The seven-member crew of the second United States Microgravity Laboratory had a busy 24 hours during their second day in space.
Experiments continue to operate smoothly and on schedule.
Fluids physics Payload Specialist Fred Leslie spent his shift overnight conducting initial experiment runs in the Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiment. The investigation examines subtle fluid motions, called thermocapillary flows, created by variations in temperature on a fluid's surface. While data from the July 1992 flight confirmed the model for steady thermocapillary flows proposed by the science team from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, it also indicated that smaller chambers and less viscous fluid would be needed to study the transition from steady to oscillatory flow. These improvements were made, and a new optical system was added so investigators can observe how changes in surface shapes influence the beginning of oscillations. After crew members activated the Geophysical Fluid Flow Cell experiment, the University of Colorado science team took over operation from the ground.