experiment.

Mechanics of Granular Materials. This

instrument uses microgravity to gain a

quantitative understanding of the mechanical behavior of cohesionless granular

materials under very low confining pressures

(shuttle/Mir).

Microgravity Smoldering Combustion.

This apparatus is used to determine the

smoldering characteristics of combustible

materials in microgravity environments

(STS–69).

Middeck Glovebox. The glovebox is a

multidisciplinary facility used for small

scientific and technological investigations

(USMP –3, –4, MSP–1).

Mir Glovebox. This is a modified middeck

Glovebox for collecting scientific and

technological data prior to major investments in the development of more sophisticated scientific instruments (Mir).

Physics of Hard Spheres Experiment. This

hardware will support an investigation to

study the processes associated with liquidto-solid and crystalline-to-glassy phase

transitions (MSL–1).

Pool Boiling Experiment. This apparatus is

capable of autonomous operation for

initiating, observing, and recording nucleate

pool boiling phenomena (multiple missions).

Protein Crystal Growth. PCG uses a

variety of apparatus, to evaluate the effects

of gravity on the growth of protein crystals,

such as the Protein Crystallization

Apparatus for Microgravity and the Vapor

Diffusion Apparatus (multiple missions).

Solid Surface Combustion Experiment.

This instrument is designed to determine

the mechanism of gas-phase flame spread

over solid fuel surfaces in the absence of

buoyancy-induced or externally imposed

gas-phase flow (multiple missions).

Space Acceleration Measurement System.

SAMS measures and records the acceleration environment in the space shuttle

middeck and cargo bay, in the Spacelab,

SpaceHab, and on the Mir (multiple

missions).

Surface Tension Driven Convection

Experiment. The apparatus is designed

to provide fundamental knowledge of

thermocapillary flows, fluid motion

generated by the surface attractive force

induced by variations in surface tension

caused by temperature gradients along a

free surface (USML–1, –2).

Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment.

This instrument is developed to measure

very-low-frequency accelerations on obit

such as atmospheric drag and gravity

gradient effects (multiple missions).

Transitional/Turbulent Gas Jet Diffusion

Flames. This instrument will be used to

study the role of large-scale flame structures

in microgravity transitional gas jet flames

(Get Away Special (GAS) Experiment).

• Biotechnology Facility (BTF)

• Space Station Furnace Facility

(SSFF)

• Fluids and Combustion Facility

(FCF)

• Microgravity Glovebox (MGBX)

• Low Temperature Microgravity

Physics (LTMP) facility.

The BTF will accommodate bioreactor

systems to address cell growth and systems

to support PCG using the quiescent lowgravity environment of the ISS. In addition, this facility will handle the hardware

for new areas of biotechnology research

that are just beginning to be explored.

Because the capabilities of the Expedite

Payload Resources to Space Station

(EXPRESS) rack facility were determined

to be adequate to handle the needs of

biotechnology research conducted during

the early space station build-up phase, the

development of the BTF has been delayed

until later in the ISS operational life. This

will allow for a facility more in tune with

the needs of the biotechnology program at

that time.

The SSFF, scheduled for operation in 2002,

is designed to accommodate investigations

in basic materials research, applications, and

studies of phenomena involved in the

solidification of metals and crystal growth

of semiconductor materials. The facility is

composed of furnace modules and a core of

integrated support subsystems. Its development has paralleled the ISS design activity

to ensure that payload requirements are

incorporated in the ISS design process. The

design of the core support subsystems was

completed during 1996. An international

workshop was held in June 1996, in

Huntsville, AL, to continue dialogue

between international partners on cooperative development of future furnace modules.

Follow-on discussions are planned for

another international workshop in mid1997. The first U.S.-developed integrated

furnace module, the High-Temperature

Gradient Furnace With Quench, is

scheduled for initial operations in 2002.

Space Station Facilities for

Microgravity Research

The Microgravity Science and Applications

Research Program continues to develop

several multiuser facilities specifically

designed for long duration scientific

research missions aboard the ISS. To obtain

an optimal balance between science

capabilities, costs, and risks, facility

requirements definition have been aligned

with evolving space station capabilities.

