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Info about shuttle flight 51- C
51-D Fourth Flight of Discovery
STS Mission 51-D
The Orbiter Discovery lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC,
at 8:59 a.m. EST on April 12, 1985. This flight was a composite mission,
carrying part of its original manifest and part of that from mission 51-E,
which had been canceled. The crew was entirely from the canceled mission
except for one of the two payload specialists, Charles Walker, who substituted
for Patrick Baudry because the latter's flight experiments were no longer on
the manifest. This mission also featured the first flight of an elected
official, Senator E.J. "Jake" Garn (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate committee
with oversight responsibilities for NASA's budget.
The Anik C-1 spacecraft was successfully deployed a few hours into the
mission. Its PAM-D booster stage automatically fired 45 minutes later and
lifted it into the planned elliptical geosynchronous transfer orbit. The
Hughes SYNCOM IV-3 spacecraft, also called Leasat 3, was deployed on the second
day in a routine operation. However, the booster stage did not fire as
programmed. The orbiter returned to the vicinity and the crew examined the
spacecraft. It was determined that the 'sequence start' lever, which should
have been automatically opened during the deployment sequence, was apparently
not fully erected. After consultation with Hughes, Mission Control in Houston
directed the astronauts in the design of two 'flyswatter' devices capable of
snagging and tugging on this lever. These were attached to the end of the
Remote Manipulator System (RMS, or 'Canadarm') during an EVA by Griggs and
Hoffman. The mission was extended two days to permit this try at activating
the satellite. Seddon manipulated the Canadarm to hook the lever and tug hard
on it, but this had no affect on the spacecraft. It was eventually repaired on
a later mission (see Mission 51-I, following). Orbiter Discovery landed at KSC
on April 19. The wheels stopped rolling at 8:55 a.m. EST, after a mission
duration of 6 days, 23 hours, and 55 minutes. A tire blew out just before the
end of the rollout, causing all following landings to be at Edwards AFB until
the inactive nose wheel steering system could be activated and tested.
The crew members were Karol J. Bobko, commander; Donald E. Williams, pilot;
M. Rhea Seddon, S. David Griggs, and Jeffrey A. Hoffman, mission specialists;
and Charles D. Walker, McDonnell Douglas, and E.J. "Jake" Garn, United States
Senate, payload specialists.
The Anik C-1 was the third spacecraft in this series, C-2 and C-3 having been
launched on previous STS missions. They are built by Hughes as part its HS-376
series. Telesat of Canada assumed charge of its spacecraft after deployment,
and later fired the onboard apogee motor to place it in geosynchronous orbit.
SYNCOM IV-3 is also a Hughes spacecraft, the first specifically made to be
deployed from a Space Shuttle orbiter. SYNCOM IV spacecraft are part of the
Hughes HS 381 series. Each comes with its own built-in booster stage,
identical to the third stage booster on the Minuteman missile, and two engines
that burn monodimethyl hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide. Both propulsion
systems are required to place a SYNCOM IV in geosynchronous orbit. This series
provides communications for the Department of Defense, under a contract granted
to Hughes.
Other experiments included the second flight of the larger Continuous Flow
Electrophoresis Experiment, successfully operated by Walker; an informal
science study of the behavior of mechanical toys in microgravity; two Shuttle
Student Involvement Project (SSIP) experiments, of which one was successful and
one not; a Phase Partitioning Experiment; and echocardiograph and image
intensifier experiments.
TWO SATELLITE DEPLOYMENTS TO HIGHLIGHT 16TH SHUTTLE MISSION
The fourth flight of orbiter Discovery will be highlighted by two
satellite deployments when NASA conducts its 16th Space Shuttle mission.
The remanifested mission 51-D is scheduled for liftoff from Pad 39-A at
Kennedy Space Center, Fla., no earlier than April 12, 1985. Launch window
opportunities on that day extend from 8:04 to 8:18 a.m. and from 8:45 to 9 a.m.
EST. The 5-day, 78-orbit mission is slated to conclude with a landing on KSC's
Shuttle runway.
Mission 51-D was originally set for a March launch and included deployment
of the Hughes LEASAT 3 spacecraft and retrieval of NASA's Long Duration
Exposure Facility. It was remanifested following the decision to cancel
Mission 51-E, which was to have been flown by orbiter Challenger.
The revised 51-D cargo includes the Hughes satellite plus the Canadian
communications spacecraft Anik C-1. Other payloads include the Continuous Flow
Electrophoresis System, the American Echocardiograph Experiment, two middeck
student experiments and two Getaway Special canisters.
Also scheduled to fly are a variety of simple toys intended to demonstrate
the unique properties of space flight for elementary and junior high school
students.
