yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (12/05/89)
The Space Exposed Experiment Developed for Students (SEEDS) offers a wide variety of opportunities for student experiments. Investigators will provide a total of 12.5 million tomato seeds, packaged in kits, to students from the upper elementary through the university level. Students will have the unprecedented opportunity to study the effects of long-term space exposure on tomato seeds. The program encourages active student involvement and a multidisciplinary approach, allowing students to design their own experiments and to be involved in decision making, data gathering and reporting of final results. The low cost of an LDEF experiment encouraged high-risk/high-return investigations and made experiments particularly attractive to students and research groups with no experience in space experimentation. Investigators could take advantage of NASA and private industry expertise to develop relatively inexpensive investigations. The LDEF structure was designed and built at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Experiment trays were provided to investigators, who built their own experiments, installed them in trays and tested them. To help reduce costs, each investigator established the amount of reliability, quality control and testing required to insure proper operation of his experiment. The LDEF project is managed by Langley for NASA's Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology in Washington, D.C. E. Burton Lightner is Manager of the LDEF Project Office. William H. Kinard is LDEF Chief Scientist and Head of the Data Analysis Team. AMERICAN FLIGHT ECHOCARDIOGRAPH The American Flight Echocardiograph is an off-the-shelf medical ultrasonic imaging system modified for Space Shuttle compatibility. The AFE noninvasively generates a two-dimensional, cross-sectional image of the heart or other soft tissues and displays it on a cathode-ray tube (CRT) at 30 frames per second. AFE has flown before on STS-51D and is designed to provide inflight measurements of the size and functioning of the heart and record heart volume and cardiovascular responses to space flight. Results from the AFE will be used in the development of optimal countermeasures to crew cardiovascular changes. Operated by STS-32 Mission Specialist Marsha Ivins, the AFE hardware will be stored in an orbiter middeck locker. All five crew members will participate in the experiment as subjects as time allows. Crew members also will use the AFE to support Detailed Secondary Objective 478, the first flight of a collapsible Lower Body Negative Pressure unit. In echocardiography, a probe next to the skin sends high frequency sound waves (ultrasound) through the skin and into the body, then detects reflections or echos from the surfaces of the organs, producing pictures. The Life Sciences Division of NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications is sponsoring the AFE which was developed at the Johnson Space Center. Dr. Michael Bungo, the Director of JSC's Space Biomedical Research Institute, is the Principal Investigator. CHARACTERIZATION OF NEUROSPORA CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS Characterization of Neurospora Circadian Rhythms (CNCR) in Space is a middeck payload sponsored by the Office of Space Science and Applications, Life Sciences Division. The objective of the CNCR experiment is to determine if neurospora (pink bread mold) circadian rhythm (diurnal cycles) persists in the microgravity environment of space. This experiment is intended to provide information about endogenously driven biological clocks, which might then be applied to other organisms. Endogenous indicates the activity occurs within a single cell's outer membrane. Neurospora grows in two forms, a smooth confluence of silky threads (mycelia) and cottony tufts of upright stalks tipped with tiny ball-shaped spores (conidia). When growing in a constant, completely uniform external environment, the neurospora mold cycles rhythmically from one growth form to the other. This cycle causes the mold to produce the ball-shaped spores on approximately 21-hour intervals. This interval is believed to be controlled by an internal cell clock. However, under typical circumstances, alterations in the external environment, particularly day-night cycles with a period of 24 hours, are capable of readjusting the neurospora internal clock. The fundamental question addressed by this Shuttle experiment is whether the conditions of space flight, especially the absence of Earth's strong gravitational field, affect the neurospora's circadian rhythms. Because these rhythmic phenomena also are found in all plants and animals, including humans, this experiment addresses a broad and important biological question. The Principal Investigator is Dr. James S. Ferraro, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Ill. Project