NASA Space Shuttle STS-51G Press Kit
NASA Space Shuttle STS-51G Press Kit
NASA Space Shuttle STS-51G Press Kit
SPACE SHUTTLE
MISSION
STS-51G
PRESS KIT
JUNE 1985
The NASA insignia design for space shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as
the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by
the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which we do not anticipate, it will be
publicly announced.
CONTACTS
James Elliott
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
(Phone: 301/344-6256)
David Alter
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone: 713/483-5111)
Jim Ball
Kennedy Space Center, FL
(Phone: 305/867-2468)
Ralph Jackson
Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA
(Phone: 805/258-8381)
CONTENTS
GENERAL RELEASE 5
51-G BRIEFING SCHEDULE 7
GENERAL INFORMATION 8
SHUTTLE MISSION 51-G -- QUICK LOOK FACTS 9
TRAJECTORY SEQUENCE OF EVENTS 11
SUMMARY OF MAJOR ACTIVITIES 12
51-G PAYLOAD AND VEHICLE WEIGHTS SUMMARY 13
GETAWAY SPECIALS 21
Liquid Sloshing Behavior in Microgravity 21
Slipcasting under Microgravity Conditions 21
Fundamental Studies in Manganese-Bismuth 21
Texas Student Experiments 22
Space Ultraviolet Radiation Experiment 22
Capillary Pump Loop 22
Also aboard are three west German small self-contained payloads, also known as Getaway Specials.
Discovery's fifth launch is scheduled for no earlier than 7:33 a.m. EDT on June 17, 1985, from Complex
39-A at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Aboard the ship will be a crew of seven, commanded by Shuttle veteran Daniel Brandenstein, pilot on the
eighth Shuttle mission. He will be joined by pilot John Creighton and mission specialists Shannon Lucid,
Steven Nagel and John Fabian. Fabian is also a Shuttle veteran, having flown on STS-7.
French Payload Specialist Patrick Baudry will carry out biomedical experiments similar to those flown by a
French cosmonaut aboard a Soviet manned mission. Sultan Salman Al-Saud will conduct 70 mm
photography over Saudi Arabia, photograph a fluids experiment and participate in the French Postural
Experiment.
Discovery's payload bay will have a full load with the three communications satellites, a
deployable/retrievable spacecraft called Spartan 1 and six Getaway Special canisters. Several mid-deck
experiments will also be flown, including one for the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization and a
materials processing furnace.
The Shuttle will be launched from KSC into a 220-mile orbit inclined 28.45 degrees to the Earth's equator.
The mission is planned for 7 days.
The Mexican communications spacecraft is called Morelos-A. It is a version of she Hughes US 376
satellite, a number of which have already been deployed by the Space Shuttle. Morelos-A is the first of two
domestic communications satellites that will provide advanced telecommunications to even the most
remote parts of Mexico.
Morelos will be deployed on the first day of the flight on Discovery s sixth orbit of the Earth.
Arabsat-A is owned by the Arab Satellite Communications Organization. Built by Aerospatiale, it will
provide telecommunications links between the member nations. Arabsat will be deployed from the Shuttle
5 cargo bay about 26 hours into the flight during orbit 18.
Telstar 3-D is an American domestic communications satellite owned by American Telephone and
Telegraph (AT&T). Telstar 3-D will provide telecommunications services to the continental United States,
Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. It will be deployed from the Shuttle on orbit 32 just before the 48-hour
point in the mission.
All three communications spacecraft will be spring-ejected from the cargo bay of the orbiter. On each, a
small attached rocket called the Payload Assist Module will be ignited about 45 minutes after deployment.
Between deployment and PAM ignition, the Shuttle will be maneuvered to a safe distance. The end
effector camera on the robot arm will be used to observe the perigee kick motor firing on each of the
spacecraft.
A second small rocket motor is then fired on each spacecraft to circularize the orbit at that distance. The
period of a satellite in geosynchronous orbit is synchronized with the Earth's rotation so it always remains
over the same region of the globe.
This characteristic enables continuous communications services to he provided to a broad region of Earth
directly beneath the spacecraft.