In total, the Microgravity Science and

Applications Research Program has now

defined requirements for five multiuser

facilities for the ISS:
45

In FY 1995, the FCF began optimizing its

engineering concept, with the intent to

reduce development and life-cycle cost, and

to increase life-cycle productivity. This

optimization was completed during

FY 1996. Development cost was cut by

approximately 50 percent (in constant

FY 1995 dollars). Life-cycle cost was cut by

approximately 50 percent. The projected

cost of individual fluids and combustion

experiments was cut by approximately

60 percent. Nevertheless, scientific productivity was increased by over 150 percent

(nearly tripled, as measured by the total

number of experiments that may be

supported in a 10-year period within all

known ISS resource and program funding

constraints). In addition, FCF capability was

increased to add support for middeck

payloads from any discipline and the SAMS

(at no increase in project budget). A

successful Requirements Definition Review

was held during October 1996. Currently,

FCF is operating with minimal staff through

at least FY 1998. This time will be used to

perform low cost technical risk mitigation

experiments at LeRC. The flight date is

currently to be determined, but it could be

in FY 2001 or FY 2002.

Definition activities were performed during

FY 1996 for the LTMP facility, a multipleinstrument facility designed for frequent

flight, for easy instrument changeout to

result in minimal use of ISS resources, and

to maintain low cost. The LTMP facility

was recommended for development by the

National Research Council’s Space Studies

Board and has been endorsed by the LowTemperature Science Steering Committee

and the international low-temperature

science community. The LTMP facility will

be implemented through a science, industry,

and NASA partnership. The industry

partner, Ball Aerospace, was selected in

June 1996 via a Request for Proposal

process. The initial meeting of the LTMP

Facility Definition Team of science,

industry, and JPL representatives was

conducted at JPL in July 1996.

The MGBX is a multidisciplinary facility

for small, low-cost, rapid-response scientific

and technological investigations in the areas

of materials science, biotechnology,

combustion science, and fluid physics,

allowing preliminary data to be collected

and analyzed prior to any major investment

in sophisticated scientific and technological

instrumentation. Negotiations with ESA are

currently underway for the provision of the

glovebox by the ESA in exchange for early

access to ISS capabilities. The glovebox

passed system design review at ESA and, by

late 1995, was in the requirements review

stage. The Project Development Review

is scheduled for April 1997.

In addition to the science facilities on the

ISS, Telescience Support Centers are being

developed at LeRC and MSFC to support

ISS microgravity operations. These facilities

are collocated with the hardware developers

and discipline scientists to support investigators. The goal is to allow investigators to

operate as much as possible from their home

institutions. In FY 1994, LeRC’s facility

began support of ongoing shuttle missions.

TABLE 10.—Use of ground-based low-gravity facilities—FY 1996.

Zero-G 2.2-Second

Facility Drop Tower Drop Tube KC–135 DC–9

No. of Investigations Supported 7 25 8 2 42

No. of Drops or Trajectories 143 1,263 500 337 2,795

No. of Flights (Flight Hours) N/A N/A N/A 7 163

Ground-Based Microgravity

Research Support Facilities

NASA maintained reduced-gravity research

ground facilities, including two drop

towers, a drop tube, parabolic flight aircraft,

and other support facilities at LeRC and

MSFC, in support of the Microgravity

Science Research Program. Aircraft used for

parabolic flight trajectories include a

KC–135 aircraft at JSC, and a DC–9 at

LeRC, the latter of which began operations

in July 1995. Table 10 summarizes the

facilities usage in FY 1996.
46

Education and

Outreach Activities

Thousands of elementary and secondary

school teachers attending the 1996 annual

meetings of the National Science Teachers

Association and the National Council of

Teachers of Mathematics had the opportunity to learn new ways to improve student

understanding of the effects of normal and

low gravity and the implications of

microgravity research. More than 6,000

microgravity science educational posters,

teachers guides, mathematics briefs, and

supplementary materials were distributed

at the conferences. Over 1,200 teachers

asked to be added to the microgravity

education and outreach mailing list. This

brought the total number of K–12 teachers

on the mailing list to 1,865 (445 kindergarten and elementary, 522 middle school,

and 898 high school).

Microgravity News, the quarterly newsletter

of NASA’s microgravity science research

programs and activities, features articles on

experiment results, mission updates,

science and technology developments,

funding opportunities, meetings and

collaborations, and profiles of microgravity

science researchers. This year, each

newsletter was distributed nationally to

scientists and PI’s, technology developers,

university faculty and graduate students,

K–12 teachers, curriculum supervisors,

and science writers. Organizations on the

mailing list include NASA research centers

and Teacher Resource Centers, as well as

public and private associations, corporations, and laboratories. Other special

groups on the mailing list included the

presidents of Historically Black Colleges

and Universities and Hispanic-Serving

Colleges and Universities, directors of the

National Space Grant Consortia, and

university department heads in physics,

chemistry, and engineering. The total

distribution for each issue of the newsletter

reached 9,000 by the end of 1996. This is

a substantial increase from the two

previous year’s distribution (2,500 in 1995

and 934 in 1994).