Manager is Dr. Randall Berthold at NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif. Project Scientist is Dr. Charles Winget, also at Ames. Program Scientist/Manager is Dr. Thora Halstead, NASA Headquarters Life Sciences Division. Mission Manager is Willie Beckham of NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston. PROTEIN CRYSTAL GROWTH EXPERIMENT The Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) payload aboard STS-32 is a continuing series of experiments that may prove a major benefit to medical technology. These experiments could improve food production and lead to innovative new drugs to combat cancer, AIDS, high blood pressure, organ transplant rejection, rheumatoid arthritis and many other diseases. Protein crystals, like inorganic crystals such as snowflakes, are structured in a regular pattern. With a good crystal, roughly the size of a grain of table salt, scientists are able to study the protein's molecular architecture. Determining a protein crystal's molecular shape is an essential step in several phases of medical research. Once the three-dimensional structure of a protein is known, it may be possible to design drugs that will either block or enhance the protein's normal function within the body. Though crystallographic techniques can be used to determine a protein's structure, this powerful technique has been limited by problems encountered in obtaining high-quality crystals well-ordered and large enough to yield precise structural information. Protein crystals grown on Earth are often small and flawed. The problem associated with growing these crystals is analogous to filling a sports stadium with fans who all have reserved seats. Once the gate opens, people flock to their seats and in the confusion, often sit in someone else's place. On Earth, gravity-driven convection keeps the molecules crowded around the "seats" as they attempt to order themselves. Unfortunately, protein molecules are not as particular as many of the smaller molecules and are often content to take the wrong places in the structure. As would happen if you let the fans into the stands slowly, microgravity allows the scientist to slow the rate at which molecules arrive at their seats. Since the molecules have more time to find their spot, fewer mistakes are made, creating better and larger crystals. During the STS-32 mission, 120 different PCG experiments will be conducted simultaneously using as many as 24 different proteins. Though there are three processes used to grow crystals on EarthQvapor diffusion, liquid diffusion and dialysisQ only vapor diffusion will be used in this set of experiments. Shortly after achieving orbit, either Mission Specialist Marsha Ivins or Mission Specialist David Low will combine each of the protein solutions with other solutions containing a precipitation agent to form small droplets on the ends of double-barreled syringes positioned in small chambers. Water vapor will diffuse from each droplet to a solution absorbed in a porous reservoir that lines each chamber. The loss of water by this vapor diffusion process will produce conditions in the droplets that cause protein crystals to grow. In three of the 20-chambered, 15-by-10-by-1.5-inch trays, crystals will be grown at room temperature (22 degrees Centigrade); the other three trays will be refrigerated (4 degrees C) during crystal growth. STS-32 will be the first mission during which PCG experiments will be run at 4 degrees C, making it possible to crystalize a wider selection of proteins. The 9-day flight also provides a longer time period for crystals to grow. A seventh tray will be flown without temperature control. The crew will videotape droplets in the tray to study the effects of orbiter maneuvers and crew activity on droplet stability and crystal formation. Just prior to descent, the mission specialist will photograph the droplets in the room temperature trays. Then all the droplets and any protein crystals grown will be drawn back into the syringes. The syringes then will be resealed for reentry. Upon landing, the hardware will be turned over to the investigating team for analysis. Protein crystal growth experiments were first carried out by the investigating team during Spacelab 2 in April 1985. These experiments have flown six times. The first four flights were primarily designed to develop space crystal growing techniques and hardware. The STS-26 and STS-29 experiments were the first scientific attempts to grow useful crystals by vapor diffusion in microgravity. The main differences between the STS-26 and STS-29 payloads and those on previous flights were the introduction of temperature control and the automation of some of the processes to improve accuracy and reduce the crew time required. To further develop the scientific and technological foundation for protein crystal growth