Spartan is designed to carry a variety of experiments. The name is an acronym standing for Shuttle Pointed
Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy. It can be deployed, flown in formation with the orbiter and
then can be retrieved and returned to Earth.
Using the Shuttle’s remote manipulator arm, Spartan will be deployed on flight day 4 and will be retrieved
on the sixth day of the mission.
X-Ray sensors aboard Spartan 1 will search for hot gas clouds in galaxy clusters and perform a survey of
X-Ray sources in our own galaxy -- the Milky Way.
The Spartan program is an extension of the NASA sounding rocket program and is sponsored by the
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., to provide low-cost, high-quality observations.
Payload specialist Baudry and the French biomedical experiments had been scheduled to fly on mission 51-
E in early March. When that flight was canceled, Baudry and the experiments were reassigned to flight 51-
G.
The French Postural Experiment (EPE) will help scientists better understand the human body's postural
adaptation in space, while the French Echocardiograph Experiment will investigate other aspects of space
adaptation.
Another middeck experiment, the Automated Directional Solidification Furnace, is located in three
middeck lockers and will be used for materials processing research.
The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization is flying an experiment called the High-Precision Tracking
Experiment.
There are six Getaway Specials mounted along the sides of Discovery's payload bay. The three West
German payloads will be used to study materials processing in space and the behavior of liquid propellants.
The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Naval Research Laboratory are sponsoring an investigation of the ultraviolet
radiation environment in space in another Getaway Special canister. A fifth canister contains a package of
nine student experiments in biological and physical science. A Goddard Space Flight Center investigation
of a developmental beat transfer system is in the sixth canister.
Discovery 5 return to Earth is planned to begin with a deorbit burn at 7 days 40 minutes into the flight on
orbit 111.
Landing on the dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., will occur almost exactly I hour later, at
about 9:14 a.m. EDT, June 24, 7 days, 1 hour and 41 minutes mission elapsed time.
T-l Day
T-Day
Times announced on NASA Select Flight Director Change-of- Shift Briefings JSC
Landing Day
The schedule for television transmissions from the orbiter 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-2R, Transponder 13 (half transponder), to carry NASA Select
television from launch through landing. Satcom F-2R is located 72 west longitude. Transponder 13
transmits on a frequency of 3954.5 MHz.
To support commercial/educational users, NASA leases a full transponder during peak hours of Shuttle
flights via Satcom F-lR, Transponder 18. Satcom F-1R (C Band) is located 139 degrees w. longitude.
Transponder 18 transmits on a frequency of 4060.0, horizontal polarization. Operating hours (EDT) are:
Beginning June 12, and continuing throughout the mission, approximately-15 minutes of audio interview
material with the crew of 51-G will be available to broadcasters by calling 202/269-6572.
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.
Window: 4 minutes
Mission Duration: 7 days, land on flight day 8 (111 full orbits, land on 112)
Flight Synopsis: Deploy three communications satellites: Morelos on flight day 1, Arabsat
on day 2 and Telstar, flight day 3. Spartan will be deposited in space by
the Remote Manipulator System (ELMS) robot arm on day 4 and be retrieved
on day 6.
Launch 0:00:00
SRB Sep 0:00:02
MECO 0:00:09
ET Sep 0:00:09
OMS-2 0:00:43 2:58 278 219/220
Deploy Morelos B 0:08:05 219/221
OMS-3 Sep Burn 6 0:08:20 0:09 11 220/227
Deploy Arabsat 1B 01:02:23 220/226
OMS-4 Sep Burn 18 01:02:38 0:09 11 220/234
Deploy Telstar 32 01:23:47 220/232
OMS-5 Sep Burn 32 02:00:02 0:09 11 220/241
Deploy Spartan 51 03:04:28 220/239
RCS 1 51 03:04:34 0:03 1 220/239
RCS 2 51 03:04:49 0:08 2 221/239
RCS Mnvr 67 04:05:21 0:15 4 220/238
RCS Phase Mnvr 77 04:20:41 0:16 4 218/237
RCS Mnvr 78 78 04:22:47 0:.4 0.1 218/238
RCS Mnvr 79 79 04:23:45 0:13 3 219/238
RCS Mnvr 80 80 05:01:06 0:19 5 220/239
Retrieve Spar
OMS-6 Mnvr 82 05:04:44 0:52 87 158/191 (nm)
Deorbit Burn 111 07:00:40 2:38 270 13/220
Entry Interface 112 07:01:10
Landing EDW 17 112 07:01:41
The objectives of these experiments are to obtain on-orbit data regarding the response to weightlessness off
the cardiovascular and sensorimotor systems. The system was previously flown on a Soviet Salyut mission
in July 1982.