From a national pool of 34 applicants,

8 graduate students were selected to receive

support for ground-based microgravity

science research during 1996–97 under the

NASA Home Page

Information and links to all NASA centers.

http://www.nasa.gov/

International Space Station

General and detailed information,

as well as links to other sites such as Mir.

http://issa-www.jsc.nasa.gov/index.shtml

Microgravity and Space Flight

How microgravity is achieved and

the importance of microgravity research.

http://microgravity.msad.hq.nasa.gov/

aIntro/spaceflight.html

Graduate Student Research Program

(GSRP). Selections were based on a

competitive evaluation of academic

qualifications, proposed research plans,

and the students’ projected use of NASA

and/or other research facilities. This

brought to 43 the number of GSRP

researchers actively working on microgravity projects in FY 1996. When added

to the graduate students working with

NASA-funded PI’s, the number of

graduate students directly employed in

microgravity research now totals 823.

The Microgravity Science Research

Program’s World Wide Web (WWW)

Home Page continues to provide regular

updates on upcoming conferences,

microgravity-related NRA’s, enhanced

links to the microgravity science research

centers, educational links, and links to

microgravity science photo/image archives.

A list of important microgravity WWW

Internet addresses is presented in table 11.

TABLE 11.—Important microgravity WWW sites.

MSAD

NASA HQ Microgravity Division and

microgravity sites, and site with links

to other news about programs

and NASA Research Announcements.

http://microgravity.msad.hq.nasa.gov/

Microgravity News

On-line issues of Microgravity News, a

newsletter about the field of microgravity science.

http://mgnwww.larc.nasa.gov/

LeRC

Links to microgravity fluid physics

and combustion research.

http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/

MSFC

Links to microgravity science research

in biotechnology and materials.

http://www.msfc.nasa.gov/

JPL

Links to microgravity low-temperature

physics research.

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/lowtemp/

Shuttle Flights

Information on all shuttle flights.

http://www.osf.hq.nasa.gov/shuttle/

or http://shuttle.nasa.gov
47

Microgravity Data Archiving

MSFC maintains the Microgravity Science

Data Archive (MSDA), which houses

video, photographic, digital and other data

products generated during microgravity

materials science and biotechnology

experiments. Information concerning these

experiments and their data products is

contained in approximately 75 Experiment

Data Management Plans (EDMP), which

are available from the MSDA WWW site.

In addition to the EDMP’s, further

information concerning microgravity

experiments resides in the Microgravity

Research Experiments (MICREX)

database, which currently contains over

900 experiment records. The on-line

MICREX database contains a link to ESA’s

Microgravity Database. The MSFC photo

archive contains approximately 4,300

photographs. An effort was begun in

FY 1996 to digitize and make available

through the WWW a subset of the MSFC

photo archive. Over 350 VHS tapes and

16-mm films are cataloged in the MSFC

video archive.

LeRC also has been actively building its

archive collection in the areas of combustion science and fluid physics. Currently,

there are over 536 combustion science

papers and over 435 fluid physics papers

in the archive; a listing of the papers by

author is being made available on the

WWW. In FY 1996, abstracts of the

papers were being added to the LeRC

WWW site. The experiments database

currently consists of information from a

number of recent experiments, along with

a few earlier missions. This information,

contained in an EDMP database, includes

such items as an experiment description;

a list of publications associated with the

experiment; a summary of experiment

results and data; and a listing of videos,

photos, and digital data. In FY 1996,

archivists began gathering data on fluids

and combustion experiments from

missions prior to USML–1 (which was the

initial task). Several of the EDMP’s are

available on the LeRC website. The paper

abstracts and EDMP’s will continue to be

collected and put on the Website in

FY 1997.

MSFC Microgravity Science Data Archive

(MSDA)

Information on materials science microgravity

experiments and other experiments.

http://otis.msfc.nasa.gov/fame/Fame.html

LeRC Microgravity Database

Information on fluids and Microgravity

Database combustion experiments.

http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/WWW/MCFEP/

ESA Microgravity Database

Experiment descriptions and results,

diagrams, and video sequences.

http://www.esrin.esa.it/htdocs/mgdb/

mgdbhome.html

NASA Spacelink: A Resource for Educators

NASA Education information, services,

and materials, including the Teacher

Resource Centers.

http://spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov/

home.index.html

Spacelink: Microgravity Teachers Guide 6–12

Microgravity Teacher’s Guide with physical

science activities for grades 6–12.

http://spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov/Instructional.

Materials/Curriculum.Materials/Sciences/

Microgravity/Microgravity.Teachers.

Guide.6–12/

What is Microgravity?