in space, NASA's Office of Commercial Programs and the Microgravity Science and Applications Division are co-sponsoring the STS- 32 experiments with management provided through Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. Blair Herren is the Marshall experiment manager and Richard E. Valentine is the mission manager for the PCG experiment at Marshall. Dr. Charles E. Bugg, director of the Center for Macromolecular Crystallography, a NASA-sponsored Center for the Development of Space located at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, is lead investigator for the PCG research team. The STS-32 industry, university and government PCG research investigators include CNRS, Marseille, France; Eli Lilly & Co.; U.S. Naval Research Laboratory; E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.; Merck Sharp & Dohme Laboratories; Texas A&M University; University of Alabama- Birmingham/Schering Corp.; Yale University; University of Pennsylvania; University of California at Riverside; The Weizmann Institute of Science; Marshall Space Flight Center; Australian National University/BioCryst, Ltd.; University of Alabama-Birmingham/BiCryst; Smith Kline & French Labs.; The Upjohn Co.; Eastman Kodak Co.; Wellcome Research Labs. and Georgia Institute of Technology. MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH WITH THE FLUIDS EXPERIMENT APPARATUS Fluids Experiment Apparatus The Fluids Experiment Apparatus (FEA) is designed to perform materials processing research in the microgravity environment of spaceflight. Its design and operational characteristics are based on actual industrial requirements and have been coordinated with industrial scientists, NASA materials processing specialists and Space Shuttle operations personnel. The FEA offers experimenters convenient, low-cost access to space for basic and applied research in a variety of product and process technologies. The FEA is a modular microgravity chemistry and physics laboratory for use on the Shuttle and supports materials processing research in crystal growth, general liquid chemistry, fluid physics and thermodynamics. It has the functional capability to heat, cool, mix, stir or centrifuge gaseous, liquid or solid experiment samples. Samples may be processed in a variety of containers or in a semicontainerless floating zone mode. Multiple samples can be installed, removed or exchanged through a 14.1-by-10-inch door in the FEA's cover. Instrumentation can measure sample temperature, pressure, viscosity, etc. A camcorder or super-8mm movie camera may be used to record sample behavior. Experiment data can be displayed and recorded through the use of a portable computer that also is capable of controlling experiments. The interior of the FEA is approximately 18.6-by-14.5-by-7.4 inches and can accommodate about 40 pounds of experiment-unique hardware and subsystems. The FEA mounts in place of a standard stowage locker in the middeck of the Shuttle crew compartment, where FEA is operated by the flight crew. Modular design permits the FEA to be easily configured for almost any experiment. Configurations may be changed in orbit, permitting experiments of different types to be performed on a single Shuttle mission. Optional subsystems may include custom furnace and oven designs, special sample containers, low-temperature air heaters, specimen centrifuge, special instrumentation and other systems specified by the user. Up to 100 watts of 120-volt, 400-Hertz power is available from the Shuttle orbiter for FEA experiments. The FEA was successfully flown on two previous missions, as a student experiment on STS- 41D and as the first flight of the JEA on STS-30. Rockwell International, through its Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, Calif., is engaged in a joint endeavor agreement (JEA) with NASA's Office Commercial Programs in the field of floating zone crystal growth and purification research. The 1989 agreement provides for microgravity experiments to be performed on two Space Shuttle missions. Under the sponsorship of NASA's Office of Commercial Programs, the FEA will fly aboard Columbia on STS-32. Rockwell is responsible for developing the FEA hardware and for integrating the experiment payload. Johnson Space Center, Houston, has responsibility for developing the materials science experiments and for analyzing their results. The Indium Corporation of America, Utica, N.Y., is collaborating with NASA on the experiments and is providing seven indium samples to be processed during this mission. NASA provides standard Shuttle flight services under the JEA. Floating Zone Crystal Growth and Purification The floating zone process is one of many techniques used to grow single crystal materials. The process involves an annular heater that melts a length of sample material and then moves along the sample. As the heater moves (translates), more