These experiments accompany and will be performed by the French payload specialist Patrick Baudry with
participation from other crew members.
The human cardiovascular system is adapted to compensate for the constant pull of gravity on Earth.
During the first few days of spaceflight the crew is subjected to some significant changes as their systems
adapt to the sharp reduction of gravitational effects. Such effects include the temporary pooling of blood in
the head and upper torso, with changes in the size of some heart cavities and flow rates in major arteries..
Data on these changes and the readaptation to gravity after the mission have important implications for
crew health and safety.
The French echocardiograph uses a non-invasive, ultrasonic technique to obtain data on these events. The
equipment weighs 176 pounds and is contained within two middeck double lockers. One double locker
holds the electronics; the second holds the video tape recorder, the control monitor and a stowage drawer.
Payload specialist Baudry will perform the FEE supported by mission specialist Shannon Lucid. The
experiment will be performed at launch plus 4 to 6 hours and one other time during that day. Baudry and
Lucid will then separately perform the experiment at approximately the same time each flight day. Preflight
and post flight collection sessions will be required to correlate data collected in flight.
The echocardiograph was built by Matra-Interelec, Paris, and the sensors were built by the Tours-based
company, Vermon. The principal investigator is L. Pourcelot, University of Tours, and Dr. Antonio Gull,
Toulouse Hospital. The FEE is managed by the Laboratoire de Biophysique Medicale, Faculte de
Medecine, Tours, France.
The human sensorimotor functions may be categorized into four areas: muscular tone, posture, orientation
and movement. All these functional modes interact to operate within the constant field of gravity
experienced on Earth. Without the physical bias and point of reference provided by gravity, these sensor I-
motor functions must adapt. It is the objective of the EPE to learn more of this adaptive process. A better
understanding of this process may provide new insights as to how these functional modes interact on Earth.
Parametric measurements of electromyographic activity of muscles, angular head movement and up-and-
down eye movement will be conducted. Measurements will be obtained using biochemical electronic
sensors, data tape recorders and a camera. The five in-flight objectives of the FPE are: posture and
movement; posture and vision; vestibule-ocular reflex; optokinetic nystagmus (involuntary oscillation);
and spatial memory.
During in-flight operation, the experiment will be conducted on a non-interference basis with the planned
crew activity once a day by two crewmembers throughout the mission. Baudry and the Saudi payload
The FPE equipment weighs 17.6 lb. and is stored in two mid-deck lockers. The experiment hardware was
developed by the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Laboratoire de Physiologie
Neurosensorielle, Paris, and built by three companies -- Aeta, of Velizy; Erems, of Balma: and Comat of
Toulouse --under a CNES contract. principal investigators are Prof. Alain Berthox and Prof. Francis
Lestienne, CNRS. The experiment is managed by Laboratoire de Physiologie Neurosensorielle, CNRS.
Two solar array wings are independently oriented toward the sun by rotational drive assemblies. The arrays
are deployed once the spacecraft has ended the transfer orbit phase of flight.
Once in geosynchronous transfer orbit, the outer panel on each array is deployed with release of four
primary stirrups which hold the arrays. After final firing of the apogee motor, the remaining three panels
are deployed.
C-band transmit and receive antennas are on the east and west sides of the spacecraft. An S-band antenna
faces Earth.
A low-thrust, l00-lb. bipropellant apogee engine is in the main body. Providing a high specific impulse, it
is fired at the transfer-orbit apogee to arrive at the precise geosynchronous orbit.