The 51-D crew consists of Karol J. Bobko, commander; Donald E. Williams,
pilot; M. Rhea Seddon, Jeffrey A. Hoffman and S. David Griggs, mission
specialists. Bobko served as pilot on STS-6.
Also flying as part of the crew will be payload specialists Charles D.
Walker, making his second trip into space to operate the McDonnell Douglas
electrophoresis equipment, and E.J. "Jake" Garn, a U.S. Senator from Utah, who
will be the first public official to fly aboard the Space Shuttle. Garn is
onboard as a Congressional observer.
Garn has completed payload specialist training to carry out numerous
medical physiological tests and measurements designed to detect and record
changes the body undergoes in weightlessness.
All members of the crew, except Walker, were reassigned from the cancelled
51-E flight.
After liftoff, Discovery will be flown into an elliptical orbit ranging
from 184 to 281 statute miles, inclined 28.5 degrees
to the equator.
After achieving orbit, Discovery's crew will open the payload bay doors
and begin preparations for deployment of the Canadian satellite. The Anik C-1
spacecraft and its attached upper stage, a McDonnell Douglas Payload Assist
Module (PAM), is scheduled to be spring-ejected from the cargo bay as Discovery
crosses the equator on the seventh orbit at approximately 9 hours, 38 minutes
mission elapsed time (MET).
After a separation burn to move the orbiter to a safe distance from Anik,
the crew will observe ignition of the PAM upper stage booster, using the camera
on the end of the orbiter's robot arm.
Ignition of the PAM will occur about 45 minutes, or a half an orbit, after
deployment and will place the 7,386-pound spacecraft into a highly elliptical
transfer orbit with a high point of about 22,300 miles.
Discovery's separation burn also will raise its altitude to 191 by 281
miles in preparation for the LEASAT deployment on the following day.
At a selected apogee, ground controllers will fire another small rocket
motor attached to the Canadian spacecraft to circularize the satellite's orbit
at geosynchronous altitude.
Also on Discovery's first day in orbit, crewmembers assigned to the
American Echocardiograph Experiment (AFE) and the Continuous Flow
Electrophoresis System (CFES) will activate their equipment and initiate
operations. A checkout of the Shuttle's robot arm also is planned.
During the crew's second day in space, AFE and CFES operations will
continue while the flight crew prepares and deploys the LEASAT 3 spacecraft as
Discovery crosses the equator on orbit 17.
Deployment will take place about 1 day, 1 hour into the mission. Another
separation maneuver will put a safe distance between the orbiter and the
satellite prior to perigee kick motor ignition and will place Discovery in a
201-by-283-mile orbit.
About 45 minutes after deployment from the cargo bay, onboard timers will
fire LEASAT's perigee kick motor to begin a series of orbital changes which
will eventually place it in geosynchronous orbit.
Mission days 3 and 4 will see continuation of the CFES and AFE operations,
and medical experiments. Flight day 3 provides backup deploy opportunities for
both Anik and LEASAT.
On flight day 5, the astronauts will perform routine tests of orbiter
systems in preparation for the spaceship's return to Earth. The crew will
check out the primary reaction control system, the hydraulic system, and
aerodynamic controls. An on-orbit press conference is also planned.
The final flight day will include student experiments and 11 orbit
preparations such as equipment stowage, closing of the payload bay doors and
crew preparation for reentry.
A burn of Discovery's orbital maneuvering system engines over
the Indian Ocean will initiate the spaceship's reentry to a landing on
Kennedy's 15,000-foot Shuttle runway. The deorbit burn is scheduled to occur
on orbit 78 at 4 days, 23 hours, 3 minutes MET. Touchdown will come at 5 days,
11 minutes MET, or 8:15 a.m. EST, April 17.
GENERAL INFORMATION
NASA Select Television Transmission
The schedule for television transmissions from Discovery and for the
change-of-shift briefings from the Johnson Space Center, Houston, will be
available during the mission at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; Marshall Space
Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.; Johnson Space Center; and NASA Headquarters,
Washington, D.C. The television schedule will be updated on a daily basis to
reflect changes dictated by mission operations.
NASA has leased from RCA Satcom F-1R, Transponder 18 (full transponder),
to carry NASA Select television from launch through landing of Shuttle flight
51-D.
Satcom F-1R is located 139 degrees west longitude. Trans- ponder 18
transmits on a frequency of 4060.0 MHz. Operating hours (EST) are:
April 11 (T-1) - 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
April 12 (Flight Day 1) - 4:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
April 13 (Flight Day 2) - 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
April 14 (Flight Day 3) - 9:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
April 15 (Flight Day 4) - 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
April 16 (Flight Day 5) - 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
April 17 (Landing Day) - 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Special Note to Broadcasters
Beginning April 8, and continuing through the end of the mission,
approximately 15 minutes of audio interview material with the crew of 51-D will
be available to broadcasters by calling 202/737-6911.