of the polycrystalline material in front of it melts. The molten material behind the heater will cool and solidify into a single crystal. The presence of a "seed" crystal at the initial solidification interface will establish the crystallographic lattice structure and orientation of the single crystal that results. Impurities in the polycrystalline material will tend to stay in the melt as it passes along the sample and will be deposited at the end when the heater is turned off and the melt finally solidifies. Under the influence of Earth's gravity, the length of the melt is dependent upon the density and surface tension of the material being processed. Many industrially important materials cannot be successfully processed on Earth because of their properties. In the microgravity environment of spaceflight, there is a maximum theoretical molten zone length which can be achieved. Materials of industrial interest include selenium, cadmium telluride, gallium arsenide and others. Potential applications for those materials include advanced electronic electro-optical devices and high-purity feed stock. Zone refining to produce ultra-high purity indium also is of interest for the production of advanced electronic devices from indium antimonide and indium arsenide. FEA-3 Experiment Plan The FEA-3 microgravity disturbances experiment involves seven samples (plus one spare) of commercial purity indium (99.97 percent purity). Indium was chosen for this experiment because it is a well- characterized material and has a relatively low melting point (156 degrees Celsius). The samples each will be 1 centimeter in diameter and 18 centimeters long and will be processed in an inert argon atmosphere. The sample seeding heater translation rates and process durations are provided in the following table: Experiment Samples and Parameters Heater Rate Duration Sample Seeded (cm/hour) (hours) 1 No 0 2.00 2 Yes 24 4.50 3 Yes 12 9.00 4 Yes 24 4.50 5 Yes 48 2.25 6 Yes 12 9.00 7 Yes 96 1.10 At 5.25 hours mission elapsed time (MET), the flight crew will unstow the FEA and connect its computer and support equipment. The samples will be sequentially installed at 20, 26, 44, 66, 97, 114 and 144 hours MET and processed. The experiment parameters (heater power and translation rate) will be controlled by the operator through the FEA control panel. Sample behavior (primarily melt-zone length and zone stability) will be observed by the operator and recorded using the on-board camcorder. Experiment data (heater power, translation rate and position, experiment time, and various experiment and FEA temperatures) will be formatted, displayed to the operator and recorded by the computer. The operator will record the MET at the start of each experiment and significant orbiter maneuvers and other disturbances that occur during FEA operations. In addition, accelerometer measurements during the induced disturbances will be recorded for postflight analysis. In general, the experiment process involves installing a sample in the FEA, positioning the heater at a designated point along the sample, turning on the heater to melt a length of the sample, starting the heater translation at a fixed rate and maintaining a constant melt-zone length. When the heater reaches the end of the sample, it is turned off, allowing the sample to completely solidify, and the heater's translation is reversed until it reaches the starting end of the sample. The sample 8mm camcorder cassette and computer disk with the experiment data then can be changed and the next experiment started. FEA-3 Experiment Description Most materials are processed in space to take advantage of the low gravity levels achievable in low-Earth orbit, which has been demonstrated to produce superior quality crystals over those grown on the ground. The focus of the FEA-3 experiment entitled "Microgravity Disturbances Experiment," is to investigate the effects of both orbiter and crew-induced disturbances in the microgravity environment on the resulting microstructure of float-zone-grown indium crystals. The FEA-3 experiment is one of the first designed specifically to grow crystals during known disturbances to investigate their effects on crystal growth processes. The disturbances to be investigated in this experiment will focus on orbiter engine firings and crew exercise on the treadmill, but will include several other disturbances typical of orbiter operations. This research should provide information useful in establishing the microgravity-level requirements for processing materials aboard Space Station Freedom and also provide a greater understanding of the role of residual gravity in materials processing. This experiment will also investigate the effects of disturbances on the stability of a freely suspended molten zone and provide information on the impurity refining capability of float zone processing in