About 80 seconds after deployment, when Arabsat is about 200 feet from Discovery, the PAM-D is
jettisoned by a signal from the master control station in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, through the COMSAT
Launch Control Center, Washington, D.C. Actuators then deploy Arabsat's solar panels.
The Arabsat spacecraft weighs 2,800 lb. and the PAM-D, 4,863 lb.
Sultan Salman Al-Saud, the Saudi Arabian Arabsat payload specialist, will take part in four scientific
investigations: Earth Observation, Phase Separation, Ionized Gas and French Postural Experiments.
Al-Saud will photograph Saudi Arabia during Discovery's 49 daylight passes over its southwestern region
with a 70 mm camera from orbit. The photographs will be studied by Saudi scientists at the research
institute, the University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. They also will be compared
with previous data from multispectral scanner, thematic mapper and radar images (SIR-A and SIR-B).
Analysis will cover geological features, sand dune morphology, hydrogeological features, turbidity in the
Red Sea, urban areas and forestry.
In another experiment, two liquids which do not mix on Earth will be studied in microgravity. They are
referred to as "phases." Using Phase Separation Experiment hardware developed at the NASA Marshall
Space Flight Center, Al-Saud will place various concentrations of Saudi, Kuwaiti and Algerian oils mixed
with water in a hand-held, transparent Plexiglas container with 15 chambers, each having a small metal
mixing ball. He will shake the container and mount it in front of a fluorescent light, then photograph the
separation and record his observations.
The film will be studied by Saudi investigators at the university of petroleum and Minerals and the
Marshall Space Flight Center. Results may shed light on the process of enhanced oil recovery and behavior
of oil spills and pollution.
Al-Saud will assist French payload specialist Patrick Baudry in the postural Experiment on the adaptation
mechanism of the sensory motor activities. This includes posture stabilization and orientation and the role
of vision in posture control and reflex mechanisms that stabilize the retina. Requiring about 3 hours, the
experiment will be performed before, at the beginning, during the middle and last day of flight two times a
day.
In another activity, Al-Saud will try to observe the crescent of the new moon with the unaided eye from
orbiter windows as it becomes visible close to the western horizon immediately after sunset June 17 or 18
at the end of the Muslim religious holiday, Ramadan
Morelos is a spin-stabilized gyrostat design with a despun antenna and communications payload. Two
cylindrical solar panels, one fixed and one extendable, supply prime power to the spacecraft. At launch,
Morelos is mated to the PAM-II) stage and the antenna reflector and aft solar panel are stowed. The PAM-
fl) stage supplies the necessary impulse for injection into a transfer orbit. Shortly after separation of the
spacecraft from the orbiter Discovery, an omnidirectional antenna is deployed.
Morelos' two cylindrical solar panels telescope when the spacecraft is in orbit. In launch position, with
antenna reflector folded down, Morelos is 9 ft., 4 in, high. In orbit with panels extended and antenna
erected, it is 21 ft., 8 in. high. It is 7 ft., I in. in diameter and weighs 1,422 lb. at the beginning of life in
orbit. Four thrusters using 293 lb. of hydrazine propellant provide orbit and attitude control during the
satellite's 9-year planned mission life.
From low Earth orbit, the cradle's protective sunshield is opened and a spin table at the base spins the
satellite to 55 rpm to provide gyroscopic stability. Four springs push the satellite into space; 45 minutes
later, an onboard sequencer fires the McDonnell Douglas payload assist module. A Morton Thiokol Star
apogee kick motor places the satellite into a circular synchronous orbit. Near its operating position, the
reflector antenna and electronics shelf are despun and achieve close pointing accuracy. The satellite drifts
into final orbit and is placed in operating position with onboard thrusters.
The current AT&T Communications space network consists of two Telstar 3 satellites and two Comstar
satellites leased from COMSAT. AT&T Communications -- the AT&T organization responsible for long-
distance and international services -- launched the first of its Telstar 3 satellites in 1983 on a Delta rocket.
