Capabilities and constraints of typical space flight hardware

The Space Experiments Division is in the business of performing ground based low gravity testing and designing experiment hardware for space flight on the Space Shuttle and in the future, Space Station Freedom. As witnessed in combustion work, the reduction of gravity brings forward previously negligible processes and parameters. In a similar manner, the design of experiments for microgravity operation aboard the Space Shuttle must consider parameters that are often not factors for laboratory hardware.