space. MESOSCALE LIGHTNING EXPERIMENT Space Shuttle mission STS-32 will again carry the Mesoscale Lightning Experiment (MLE), designed to obtain nighttime images of lightning to better understand the global distribution of lightning, the relationships between lightning events in nearby storms and relationships between lightning, convective storms and precipitation. A better understanding of the relationships between lightning and thunderstorm characteristics can lead to the development of applications in severe storm warning and forecasting and in early warning systems for lightning threats to life and property. In recent years, NASA has used the Space Shuttle and high-altitude U-2 aircraft to observe lightning from above convective storms. The objectives of these observations have been to determine some of the baseline design requirements for a satellite-borne optical lightning mapper sensor; study the overall optical and electrical characteristics of lightning as viewed from above the cloud top and to investigate the relationship between storm electrical development and the structure, dynamics and evolution of thunderstorms and thunderstorm systems. The MLE began as an experiment to demonstrate that meaningful, qualitative observations of lightning could be made from the Shuttle. Having accomplished this, the experiment is now focusing on quantitative measurements of lightning characteristics and observation simulations for future space-borne lightning sensors. Data from the MLE will provide information for the development of observation simulations for an upcoming polar platform and Space Station instrument, the Lightning Imaging Sensor. The lightning experiment also will be helpful for designing procedures for using the Lightning Mapper Sensor, planned for several geostationary platforms. The Experiment The Space Shuttle payload bay camera will be pointed directly below the orbiter to observe nighttime lightning in large, or mesoscale, storm systems to gather global estimates of lightning as observed from Shuttle altitudes. Scientists on the ground will analyze the imagery for the frequency of lightning flashes in active storm clouds within the camera's field of view, the length of lightning discharges and cloud brightness when illuminated by the lightning discharge within the cloud. If time permits during missions, astronauts also will use a handheld 35mm camera to photograph lightning activity in storm systems not directly below the Shuttle's orbital track. Data from the MLE will be associated with ongoing observations of lightning made at several locations on the ground, including observations made at facilities at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.; Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; and the NOAA Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Okla. Other ground-based lightning detection systems in Australia, South America and Africa will be integrated when possible. The MLE is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Otha H. Vaughan Jr., is coordinating the experiment. Dr. Hugh Christian is the project scientist and Dr. James Arnold is the project manager. IMAX The IMAX project is a collaboration between NASA and the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum to document significant space activities using the IMAX film medium. This system, developed by the IMAX Systems Corp., Toronto, Canada, uses specially designed 70mm film cameras and projectors to record and display very high definition large-screen color motion pictures. IMAX cameras previously have flown on Space Shuttle missions 41-C, 41-D and 41-G to document crew operations in the payload bay and the orbiter's middeck and flight deck along with spectacular views of Earth. Film from those missions form the basis for the IMAX production, The Dream is Alive. In 1985, during Shuttle Mission STS-61-B, an IMAX camera mounted in the payload bay recorded extravehicular activities in the EASE/ACCESS space construction demonstrations. So far in 1989, the IMAX camera has flown twice, during Shuttle missions STS-29 in March and STS-34 in October. During those missions, the camera was used to gather material for an upcoming IMAX production entitled The Blue Planet. During STS-32, IMAX will film the retrieval of the Long Duration Exposure Facility and collect additional material for upcoming IMAX productions. AIR FORCE MAUI OPTICAL SITE CALIBRATION TEST (AMOS) The Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) tests allow ground- based electro-optical sensors located on Mount Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii, to collect imagery and signature data of the orbiter during overflights of that location. The scientific observations made of the orbiter while performing reaction control system thruster firings, water dumps or payload bay light activation, are used to support