The second rode into space during Discovery's maiden mission in August 1984. This particular satellite is
scheduled to replace a Comstar satellite that is nearing the end of its service life.
Designed for all types of domestic communications, the Telstar 3 satellites operate in the 6/4 GigaHertz C-
band and serve the continental United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or Alaska, depending on exact orbital
placement over the equator. Each satellite is able to relay hundreds of video teleconferences, 24 color
television programs or billions of bits of high speed data and facsimile signals. The third Telstar 3 will be
placed at 125 degrees w. longitude. It has a total of 24 working transponders, the equipment that receives
and transmits communications signals, as well as six amplifiers held in reserve.
In addition, improved batteries and solid state amplifiers will allow the Telstar 3 series of satellites to
operate 3 years longer than the previous generation of satellites -~ for 10 rather than 7 years.
The Telstar 3 series of satellites was designed by AT&T Bell Laboratories and built by the Hughes Aircraft
Corp. using the Hughes 376 spacecraft. Each Telstar 3 satellite consists of two primary sections containing
the communications units and the support systems, surrounded by two concentric cylinders. Once in space,
the outer cylinder drops down about 6 ft. exposing the solar cells on the inner cylinder. With its antenna
fully deployed in space, the satellite will have an overall length of 22.4 fit. and a diameter of 7.1 Et. The
two cylinders are covered with 15,588 solar cells. When the satellite is in the sun's path, these cells, thin
silicon chips, covert solar energy to electrical power to energize the satellite. When not operated by solar
power, the Telstar 3 satellite uses nickel-cadmium, long-life batteries.
The Telstar 3 spacecraft will use a PAM-fl) for transfer orbit insertion. Ground controllers at AT&T's
Hawley, Pa., Satellite Management and control Facility will monitor the satellite until it reaches a selected
apogee, or high point, at which time they will fire the onboard apogee kick motor to circularize the orbit at
the geosynchronous altitude of 22,300 mi.
The primary mission of Spartan 1 is to perform medium resolution mapping of the X-Ray emission from
extended sources and regions, specifically the hot (10,000 degrees C) gas pervading a large cluster of
galaxies in the constellation Perseus and in the galactic center and Sco-X-2. in addition the X-Ray emission
from the nuclear region of our own Milky way galaxy will be mapped.
Spartan 1 is a rectangular structure, 126 by 42 by 48 in.; weight 2,223 lb. including 300 lb. of experiments.
it will be deployed and retrieved using the Canadian-built robot arm. Total deployed time will be
approximately 45 hours.
The satellite is designed to accommodate experiments that require stellar or solar pointing and establishes
its inertial reference using gyros and a cold gas Attitude Control System (ACS). The ACS, controlled by an
internal micro-computer, will obtain an initial fix from the sun and two guide stars, Vega and Deneb, and
then point the detectors at the desired celestial targets.
All scientific and engineering data is recorded by an on-board tape recorder. No telemetry or command link
is provided. Power is provided by internal batteries. When -Spartan is retrieved and the Shuttle returns, the
recording tape will be removed and sent to the Goddard Space Plight Center where scientific data tapes
will be generated.
The Spartan 'family" of short duration satellites are designed to minimize operational interfaces with the
orbiter and crew. The only interfaces are latching, release and berthing support, deployment and retrieval,
and turn-on and checkout by the crew prior to deployment. By keeping the interfaces to a minimum, it is
possible to operate the Spartan autonomously and minimize both demands on the orbiter timeline and
impact on other experiments.
Spartan 1 is built by the Attached Shuttle Payloads Project (ASP) at the Goddard Space Flight Center at a
cost of approximately $3.5 million.
The Spartan program manager is John A. Glaab, Office of Space Science and Applications, NASA
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. ASP project manager at Goddard is Sterling Smith; David Shrewsberry is
the mission manager. The project scientist is Dr. Ray Cruddace at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL),
Washington, D.C., and the principal investigator is Dr. Gilbert Fritz of NRL.
This experiment will examine the behavior of a liquid in a tank under microgravity conditions. It is
representative of phenomena occurring in satellite tanks with liquid propellants. A reference fluid in a
hemispherical model tank will be subjected to linear acceleration inputs of known levels and frequencies.