Status Reports
Status reports on countdown progress, mission progress, on- orbit
activities and landing operations will be produced by the appropriate NASA news
center.
Briefings
Flight control personnel will be on 8-hour shifts. Change-of-shift
briefings by the off-going flight director will occur at approximately 8-hour
intervals.
Transcripts
Transcripts of the change-of-shift briefings will be available at the
Shuttle news centers.
SHUTTLE MISSION 51-D -- QUICK LOOK FACTS
Crew: Karol J. Bobko, Commander
Donald E. Williams, Pilot
M. Rhea Seddon, Mission Specialist
S. David Griggs, Mission Specialist
Jeffrey A. Hoffman, Mission Specialist
Charles Walker, Payload Specialist
E.J. "Jake" Garn, Payload Specialist
Orbiter: Discovery (OV-103)
Launch Site: Pad 39-A, Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Launch Date: April 12, 1985
Launch Windows: 14 minutes: 8:04 a.m. to 8:18 a.m. EST
15 minutes: 8:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. EST
Orbital Inclination: 28.5 degrees
Altitude: 184 by 281 s.mi. for Telesat deploy
191 by 281 s.mi. for Syncom deploy
Mission Duration: 5 days, 11 minutes
Orbits: 78 full orbits; land on 79th
Landing Date/Time: April 17; 8:15 a.m. EST
Primary Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Runway 15
Weather Alternate: Edwards AFB, Calif., Runway 17
Payloads Syncom IV-3 (LEASAT 3)
and Telesat-I (Anik C-1)
Experiments: American Flight Echocardiograph (AFE)
Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES III)
Student Experiments (2):
Statoliths in Corn Root Caps
Effects of Weightlessness on Aging of Brain Cells Getaway Specials (2):
Capillary Pump Loop (CPL)
Physics of Solids and Liquids in Zero Gravity
Educational Experiments (Toys in Space)
Medical Experiments
Protein Crystal Growth Experiment
Phase Partitioning Experiment
Astronomy Photography Verification Experiment
Highlights: Deployment of Telesat (Anik) satellite
Deployment of Syncom-IV (LEASAT) satellite
First public official to fly aboard a Space Shuttle
SUMMARY OF MAJOR ACTIVITIES
FLIGHT DAY 1
Ascent
SRB Ignition
Pitchover
Max Dynamic Pressure
SRB Separation
Main Engine Cutoff
External Tank Separation
OMS-2
External Tank Tracking at Hawaii
On Orbit
Payload Bay Doors Open
AFE Activities
CFES Activation
TV-Deploy Activities
Telesat Deploy
OMS-3 Sep Maneuver
Sleep
FLIGHT DAY 2
Awake
TV-Deploy Activities
Syncom Deploy
OMS-4 Sep Maneuver
CFES Activities
GAS Activities
VTR Playback - Syncom Deploy
GAS Activities
Sleep
FLIGHT DAY 3
Awake
CFES Activities
TV Cabin Activities
AFE Activities
Sleep
FLIGHT DAY 4
Awake
CFES Activities
TV-Cabin Activities
AFE Activities
Sleep
FLIGHT DAY 5
Awake
CFES Activities
RCS Hot Fire Test
TV - Crew Press Conference
GAS Activities
AFE Activities
CFES Deactivation
Sleep
FLIGHT DAY 6
Awake
Student Experiments -- Corn Roots
Begin Deorbit Preparation
Descent
Deorbit Burn
Entry Interface
Begin S-Band Blackout
End S-Band Blackout
Entry/TAEM Interface
Landing (KSC Runway 15)
51-D TRAJECTORY SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
____________________________________________________________ ______________
EVENT TIG BURN DELTA V
POST BURN
MET DURATION (Ft.Per.Sec.)
Apogee/Perigee
(D:H:M) (Sec)
(S.Mi.)
____________________________________________________________ ______________
Liftoff 0:00:00
SRB Separation 0:00:02
MECO 0:00:09
ET Separation 0:00:09
OMS-2 0:00:43 144 230 185 x
281
Deploy Telesat 0:09:39 184 x
281
(Orbit 7)
Separation
Burn (OMS-3) 0:09:54 09 11 192 x
283
Deploy Syncom
Orbit 17 1:01:00 191 x
281
Separation
Burn (OMS-4) 1:01:15 11 15 201 x
283
Deorbit Burn
Orbit 78 (OMS) 4:23:03 266 495
Entry Interface
Orbit 79 4:23:40
KSC Landing
Orbit 79 5:00:11 (8:15 a.m. EST)
Cargo Configuration
STS 51-D (R) PAYLOAD AND VEHICLE WEIGHTS SUMMARY
Pounds
Telesat-I (Anik C-1) 7,386
Pallet - Attach Structure 2,406
Syncom-IV (LEASAT) 15,190
Pallet - Attach Structure 1,810
American Flight Echocardiograph (AFE) 89
Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES III) 791
Student Experiments 50
Getaway Specials (2) 876
Total Payload Bay and Middeck Summary 28,747
Orbiter Plus Cargo at Liftoff 248,927
Total Vehicle Stack at Liftoff 4,504,882
LEASAT 3 (SYNCOM IV-3)
LEASAT 3, also known as Syncom IV-3, is the third of four satellites which
will be leased by the Department of Defense to replace older FleetSatCom
spacecraft for worldwide UHF communications between ships, planes and fixed
facilities. A Hughes HS381 design, LEASAT spacecraft are designed expressly
for launch from the Space Shuttle and use the unique "frisbee" or rollout
method of deployment. The first two spacecraft were deployed during the 41-D
and 51-A Shuttle missions.