The definition of microgravity and how it is

obtained.

http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/Other_Groups/

PAO/html.microgex.html

Zero-Gravity Research Facility

Description and images of the LeRC drop tower.

http://zeta.lerc.nasa.gov/facility/zero.htm

LeRC Microgravity Science Division

Educational Information

LeRC microgravity educational activities and

links to other NASA education sites.

http://zeta.lerc.nasa.gov/new/school.htm

Microgravity Investigator’s Guide

NASA HQ Microgravity Division process for

research selection.

http://magpie.larc.nasa.gov/guide/guide1.html

Microgravity Meetings List Bulletin Board

Bulletin board of meetings and symposia, and a

list of societies of interest to the microgravity

science community.

http://zeta.lerc.nasa.gov/ugml/ugml.htm
48

6

Funding for the FY 1996 Microgravity

Science Research Program totaled

$159 million. This budget supported a

variety of activities, including an

extensive microgravity research program; development and flight of

microgravity shuttle missions; ISS

planning, technology, and hardware

development; educational outreach; and

ISS facility-class hardware development.

The funding distribution for combined

flight and ground efforts in the various

microgravity research disciplines is

illustrated in figure 1.

Figure 2 presents the funding distribution

by microgravity mission. Included in this

representation is the Research and Analysis

element that supports the ground-based

microgravity principal investigators not

covered in a mission-specific budget. The

Multi-mission category includes costs not

identified with a specific mission, such as

administration, the ATD Program, science

support activities, data management and

archiving, National Institutes of Health

cooperative activities, and infrastructure.

The Small Missions element is the portion

of the Microgravity Science Research

Program using the space shuttle small

payload systems (e.g., Get Away Special

Canister Program), shuttle middeck

experiments, and sounding rockets. The

Mir element represents funding for

experiments that are planned for the ISS

and Mir programs. Included in this

category are the Fluids and Combustion

Facility, the Biotechnology Facility, and the

Space Station Furnace Facility.

Combustion

26%

Fluid Physics

13%

Biotechnology

13%

Materials Science

37%

Fundamental Physics

9%

ATD

2%

USMP

5% Microgravity Science Payloads

2%

USML

1%

Multi-Missions

Small Missions 28%

8%

ISS/Mir/Spacelab

32%

MSL–1

5%

LMS

<1%

Research and Analysis

19%

Program Resources

for FY 1996

FIGURE 1.— FY 1996 microgravity funding distribution

by science discipline: $159M.

FIGURE 2.— FY 1996 microgravity funding distribution

by mission series: $159M.
49

The Microgravity Science Research

Program operates through five NASA Field

Centers. Figure 3 illustrates the funding

distribution among these Centers (and

includes NASA HQ funding). The

Microgravity Science Research Program

science discipline emphasis is as follows:

• MSFC—Materials science, the

fundamentals of biotechnology, and

the PCG portion of the biotechnology discipline.

• LeRC—Combustion science, fluid

physics, and microgravity measurement and analysis.

• JSC—Cell and tissue culture

portion of the biotechnology

discipline.

• JPL—Fundamental physics.

Technology development tasks were also

funded in FY 1996 at each of the NASA

Field Centers.

JPL

8%

MSFC

23%

LeRC

49%

LaRC

<1%

HQ

8%

JSC

10%

FIGURE 3.—FY 1996 microgravity funding distribution

 by NASA Field Centers: $159M.
50

7

NASA’s goal is to improve the quality of life

on Earth by utilizing ground- and spacebased research to promote new scientific

and technological discoveries. The

Microgravity Science Research Program

plays a vital role in our Nation’s economic

and general health by carefully selecting,

funding, and supporting scientists across

the country. It also serves as an important

link in the international endeavors that are

the hallmark of America’s space program,

which is doing business better, cheaper, and

faster through cooperative ventures and

other new ways of doing business.

By disseminating knowledge and transferring technology among private industries,

universities, and other Government

agencies, NASA’s Microgravity Science

Research Program continues building on a

foundation of professional success, evident

in the number of publications and conferences attended, while reaching out to

encompass the populace at large. Educational outreach and technology transfer are

among the Program’s top goals, making the

benefits of NASA’s research available to the

American public.

For More Information

Space shuttle and Mir research missions, as

well as experiments performed in shortduration microgravity facilities, are yielding

new understanding about our world and

the universe around us, while paving the

way for long-duration microgravity science

on the International Space Station.

For more information about NASA’s

Microgravity Science Research Program,

contact:

Microgravity Research Division

NASA Headquarters

300 E Street, SW

Washington, DC 20546–0001

Fax: (202) 358–3091

Phone: (202) 358–1490

WWW address:

http://microgravity.msad.hq.nasa.gov/