The dynamic response of the tank liquid system will be recorded and analyzed.
The results will validate and refine mathematical models describing the dynamic characteristics of tank-
fluid systems. This in turn will support the development of future spacecraft tanks, in particular the design
of propellant management devices for surface tension tanks.
The experiment was provided by MBB/ERNO, the prime contractor for the Spacelab. it is mounted on a
Payload Support System (PASS) flight unit, identical to the system designed and developed by
MBB/ERNO for the Federal German materials science project MAUS (in German, the acronym for
materials science autonomous experiments), described below. PASS is a standardized structure, power
supply and data processing unit.
The process of slipcasting uses a ceramic slurry to form complicated shapes of hollow bodies. On Earth,
this process is limited in applications because of gravitational influences on the dispersed particles in the
slurry. sedimentation can be avoided only by the use of materials with equal densities or by the utilization
of a stabilizing additive. However, the latter may be harmful to the desired properties of the slip-cast
product.
The goal of this experiment is to demonstrate with model materials that slipcasting is possible in
microgravity, even with unstabilized suspensions using mixtures of powders with different density, grain-
size and concentration. Ceramic and/or metal powders are homogeneously mixed in solid paraffin. Rods of
these solid slurries are pressed into cartridges against the ends of porous ceramic rods mounted in the lower
halves of the cartridges.
During weightlessness, 13 samples of these solid slurries will be melted. Then slipcasting will be started by
heating the lower parts of the cartridges. After cooling and solidification, the paraffin will preserve the
slipcast layers as well as the residual slurries for later examination with respect to their structure and
particle distribution.
Mission 51-G will be the fifth flight of MAUS payloads, with 10 experiments having been carried into
space since November 19B2. The project is managed by the German Aerospace Research Establishment
(DFVLR) acting on behalf of the German Minister of Research and Technology (BMFT). The industrial
prime contractor is MBB/ERNO.
The objective of the experiment is to produce manganese-bismuth (MnBi) specimens with better magnetic
properties than currently is possible under Earth gravity. other experiments have shown that during melting
and solidification of alloys of the MnBi system in the absence of sedimentation and buoyancy and other
forces promoting segregation, such as surface tension, likewise have no effect. Compared with the original
materials there has been a distinct increase in the proportion of ferromagnetic MnBi.
During this flight, MnBi, having interesting magnetic applications, will be prepared under microgravity
conditions.
This payload features 12 different biological and physical science experiments designed by high school
students from El Paso and Isleta, Texas. The effort was supported financially by the school districts
involved and by businesses and other citizens in the area. A list of experiments, students and their schools
follows;
A 13th experimenter, James Martinez, intends to make a post-flight examination of plant genetic structure
with the returned biological materials.
This experiment has been designed to measure the natural radiation field in the upper atmosphere at
extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths, between 50 and 100 nanometers. The hardware consists of a
spectrometer which separates the wavelength band into two intervals of 128 discrete wavelengths. The
radiation intensity at each wavelength is measured and stored on a tape recorder.
The experiment instrument was developed in the Space Science Division at the Naval Research Laboratory
(NRL) . it is the first of a series to be developed at NRL which ultimately will have the capability of
observing “ionospheric weather.” It is envisioned that someday satellites will be stationed at high altitudes
to provide global pictures of ionospheric weather conditions. Ionospheric storms, or the effects of such
phenomena as solar flares or eruptions, could be monitored and their evolution followed. Effects on
communication systems could be observed immediately anywhere in the world.
The principal investigator of the SURE project is Dr. Robert Conway and the project engineer is Kenneth
wolfram, both of NRL. Co-investigators are Drs. George Carruthers, Robert McCoy, Robert Meier, George
Mount and Dianne Prinz, all of NRL.
This experiment is the first of a thermal control system using capillary pumps. These pumps contain no
moving parts but work on the principle of capillary action by which plants and trees transport water and
nutrients from their roots to their leaves against the force of gravity. The purpose off the experiment is to
demonstrate the thermal control capability of a capillary-pumped system under zero-gravity conditions for
ultimate use in large scientific instruments, advanced orbiting
spacecraft and Space Station components.