Interface between the spacecraft and the payload bay is accomplished with
a cradle structure. The cradle permits the spacecraft to be installed lying on
its side, with its retracted antennas pointing toward the nose of the orbiter
and its propulsion system pointing toward the back. Mounting the antennas on
deployable structures allows them to be stowed for launch.
Five trunnions (four longeron and one keel) are used to attach the cradle
to the Shuttle. Five similarly located internal attach points are used to
attach the spacecraft to the cradle.
Another unique feature of the LEASAT series of satellites is no
requirement for a separately purchased upper stage, as have all the other
communications satellites launched to date from the Shuttle.
The LEASAT satellites contain their own unique upper stage to transfer
them from the Shuttle deploy orbit of about 182 mi. to a circular orbit 22,300
mi. over the equator.
Each satellite is 20 ft. long with UHF and onmidirectional antennas
deployed. Total payload weight in the Shuttle is 17,000 lb. The satellite's
weight on station at the beginning of its planned 7-year life will be nearly
7,900 lb. Hughes Space and Communications Group builds the satellites.
Ejection of the spacecraft from the Shuttle is initiated when locking pins
at the four contact points are retracted. An explosive device then releases a
spring that ejects the space craft in a "frisbee" motion. This gives the
satellite its separation velocity and gyroscopic stability during the 45-minute
coast period between deployment and ignition of the perigee kick motor. The
satellite separates from the Shuttle at a velocity of about 1.5 feet per
second and a spin rate of about 2 rpm.
A series of maneuvers, performed over a period of several days, will be
required to place LEASAT into its synchronous orbit over the equator. The
process starts 45 minutes after deployment from Discovery with the ignition of
the solid propellant perigee motor, identical to that used as the third stage
of the Minuteman missile, which will raise the high point of the satellite's
orbit to about 9,600 mi.
Two liquid fuel engines that burn hypergolic propellants, monodimethyl
hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, are used to augment the velocity on
successive perigee transits, to circularize the orbit and to align the flight
path with the equator. The first of three such maneuvers raises the apogee to
12,300 mi., the second raises the apogee to 16,100 mi. and the third to
geosynchronous orbital altitude. At this point the satellite is in a transfer
orbit with a 182-mi. perigee and a 22,300-mi. apogee. The final maneuver, again
performed by the liquid propellant engines, circularizes the orbit at the
apogee altitude.
Hughes Communications Services, Inc., will operate the worldwide LEASAT
satellite communications system under a contract with the Department of
Defense, with the U.S. Navy acting as the executive agent. The system will
include five LEASAT satellites, one of which will be a spare, and the
associated ground facilities. Users will include mobile air, surface,
subsurface and fixed Earth stations of the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and
Army. The satellites will occupy geostationary positions south of the United
States and over the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
ANIK C-1 (TELESAT-I)
Anik C-1 is owned and operated by Telesat Canada, Ottawa. Anik C-1 is the
last of Telesat's trio of 14/12 GHz Anik C satellites. Anik C-1 will be the
first satellite placed in final orbit using Telesat's new global tracking
antenna system.
Anik C communications satellites are identical, cylindrical,
spin-stabilized spacecraft that operate exclusively in the high frequency (14
and 12 GHz) satellite radio bands, with 16 transponders (communications
repeaters) each.
Each of these 16 satellite channels is capable of carrying two color TV
signals, together with their associated audio and cue and control circuits, for
a total TV signal capacity of 32 programs per satellite. Anik C-3 and Anik C-2
are currently carrying Canadian pay television service, educational
broadcasting and long distance telephone and data traffic.
Upon launch from the orbiter by springs, the 2,557-lb. satellite will be
spinning at about 50 rpm for stability. About 45 minutes later, or one-half
Earth orbit, its PAM-D boost motor will be ignited by an onboard timer, kicking
the satellite into an approximately 190-by-23,000-mi. elliptical orbit. At a
selected high point in that orbit, another, smaller rocket motor inside the
satellite will be fired by ground controllers to increase the satellite's
speed and circularize the orbit at geosynchronous altitude of roughly 22,300
mi.
