Freestar Microgravity Research Mission
Mission Description:
STS-107 will give more than 70 international scientists access to the microgravity environment of
space, and a set of seven human researchers, for 16 uninterrupted days.
Space Shuttle Columbia will carry
a Spacehab Research Double Module
(RDM) in its payload bay. Together, the RDM
and the shuttle's middeck will contain the
maj ority of the mission's experiments.
There are also six experiments on a pallet in
Columbia's payload bay - the Fast Reaction
Experiments Enabling Science, Technology,
Applications and Research (FREESTAR),
which is mounted on a bridge-like structure
spanning the width of the payload bay.
STS-107 Status
Updated: 13 Jan 2003
MISSION STS-107 -SPACEHAB/ FREESTAR MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH MISSION
- VEHICLE - Columbia/OV-102
- TARGET LAUNCH DATE: Jan. 16, 2003
- TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- TARGET LANDING DATE: Feb. 1, 2003
- MISSION DURATION: 16 days
- CREW: Husband, McCool, Anderson, Chawla, Brown, Clark, Ramon
- ORBITAL INSERTION ALTITUDE AND INCLINATION: 150 nautical miles/39 degrees
Shuttle Processing Note: The launch countdown began late last night for
Shuttle Columbia's Spacehab microgravity research mission scheduled to
launch this Thursday, Jan. 16. Work continues at Pad 39-A with preparations
in work for loading the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the Power
Reactant Storage and Distribution System. Due to the quantity and nature of
research to be performed on this mission, technicians have begun
preparations to load late stow payloads. Tomorrow will begin the 16-hour
task of loading the late stow payloads and experiments into the Spacehab
module.
Mission managers met last night to discuss the status of the ongoing
engineering analysis of a surface crack that was found on a 2.25-inch
diameter metal ball associated with the Ball Strut Tie Rod Assembly (BSTRA)
inside Discovery's 17-inch liquid oxygen line. No inspections were performed
on Columbia. The results of the testing have given the Space Shuttle program
enough confidence to begin the countdown, with the final launch rationale to
be presented at the standard meeting held two days prior to launch.
The STS-107 crew members arrived last night at the Shuttle Landing Facility
at Kennedy Space Center in preparations for their launch on Thursday.
Weather forecasters predict a favorable outlook for a launch attempt on
Thursday, with only a 5 percent chance of weather prohibiting launch.
STS-107 Experiments
STS-107 Experiments
Biology
1. Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC):
Development of Gravity Sensitive Plant Cells in
Microgravity
2. Biotechnology Demonstration System (BDS-05)
3. European Space Agency BIOPACK: Bacterial
Physiology and Virulence on Earth and in Microgravity
4. Fundamental Rodent Experiments Supporting Health
(FRESH-02): Anatomical Studies of Central Vestibular
Adaptation
5. Fundamental Rodent Experiments Supporting Health
(FRESH-02): Arterial Remodeling and Functional
Adaptations Induced by Microgravity
6. Fundamental Rodent Experiments Supporting Health
(FRESH-02): Choroidal Regulation Involved in the
Cerebral Fluid Response to Altered Gravity
7. Magnetic Field Apparatus (MFA/BIOTUBE): Application
of Physical and Biological Techniques to Study the
Gravisensing and Response System of Plants
Biomedical Research & Countermeasures
1. Calcium Kinetics During Spaceflight
2. Flight Induced Changes in Immune Defenses
3. Incidence of Latent Virus Shedding During Spaceflight
4. Microbial Physiology Flight Experiments: Effects of
Microgravity on Microbial Physiology and Spaceflight
Effects on Fungal Growth, Metabolism and Sensitivity
to Anti-fungal Drugs
5. Protein Turnover During Spaceflight
6. Renal Stone Risk During Spaceflight
7. Sleep-Wake Actigraphy and Light Exposure During
Spaceflight
Earth & Space Sciences
1. Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment (MEIDEX)
2. Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Localized
Exhaust (SIMPLEX)
3. Shuttle Ozone Limb Sounding Experiment-2
(SOLSE-2)
4. Solar Constant Experiment (SOLCON-3)
Physical Sciences
1. Combustion Module-2 (CM-2)
2. Critical Viscosity of Xenon-2 (CVX-2)
3. Laminar Soot Processes-2 (LSP-2)
4. Mechanics of Granular Materials-3 (MGM-3)
5. Space Acceleration Measurement System Free Flyer
(SAMS-FF) and Orbiter Acceleration Research
Experiment (OARE)
6. Structures of Flame Balls at Low Lewis-number
(SOFBALL)
Space Product Development
1. ASTROCULTURE
2. Commercial Instrumentation Technology Associates
Inc. Biomedical Experiments Payload (CIBX-2)
3. Commercial Protein Crystal Growth Protein
Crystallization Facility (CPCG-H)
4. Water Mist Fire Suppression Experiment (MIST)
5. Zeolite Crystal Growth (ZCG)
Technology Development
1. Low Power Transceiver (LPT)
2. Ram Burn Observations (RAMBO)
3. Vapor Compression Distillation Flight Experiment
(VCD FE)
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