Principal investigator is Roy McIntosh of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
The furnace-is specially designed to melt a long, slim magnetic composite sample and then resolidify the
molten metal material with a more uniform distribution of the composite material for further processing.
Four furnace modules are included in the ADSF, each of which will process a single sample. The samples
being used during the 51-G mission are a manganese and bismuth composite. They will be processed
varying the speed of both the melt and resolidification. Material processed during the mission will then be
compared with samples of the same metallic alloys processed in laboratories on Earth.
The ADSF flight hardware is housed in three separate containers. It weighs about 250 lb. and occupies the
space of five crew lockers in the orbiter middeck. Operation of the experiment is highly automated,
requiring the crew only to initiate operation of each of the four furnaces. All of the ADSF flight hardware
is reusable.
The furnace was built by the General Electric Co. Principal investigator for the ADSF experiment is Dr.
David Larson of the Grumman Aerospace Corp. Project manager is Fred Reeves and mission manager is
Ed Valentine, Marshall Space Flight Center. The program is managed by Marshall for the Microgravity
Science and Applications Division at NASA Headquarters Washington, D.C.
The High-Precision Tracking Equipment payload consists of an 8-inch diameter retroreflector mounted in a
cylindrical housing. when removed from its storage locker, the retroreflector assembly will be attached to
the Shuttle's middeck side hatch window in order to receive and reflect a low-energy laser beam projected
from a test facility located on the island of Maui, Hawaii.
In addition to the High-Precision Tracking Equipment, the Strategic Defense Initiative organization has
requested NASA support for experiments on two Shuttle flights a year beginning in 1987. Prior to that
time, a variety of cabin and other experiments may be flown.
S85-32877 -- Kneeling in front are astronauts Daniel C. Brandenstein (left) and John O. Creighton, commander and
pilot, respectively. Astronauts Shannon W. Lucid, Steven R. Nagel, and John M. Fabian, mission specialist (l.-r.) join
Payload specialists Sultan Salman Abdelazize Al-Saud (second right) and Patrick Baudry on the back row.
No copyright is asserted for this photograph. If a recognizable person appears in the photo, use for commercial
purposes may infringe a right of privacy or publicity. It may not be used to state or imply the endorsement by NASA
or by any NASA employee of a commercial product, process or service, or used in any other manner that might
mislead. Accordingly, it is requested that if this photograph is used in advertising and other commercial promotion,
layout and copy be submitted to NASA prior to release.
Brandenstein received a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and physics from the University of Wisconsin In
1965.
Following graduation, he entered active duty with the Navy, participating in combat deployments on the USS
Constellation and USS Ranger to Southeast Asia where he flew 192 combat missions. He was attached to VX-5 for the
conduct of operational tests of A-6 weapons and subsequently conducted tests of electronic warfare systems in various
Navy aircraft. He has logged 4,100 hours In 24 different types of aircraft and has 400 carrier landings.
JOHN O. CREIGHTON, 42, Commander, USN, is pilot. He became an astronaut in 1978 and has held a variety of
technical assignments in support of the Space Shuttle Program.
A native of Orange, Texas, he was graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1966 with a bachelor of
science degree. He received a master of science in administration of science and technology from George Washington
University in 1978.
Creighton flew F-4Js and made two combat deployments to Vietnam aboard the USS Ranger. He was a project test
pilot and served as F-14 engine development project officer. He became a member of the first F-14 operational
squadron, completing two deployments aboard the USS Enterprise to the Western Pacific, returning to the United
States to be assigned to the Naval Air Test Center's Strike Directorate as operations officer and 7-14 program manager.
He has logged about 4,000 hours flying time, the majority in jet fighters, and completed 500 carrier landings and 175
missions.
STEVEN N. NAGEL, 38, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF, is one of three mission specialists. Born in Canton, Ill., he
became a NASA astronaut in 1978. He served as backup entry CAPCOM for the second Shuttle flight and support
crew and primary entry CAPCOM for STS-3. He is scheduled to be pilot of the Spacelab D-l mission later this year.