Controllers will then properly orient the spacecraft, despin its antenna
section to point at Earth, extend the lower skirt to expose additional solar
cell banks and begin circuit testing in preparation for commercial use.
Anik C-1 was built for Telesat Canada by Hughes Aircraft Co., Los Angeles,
with Spar Aerospace Ltd. and other Canadian companies as subcontractors.
CONTINUOUS FLOW ELECTROPHORESIS SYSTEM
The middeck Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) unit will make
its sixth spaceflight on mission 51-D. Payload specialist Charles D. Walker,
of McDonnell Douglas, will operate the system. This is the second Space
Shuttle flight for Walker as a payload specialist.
The primary objectives of the flight are to separate and collect a
quantity of protein material and to evaluate contamination control and sample
stream dynamics.
McDonnell Douglas expects to process 1.1 liters of concentrated protein
material over the course of 3 flight days. On the final flight day, nine
separate tests will be conducted to determine the optimum ratio between sample
and buffer concentrations.
During the 41-D mission early last fall, the middeck CFES unit separated
83 percent of the concentrated protein material on board. However, post flight
assays revealed levels of endotoxin contamination which rendered the hormone
unsuitable for animal testing. To prevent a recurrence, stronger sterilizing
chemicals will be used preflight to cleanse the middeck unit. Also, procedures
have been modified to maintain cooler operating temperatures throughout the
course of the mission in an effort to retard bacterial growth.
These changes proved successful in maintaining acceptable levels of
sterility during recent CFES flight simulations with the middeck hardware.
These simulations were conducted in Florida prior to the hardware's
installation onboard the orbiter.
Additionally, the degassing units and sensors which failed during the
August mission have been replaced. Software modifications have been made to
the system's computer control device to lengthen the unit's response time
between commands. Difficulties in the automation software were causing the
system to adjust too quickly.
Once each day Walker will test for the presence of microbes and
endotoxins. These tests will be made by withdrawing a small sample of fluid
from five locations and incubating them in vials which have been loaded
previously with freeze-dried reactants.
Although there are no corrective actions possible during flight, this
information will be helpful in determining possible sources of contamination.
When the McDonnell Douglas hormone material is returned to St. Louis, it
will be stored in a frozen state. A third middeck production flight has been
scheduled for later this year. It is hoped that sufficient material will be
available from the two flights to allow Ortho Pharmaceuticals,
theco-experimenter with McDonnell Douglas, to begin the necessary testing to
obtain Food and Drug Administration approval.
Because of delays in producing sufficient test material, McDonnell
Douglas-Ortho now believes it will be some time in 1988 before the first
product will be available for market.
PROTEIN CRYSTAL GROWTH EXPERIMENT
Detailed knowledge of the composition and structure of proteins is
extremely important to the understanding of their nature, chemistry and the
ability to manufacture them for medical purposes. However, for most complex
proteins, it has not been possible to grow, on Earth, crystals large enough to
permit X-ray or neutron diffraction analyses to obtain this information.
A device has been developed by Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville,
Ala., that should enable the growth of such crystals in the weightlessness of
orbital spaceflight where gravity-driven convection currents are minimized, and
where the crystals do not sediment but remain suspended while they develop
optimum size and conformation.
The first exploratory flight of such equipment involves the use of a small
device that will fit within a part of a standard middeck locker. McDonnell
Douglas Astronautics has agreed to include this unit in one of the middeck
lockers used in conjunction with the flight of the CFES experiment on this
flight.
The CFES payload specialist, Charles Walker, has been trained in the
preparation of the unit.
A key objective of the overall protein crystal growth program is to enable
drug design without the present empirical approach to enzyme engineering and
the manufacture of chometherapeutic agents.
The Commercial Development Division of the Office of Commercial Programs
and the Microgravity Science and Applications Division of the Office of Space
Science and Applications are the program sponsors of the Protein Crystal Growth
program. Marshall Space Flight Center is responsible for mission
implementation.
SHUTTLE STUDENT INVOLVEMENT PROGRAM
Two Space Shuttle Student Involvement Program experiments will fly aboard
Shuttle mission 51-D.
Statoliths in Corn Root Caps
One experiment, proposed by Sean Amberg of Seward, Neb., is titled
"Statoliths in Corn Root Caps." This experiment will look at the effect of
weightlessness on the formation of statoliths (gravity sensing organs) in
plants, and will be tested by exposing plants with capped and uncapped roots to
space flight. The root caps of the flight and control plants will be examined
post-flight by an electron microscope for statolith changes. Amberg's
experiment is being sponsored by Martin Marietta Aerospace, Denver.
