Video and radar data were acquired throughout the station-keeping period. The International Space Station will use GPS for attitude determination as well as velocity and time information. The Vented Tank Resupply Experiment, which tested improved methods for in-space refueling to provide data for future designs of spacecraft liquid fuel storage tanks. Lewis Research Center and contractor Lockheed Martin developed the experiment. The Liquid Metal Thermal Experiment, an evaluation of the performance of liquid metal heat pipes in microgravity conditions.
Heat pipes are thermal management devices used on many existing spacecraft for waste heat removal.
However, the operational characteristics of heat pipes are not completely understood, because they have not been operated at high temperatures in microgravity. The data obtained will be invaluable to designers of space systems requiring high temperature heat rejection. STS-77, an eventful and highly productive space technology development mission, ended on May 29 when Endeavour touched down at Kennedy Space Center after a flight of 10 days and 39 minutes.