Nagel received a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering with high honors from the
University of Illinois and a master of science degree in mechanical engineering from California State University,
Fresno.
Nagel was an F-l00 pilot and served 1 year as T-28 instructor for the Laotian Air Force in Udorn, Thailand, before
returning to the United States as A-7D instructor pilot and flight examiner. As a test pilot he worked on various
projects which included flying the F-4 and A-7D. He has logged 4,900 hours --3,100 in jet aircraft.
JOHN M. FABIAN, 46, Colonel, USAF, a mission specialist, was born in Goosecreek, Texas. He flew as mission
specialist on the seventh Shuttle flight in 1983.. He received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering
from Washington State University in 1962, a master of science in aerospace engineering from the Air Force Institute of
Technology in 1964, and a doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Washington in 1974.
An Air Force ROTC student at Washington State, Fabian was commissioned upon graduation in 1962. He spent 5
years as a KC-135 pilot and saw action in Southeast Asia, flying 90 combat missions. He has 4,000 hours flying time,
including 3,400 in jet aircraft.
Fabian was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1978. As miss ion specialist, he worked extensively on satellite
deployment and retrieval activities, including the development of the Canadian Remote Manipulator System. He h45
been selected to fly on the Life Science Spacelab mission 61-0 next year.
Lucid's experience includes a variety of academic assignments such as teaching assistant at the University of
Oklahoma's department of chemistry, senior laboratory technician at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation,
chemist at Kerr-McGee, Oklahoma City, graduate assistant at the University's Health Science Center, and research
associate with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in Oklahoma City. She has logged 2,500 hours of
commercial, instrument, multi-engine flying time.
Some of her technical assignments at NASA are at the Shuttle Avionics Integration and Flight Software Laboratories
while with the rendezvous and proximity operations group. She has participated in payload and Shuttle testing and
launch countdowns at the Kennedy Space Center.
PRINCE SULTAN SALMAN AL-SAUD, 28, payload specialist, is a native of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He is the son of
Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz and Sultanah Al-Sudairy, Saudi Arabia.
Sultan completed his elementary and secondary education in Saudi Arabia and received a bachelor of arts degree in
mass communications from the University of Denver. He was a researcher in the foreign information department of the
Ministry of Information and participated as deputy director with the Saudi Arabian Olympic Information Committee
during the 1984 Olympiad in Los Angeles.
An experienced flier with a commercial pilot's license, he has logged more than 1,000 hours in jet aircraft and
helicopters. Al-Saud is acting director of the Saudi Arabian Television Commercial Department.
PATRICK BAUDRY, 39, Lieutenant Colonel, French Air Force, payload specialist, is a native of Dual in the United
Republic of Cameroon.
Baudry became a French astronaut in 1980. He was a member of the backup crew of the French-Soviet mission and
was trained for scientific experiments in physiology, biology, materials processing in space and astronomy.
He joined the Ecole de l'Air (French Air Force Academy) in 1967 after an education in special mathematics. He has a
master's degree in aeronautical engineering and became a fighter pilot in 1970. He has logged more than 4,000 hours
flying time -- 3,300 in jet aircraft.
STS-51B
04/29/85 - 05/06/85
STS-9 STS-41G
11/28/83 - 12/08/83 10/05/84 - 10/13/84
STS-5 STS-41C
11/11/82 - 11/16/82 04/06/84 - 04/13/84
STS-4 STS-41B STS-51D
06/27/82 - 07/04/82 02/03/84 - 02/11/84 04/12/85 - 04/19/85
STS-3 STS-8 STS-51C
03/22/82 - 03/30/82 08/30/83 - 09/05/83 01/24/85 - 01/27/85
STS-2 STS-7 STS-51A
11/12/81 - 11/14/81 06/18/83 - 06/24/83 11/08/84 - 11/16/84
STS-1 STS-6 STS-41D
04/12/81 - 04/14/81 04/04/83 - 04/09/83 08/30/84 - 09/05/84