Effect of Weightlessness on the Aging of Brain Cells
The second student experiment is "The Effect of Weightlessness on the
Aging of Brain Cells," proposed by Andrew Fras of Binghamton, N.Y. This
experiment (using houseflies) is expected to show accelerated aging in their
brain cells, based on an increased accumulation of age pigment in, and
deterioration of, the neurons.
AMERICAN FLIGHT ECHOCARDIOGRAPH
Understanding the effects of weightlessness on the cardiovascular system
of astronauts is important for both personal and operational safety reasons.
The dynamics of the heart pump action is one possible factor in the adaptation
of the cardiovascular system to weightlessness.
Equipment and techniques using very high frequency sound waves have been
developed to produce excellent data with respect to proposed mechanisms for
cardiovascular responses to space flight. They are safe and non-evasive.
The newly available American Flight Echocardiograph (AFE) instrument will
be used to acquire in-flight data on these effects during the course of space
adaptation for the purpose of developing optimal counter measures to crew
cardiovascular changes (particularly during reentry) and to ensure long-term
safety to people living in weightlessness.
The AFE weighs about 43 lb. and will be carried within a standard locker
from which it will be operated. One crewmember has been trained in the
technique of obtaining clinical grade self-administered echocardiograms, to be
taken as soon as possible after orbit insertion, midway through Flight Day 1,
and prior to sleep on Day 1. An echocardiogram will then be taken once a day
on each remaining flight day.
Echocardiograms may be also obtained on other crewmembers, as time
permits. This is the first of at least three flights planned for the AFE.
The Life Sciences Division of NASA's Office of Space Science and
Applications is the sponsor of the AFE which was developed by the Johnson Space
Center.
GETAWAY SPECIALS
G-0471 - Capillary Pump Loop Experiment (CPL)
The principle that trees and other plants transport water and nutrients
from their roots to their leaves may provide designers with answers to
temperature control requirements in space stations and other spacecraft.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., is conducting an
experiment on mission 51-D to determine the capability of a system similar to
that employed by Mother Nature in the plant kingdom.
The experiment consists of two capillary pump evaporators with heaters and
is designed to demonstrate that such a system can be used under zero-gravity
conditions of spaceflight to provide thermal control of scientific instruments,
advanced orbiting spacecraft and space station components.
The capillary pumps have no moving parts but contain wicks of porous
material saturated with fluid. As heat is added to the fluid, it evaporates
and travels at nearly a constant temperature from the heat source to a
condenser. The difference from the plant system is that the CPL returns the
fluid directly to the pumps while the plants return the fluid to roots by
condensation of water from clouds in the form of rain.
During the Shuttle flight the experiment will be turned on within 24 hours
of launch and continue for at least 60 hours and up to 96 hours, if possible.
Principle investigator for the CPL experiment is Roy McIntosh of the
Goddard Space Flight Center.
G-0035 - Physics of Solids and Liquids in Zero Gravity
The Asahi National Broadcasting Co., Ltd., Tokyo, with Kazuo Fujimoto as
the payload manager, will conduct two kinds of experiments in
weightlessness.The experiment was originally flown on Shuttle mission 41-G in
October 1984. However, it was unsuccessful and is being reflown on 51-D after
having been repaired.
One experiment is designed to provide clear-cut answers on what happens
when a metal or plastic (solid) is allowed to collide with a water ball
(liquid) in weightlessness. The behavior of the metal or plastic ball and the
water ball after collision will be observed on video systems.
The other experiment is designed to produce five kinds of new materials
simultaneously in space. The formation of crystals of three metal alloys and
two glass composites in five small electrical furnaces will be observed.
PHASE PARTITIONING EXPERIMENT
Phase partitioning is a selective, yet gentle and inexpensive technique,
ideal for the separation of biomedical materials such as cells and proteins.
It involves establishing a two-phase system by adding various polymers to a
water solution containing the materials to be separated. Two phase systems
most familiar to us are oil and water or cream and milk. When two phase
polymer systems are established, the biomedical material they contain tend to
separate or "partition" into the different phases.
Theoretically, phase partitioning should separate cells with
significantly higher resolution than is presently obtained in the laboratory.
It is believed that when the phases are emulsified on Earth, the rapid,
gravity-driven fluid movements occurring as the phases coalesce tend to
randomize the separation process. It is expected that the theoretical
capabilities of phase partitioning systems can be more closely approached in
the weightlessness of orbital spaceflight where gravitational effects of
buoyancy and sedimentation are minimized.
The first exploratory flight of Phase Partitioning Experiment (PPE)
equipment involves the use of a small, handheld device, a little larger than a
cigarette box and weighing about 1 pound. This unit will fit within a small
part of a standard middeck locker. On flight 51-D, it is planned that payload
specialist Sen. Jake Garn will conduct this experiment in addition to some
investigations in the space adaptation syndrome. The unit has 15 chambers to
allow the test of different volume ratios and compositions of the phases and
differences in wall coatings with in the chambers.