calibration of the AMOS sensors and the validation of spacecraft contamination models. The AMOS tests have no payload-unique flight hardware and only require that the orbiter be in a pre-defined attitude operations and lighting conditions. The AMOS facility was developed by the Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) through its Rome Air Development Center, Griffiss Air Force Base, N.Y., and is administered and operated by the AVCO Everett Research Laboratory in Maui. The principal investigator for the AMOS tests on the Space Shuttle is from AFSC's Air Force Geophysics Laboratory, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass. A co-principal investigator is from AVCO. Flight planning and mission support activities for the AMOS test opportunities are provided by a detachment of AFSC's Space Systems Division at Johnson Space Center. Flight operations are conducted at JSC Mission Control Center in coordination with the AMOS facilities located in Hawaii. LATITUDE-LONGITUDE LOCATOR EXPERIMENT On Shuttle mission 41-G, Payload Specialist and oceanographer Scully Power observed numerous unusual oceanographic features from orbit but was unable to determine their exact locations for subsequent study. NASA, in conjunction with the Department of Defense, began work on an instrument that would be able to determine the precise latitude and longitude of objects observed from space. The Latitude-Longitude Locator (L3) was developed and flown on a previous Space Shuttle mission. This flight will continue tests to determine the accuracy and usability of the system in finding the latitude and longitude of known ground sites. L3 consists of a modified Hasselblad camera equipped with a wide-angle 40 mm lens, a camera computer interface developed by JSC engineers and a Graphics Retrieval and Information Display (GRID) 1139 Compass Computer. Crew members will take two photographs of the same target at an interval of approximately 15 seconds. Information will be fed to the GRID computer, which will compute two possible locations. The crew, by knowing whether the target is north or south of the flight path, will be able to determine which of the two locations is correct and the target's latitude and longitude. Andy Saulietis of NASA's Johnson Space Center is the Principle Investigator for the experiment. SPACEFLIGHT TRACKING AND DATA NETWORK Primary communications for most activities on STS-32 will be conducted through the orbiting Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), a constellation of three communications satellites, two operational and one spare, in geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth. In addition, three NASA Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN) ground stations and the NASA Communications Network (NASCOM), both managed by Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., will play key roles in the mission. Three stationsQMerritt Island and Ponce de Leon, Fla., and BermudaQ serve as the primary communications facilities during the launch and ascent phases of the mission. For the first 80 seconds, all voice, telemetry and other communications from the Space Shuttle are relayed to the mission managers at Kennedy and Johnson Space Centers by Merritt Island. At 80 seconds, the communications are picked up from the Shuttle and relayed to the two NASA centers from Ponce de Leon, 30 miles north of the launch pad. This facility provides the communications between the Shuttle and the centers for 70 seconds, or until 150 seconds into the mission. This is during a critical period when exhaust from the solid rocket motors "blocks out" the Merritt Island antennas. Merritt Island resumes communications with the Shuttle after those 70 seconds and maintains communications until 6:30 after launch, when communications are "switched over" to Bermuda. Bermuda then provides the communications until 11 minutes after lift off when the TDRS-East satellite acquires the Shuttle. TDRS-West acquires the orbiter at launch plus 50 minutes. Communications will alternate between the TDRS-East and TRDS-West satellites as the Shuttle orbits the Earth. The two satellites will provide communications with the Shuttle during 85 percent or more of each orbit. The TDRS-West satellite will handle communication with the Shuttle during its descent and landing phases. CREW BIOGRAPHIES Daniel C. Brandenstein, 46, Capt. USN, will serve as commander. Selected as an astronaut in January 1978, he was born in Watertown, Wisc., and will be making his third Shuttle flight. Brandenstein was pilot for STS-8, the third flight of Challenger, launched on Aug. 30, 1983. During the 6-day mission, the five-member crew deployed the Indian National Satellite (INSAT-1B) and tested the orbiter's remote manipulator system (RMS) with the Payload Test Article. On his second flight, Brandenstein served as commander