Facilities and programs for research in a low-gravity environmentThe history of NASA-supported microgravity material-processing research on Apollo, Skylab, and Apollo-Soyuz is reviewed; the currently available ground and Space Shuttle laboratory facilities are characterized and illustrated with drawings; and an overview of the Microgravity Science and Applications Program (MSAP) is given. The ground systems include drop tubes, drop towers, aircraft, and levitators; on the Space Shuttle, facilities are provided in the Orbiter middeck, in the payload bay, and in the Spacelab module. The aims of MSAP and the mechanisms for academic or industry participation are outlined, and typical results of MSAP-organized research in electronic materials, biotechnology, metals and alloys, glasses and ceramics, combustion, fluid dynamics, and transport phenomena are summarized.
Document ID
19870035883
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Halpern, Richard E. (NASA Microgravity Science and Applications Div. Washington, DC, United States)