The Microgravity Science and Applications Division of the Office of Space
Science and Applications sponsors the experiment. Marshall Space Flight Center
is responsible for mission implementation.
MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS
E.J. "Jake" Garn, a U.S. Senator from Utah, is the first public official
to fly aboard the Space Shuttle. Garn is onboard as a payload specialist and
Congressional observer. As payload specialist, he will carry out medical
physiological tests and measurements.
About half of the tests are being performed in the U.S. space program for
the first time, having been deferred from previous missions because of limited
crewmember time or moved to 51-D from later flights because of the availability
of a test subject.
Tests on Garn will seek to detect and record changes the body undergoes in
weightlessness, an ongoing program that began with astronauts on the fourth
Shuttle flight.
The first, during launch, has Garn wearing a waist belt with two
stethoscope microphones fastened to an elastic bandage. At main engine cutoff,
about 8 1/2 minutes into the flight, the belt is plugged into a portable tape
recorder stored in the seat flight bag and begins recording bowel sounds to
evaluate early inflight changes in gastric mobility.
An electrocardiogram will record electrical heart rhythm in the event of
space motion sickness in orbit.
Garn also will be launched with a leg plethysmography stocking to measure
leg volume. It will record the shifting of fluids during adaptation to
weightlessness.
Blood pressure and heart rate will be recorded in orbit and during entry.
Another test will measure Garn's height and girth in space to determine
the amount of growth and change in body shape associated with weightlessness.
Space travelers may grow up to 2 inches while weightless.
Whether medication dosage on Earth is adequate in space will be tested
with acetaminophen, a non-aspirin pain killer. Garn's saliva will be collected
for analysis after each dose.
A non-medical activity planned for Garn is the Phase Partitioning
Experiment (PPE) in which fluid mixtures of different densities are
photographed to analyze the characteristics of their separation during
weightlessness.
TOYS IN SPACE
The 5l-D crew will demonstrate the behavior of simple toys in a weightless
environment. The results, recorded and video taped, will become part of a
curriculum package for elementary and junior high students through the Houston
Museum of Natural Science.
Studies have shown that students can learn physics concepts by watching
mechanical systems in action. In an Earth-based classroom, the gravitational
field has a constant value of 1-g. Although the gravity force varies greatly
throughout the universe and in non-inertial reference frames, students can only
experiment in a constant 1-g environment. The filming of simple generic-
motion toys in the zero-g environment of the Space Shuttle will enable students
of all ages to share a learning experience and discover how the different toy
mechanical systems work without gravity.
The following members of the 5l-D crew will demonstrate the effects of
weightlessness on "dime-store" toys:
* Karol Bobko -- a spinning top and three unrestrained gyroscopes;
* Donald Williams -- a spring-wound flipping mouse and a paddle ball.
He will also try to perform a juggling act in
zero-g;
*Rhea Seddon -- a ball and jacks and a Slinky;
* David Griggs -- a yo-yo;
*Jeffrey Hoffman -- a Wheelo, magnetic marbles and a spring-wound,
Carolyn Sumners, Director of Astronomy and Physics, Houston Museum of
Natural Science, is directing the Toys in Space curriculum program. This
program is being funded by a Department of Education grant to the University of
Houston. The results of the toy experiments in space will be made available to
school districts around the country through the National Diffusion Network.
ASTRONOMY PHOTOGRAPHY VERIFICATION TEST
An experiment to test low light level photographic equipment, in
preparation for next year's visit by Halley's Comet, is planned.
Mission specialist Jeffrey A. Hoffman, an astronomer and astrophysicist,
will check out an image intensifier coupled with a Nikon camera, a combination
that intensifies usable light by a factor of about 10,000.
Originally developed to photograph and study the Shuttle orbiter's skin,
Hoffman believes the equipment can be used to observe objects of astronomical
interest through the Shuttle's windows.
One of them is Comet Halley when it is closest to the sun late next year.
At that time, it will be under its greatest influence of the solar winds and
most difficult to observe from the surface of the Earth.
During this mission, Hoffman will photograph objects at various distances
from the sun when it is below the horizon, similar to lighting conditions next
year when the comet appears.
51-D FLIGHT CREW DATA
KAROL J. BOBKO, 47, Colonel, USAF, commands the mission. Born in New York
City, he became a NASA astronaut in 1969.
Bobko was pilot for STS-6, launched from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., April
4, 1983. During this maiden voyage of the spacecraft Challenger, the crew
deployed a communications satellite (TDRS).