for STS-51G, launched June 17, 1985. During the 7-day mission, the 18th Space Shuttle flight, the seven-member crew deployed the Morelos satellite for Mexico; the Arabsat satellite for the Arab League; and the AT&T Telstar satellite. Also, the RMS was used to deploy and later retrieve the SPARTAN satellite. Following STS-51G, Brandenstein became deputy director of flight crew operations at JSC and later assumed his current post, chief of the Astronaut Office. He graduated from Watertown High School in 1961 and received a B.S. degree in mathematics and physics from the University of Wisconsin in 1965. Brandenstein was designated a naval aviator in 1967. During the Vietnam War and later as a test pilot, he logged more than 5,200 hours of flying time in 24 types of aircraft and has more than 400 carrier landings. James D. Wetherbee, 37, Lt. Cmdr., USN, will serve as pilot. Selected as an astronaut in May 1984, he was born in Flushing, N.Y., and will be making his first Shuttle flight. Wetherbee graduated from Holy Family Diocesan High School, South Huntington, N.Y., in 1970 and received a B.S. in aerospace engineering from Notre Dame in 1974. Wetherbee was designated a naval aviator in December 1976. After serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy, he attended the Naval Test Pilot School and completed training there in 1981. He then worked with testing of, and later flew, the F/A-18 aircraft until his selection by NASA. Wetherbee has logged more than 2,500 hours flying in 20 types of aircraft and completed more than 345 carrier landings. Bonnie J. Dunbar, 40, will serve as mission specialist 1 (MS1). Selected as an astronaut in August 1981, she was born in Sunnyside, Wash., and will be making her second Shuttle flight. Dunbar served as a mission specialist on STS-61A, the West German D-1 Spacelab mission and the first Shuttle flight to carry eight crew members. During the 7-day mission, Dunbar was responsible for operating the Spacelab and its subsystems as well as performing a variety of experiments. Dunbar graduated from Sunnyside High School in 1967; received a B.S. degree and an M.S. degree in ceramic engineering from the University of Washington in 1971 and 1975, respectively; and received a doctorate in biomedical engineering from the University of Houston in 1983. Dunbar joined NASA as a payload officer/flight controller at JSC in 1978. She served as a guidance and navigation officer/flight controller for the Skylab reentry mission in 1979, among other tasks, prior to her selection as an astronaut. She is a private pilot with more than 200 hours in single- engine aircraft and more than 700 hours in T-38 jets as a co-pilot. Marsha S. Ivins, 38, will serve as mission specialist 2 (MS2). Selected as an astronaut in May 1984, she was born in Baltimore, Md., and will be making her first Shuttle flight. Ivins graduated from Nether Providence High School, Wallingford, Pa., in 1969 and received a B.S. degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado in 1973. She began her career with NASA as an engineer in the Crew Station Design Branch at JSC in July 1974. Her work involved Space Shuttle displays and controls and development of the orbiter head-up display. In 1980, Ivins became a flight simulation engineer on the Shuttle Training Aircraft and also served as a co-pilot on the NASA administrative aircraft, a Gulfstream I. Ivins has logged more than 4,500 hours flying time in NASA and private aircraft and holds a multi-engine airline transport pilot license with a Gulfstream I rating; single-engine airplane, land, sea and commercial licenses; a commercial glider license; and instrument, multi-engine and glider flight instructor ratings. G. David Low, 33, will serve as mission specialist 3 (MS3). Selected as an astronaut in May 1984, he was born in Cleveland and will be making his first Shuttle flight. Low graduated from Langley High School, McLean, Va., in 1974; received a B.S. degree in physics-engineering from Washington and Lee University in 1978; received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University in 1980; and received a M.S. degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University in 1983. Low began his career with NASA in 1980 in the Spacecraft Systems Engineering Section of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., where he participated in the preliminary planning of several planetary missions and the systems engineering design of the Galileo spacecraft. Following a 1-year leave of absence from JPL to pursue graduate studies, he returned and worked as the principal spacecraft systems engineer for the Mars Geoscience/Climatology Observer Project until his selection as an astronaut. As an astronaut, his technical assignments have included work with the RMS and extravehicular systems. He also served as a spacecraft communicator during STS-26, STS-27 