Bobko was a crew member on the Skylab Medical Experiments Altitude Test
(SMEAT), a 56-day ground simulation of the Skylab Mission, enabling crewmen to
collect medical experiments baseline data and evaluate equipment, operations
and procedures.
A graduate of the Air Force Academy in 1959, Bobko received a bachelor of
science degree. He earned a master of science degree in aerospace engineering
from the University of Southern California in 1970. Bobko has logged more than
5,600 hours in fighter, trainer and other aircraft.
DONALD E. WILLIAMS, 42, Commander, USN, pilot, will make his first flight
on 51-D. A native of Lafayette, Ind., he was graduated from Purdue University
in 1964 with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering.
Commissioned through the NROTC program at Purdue, he was fighter pilot and
flight instructor, and made four Vietnam deployments aboard the USS Enterprise,
completing a total 330 combat missions. He has logged more than 4,000 hours
flying time, including 3,800 in jets and 745 carrier landings.
Williams became a NASA astronaut in 1978. He worked as test pilot in the
Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory at JSC and also participated in Orbiter
test, checkout, launch and landing operations at the Kennedy Space Center. He
was Deputy Manager of Operations Integration of the National Space
Transportation System Program Office at the Johnson Space Center until his
selection as pilot for mission 51-D.
M. RHEA SEDDON, 37, M.D., a native of Murfreesboro, Tenn., is one of three
mission specialists. Selected as a NASA astronaut in 1978, she will make her
first space flight on 51-D.
At NASA, Seddon's work has touched on a variety of areas including orbiter
and payload software, avionics, flight data file, the Shuttle medical kit and
checklist, and serving as launch and landing rescue helicopter physician.
Seddon received a bachelor of arts degree in physiology from the
University of California, Berkeley, and a doctorate of medicine from the
University of Tennessee.
S. DAVID GRIGGS, 45, Captain, USNR, is a mission specialist. He became an
astronaut in 1978. He will make his first flight in space on mission 51-D. A
native of Portland, Ore., Griggs received a bachelor of science degree from the
U.S. Naval Academy in 1962 and master of science in administration from George
Washington University in 1970.
A research pilot at the Johnson Space Center since 1970, he was project
pilot for the Shuttle Trainer Aircraft which he helped design, develop and
test.
Griggs became Chief of the Shuttle Training Aircraft Operations Office in
1976, a post he held until his selection as an astronaut candidate. Special
honors include the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross, 15 Air Medals and three
Navy Commendation Medals. He has logged 7,500 hours flying time -- 6,500 in
jet aircraft.
JEFFREY A. HOFFMAN, 40, Ph.D., a mission specialist, will make his first
space flight on 51-D. An astronaut since 1978, Hoffman worked in the Flight
Simulation Laboratory at Rockwell International in Downey, Calif., testing
guidance, navigation and flight control systems during preparations for Shuttle
orbital flight tests.
Born in Scarsdale, N.Y., Hoffman received a bachelor of arts degree in
astronomy from Amherst College and a doctor of philosophy in astrophysics from
Harvard.
Hoffman's research interests are in high-energy astrophysics -- cosmic
gamma ray and X-ray astronomy. His doctoral work at Harvard was the design,
construction, testing and flight of a balloon-borne, low-energy gamma ray
telescope. Hoffman has been named as a mission specialist for another Space
Shuttle flight in March of 1986.
CHARLES D. WALKER, 36, is one of two payload specialists. He is chief
test engineer for the McDonnell Douglas Electrophoresis Operations in Space
project.
Walker will operate the materials processing equipment, a project aimed at
separating large quantities of biological materials in space for ultimate use
in new pharmaceuticals.
Walker was graduated from Purdue University in 1971 with a bachelor of
science degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. Prior to joining
McDonnell Douglas, he was project engineer responsible for computer-based
manufacturing process controls and design of ordnance production equipment at
the Naval Sea Systems Command Engineering Center, Crane, Ind. Walker flew as
payload specialist on mission 41-D, operating the materials processing
equipment.
E.J. "JAKE" GARN, 52, U.S. Senator, is a payload specialist. A native of
Richfield, Utah, Garn will take part in medical tests and carry out other tasks
designated by NASA. He is the first public official to fly aboard the Space
Shuttle.
Garn was graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor of science
degree in business and finance. A former insurance executive, he served as a
pilot in the U.S. Navy. He has flown more than 10,000 hours in military and
civilian aircraft.
Prior to election to the U.S. Senate in 1974, he served on the Salt Lake
City Commission for 4 years and was elected mayor in 1971. He was elected to a
second term in the Senate in 1980. Garn has been associated with NASA programs
for more than 10 years. He was a member of the Aeronautics and Space
Committee during his first 2 years in the Senate, and for the the past 4 years
has been chairman of the HUD and Independent Agencies Sub committee, which
provides funding for NASA programs.
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