and STS-29. NASA PROGRAM MANAGEMENT NASA HEADQUARTERS Washington, D.C. Richard H. Truly NASA Administrator James R. Thompson Jr. NASA Deputy Administrator William B. Lenoir Associate Administrator for Space Flight George W.S. Abbey Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Flight Robert L. Crippen Acting Director, Space Shuttle Program Deputy Director, Space Shuttle Operations Leonard S. Nicholson Deputy Director, Space Shuttle Program (located at Johnson Space Center) David L. Winterhalter Director, Systems Engineering and Analyses Gary E. Krier Director, Operations Utilization Joseph B. Mahon Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Flight (Flight Systems) Charles R. Gunn Director, Unmanned Launch Vehicles and Upper Stages George A. Rodney Associate Administrator for Safety, Reliability, Maintainability and Quality Assurance Arnold Aldrich Associate Administrator for Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology Lana Couch Director for Space Jack Levine Director, Flight Projects Division John Loria LDEF Program Manager Sam Venneri Director, Materials and Structures Division James T. Rose Assistant Administrator for Commercial Programs Charles T. Force Associate Administrator for Operations Dr. Lennard A. Fisk Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications A. V. Diaz Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications JOHNSON SPACE CENTER Houston, Texas Aaron Cohen Director Paul J. Weitz Deputy Director Daniel M. Germany Acting Manager, Orbiter and GFE Projects Donald R. Puddy Director, Flight Crew Operations Eugene F. Kranz Director, Mission Operations Henry O. Pohl Director, Engineering Charles S. Harlan Director, Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance Kennedy Space Center Merritt Island, Fla. Forrest S. McCartney Director Thomas E. Utsman Deputy Director Jay F. Honeycutt Director, Shuttle Management and Operations Robert B. Sieck Launch Director George T. Sasseen Shuttle Engineering Director Larry Ellis (Acting) Columbia Flow Director James A. Thomas Director, Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance John T. Conway Director, Payload Management and Operations Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, Ala. Thomas J. Lee Director Dr. J. Wayne Littles Deputy Director G. Porter Bridwell Manager, Shuttle Projects Office Ac ting Manager, External Tank Project Dr. George F. McDonough Director, Science and Engineering Alexander A. McCool Director, Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance Royce E. Mitchell Manager, Solid Rocket Motor Project Cary H. Rutland Manager, Solid Rocket Booster Project Jerry W. Smelser Manager, Space Shuttle Main Engine Project Langley Research Center: Hampton, Va. Richard H. Petersen Director Frank Allario Director for Electronics Leon Taylor Chief, Projects Division E. Burton Lightner LDEF Project Manager William H. Kinard LDEF Chief Scientist Charles Blankenship Director for Structures Darrel Tenney Chief, Materials Division Stennis Space Center Bay St. Louis, Miss. Roy S. Estess Director Gerald W. Smith Deputy Director Ames Research Center Mountain View, Calif. Dr. Dale L. Compton Acting Director Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility Edwards, Calif. Martin A. Knutson Site Manager Theodore G. Ayers Deputy Site Manager Thomas C. McMurtry Chief, Research Aircraft Operations Division Larry C. Barnett Chief, Shuttle Support Office Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Md. Dr. John W. Townsend Director Peter Burr Director, Flight Projects Dale L. Fahnestock Director, Mission Operations and Data Systems Daniel A. Spintman Chief, Networks Division Wesley J. Bodin Associate Chief, Ground Network Gary A. Morse Network Director
tneff@bfmny0.UU.NET (Tom Neff) (12/06/89)
In article <37350@ames.arc.nasa.gov> Our Favorite Agency sez: [ The Latitude Longitude Locator includes ] > ... a camera computer interface developed by JSC engineers and >a Graphics Retrieval and Information Display (GRID) 1139 Compass >Computer. Though we may lag behind the Soviets in the mundane, yucky _flight hardware_ part of the space race, nobody can lay a glove on our lead in _acronyms_. We can even reverse engineer an acronym when needed! In this case, the GRiD Systems Inc. Compass computer, selected by the National Acronym Stockpile Authority (NASA) for auxiliary middeck computing since 1981 -- but inconveniently innocent of acronymic origins itself (its inventor was a mariner and just meant "map grid") -- gets spruced up with something nicely nonsensical. (_Graphics retrieval and information display_? Are the graphics stored somewhere? Does that parse as "retrieval and information" or "retrieval and display"?) I guess it's a good thing they didn't buy a Panasonic, huh. -- War is like love; it always \%\%\% Tom Neff finds a way. -- Bertold Brecht %\%\%\ tneff@bfmny0.UU.NET