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you

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at one false step for man one giant leap

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a sleek jet aircraft soars through a

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clear blue sky a hard-working piece of

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agricultural machine replies an ocean of

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fertile farmland an airplane a farm

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implement as different as each of them

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is from the other they share a most

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important feature in common each is made

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by a company that is committed to the

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commercial use of space but along with

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that similarity there is a contrast as

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well the airplane maker is conducting

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microgravity research in an area that is

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totally new to it pharmaceuticals on the

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other hand the agricultural equipment

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company will be using what it learns

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from microgravity research to improve a

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basic bread and butter manufacturing

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process it is used for years producing

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cast-iron components for its farm

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machinery there's something else worth

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noting about these two companies

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agricultural products are America's

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leading export airplanes are second the

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airplane maker and the farm equipment

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manufacturer are just two examples of a

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small band of forward-looking

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forward-thinking and forward doing

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companies that are committed to

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improving their competitive positions

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and their profit pictures through the

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commercial use of space they are

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companies working in everything from

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electronic crystals to internal

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combustion engines they are companies

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that already have taken the first steps

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toward profiting from the commercial use

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of space but most companies are not yet

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involved in commercial activities in

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space many are uncertain as to just what

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space commercialization means to assist

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individual managers in private companies

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to remove that uncertainty as well as to

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support america's national space

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commercialization goals lewis research

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center has formed an office of space

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commercial

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the purpose of that office is to help a

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company uncover and assess the relevance

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of commercial space activities to its

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operations manager Harvey Schwartz

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explains the general field of commercial

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space activities can be broken down in

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four major areas first space is a

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vantage point from which we can

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communicate forecast the weather and

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from which we can also observe and map

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the earth's resources secondly space is

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a location to which the private sector

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can provide transportation services

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third space is also a location where we

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require other kinds of services such as

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satellite repair which are not done by

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the federal government and fourth space

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is a unique environment in which we can

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conduct microgravity research on new

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processes and products the office of

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space commercialization here at the NASA

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Lewis Research Center Act can act in a

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sense as a broker between the needs of

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the private sector and the engineering

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and research capabilities we have here

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in great depth Louis can offer

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researchers hands-on help in a host of

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scientific and engineering disciplines

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communications space power launch

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vehicles microgravity Sciences metals

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and alloys composites ceramics and

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glasses electronic materials fluid

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physics and combustion the assistance

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that Lois can give might range from

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simply answering general questions to

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offering expert and experienced counsel

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to help answer the one all-important

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specific question can I improve my

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company's operations by examining the

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physical principles on which they are

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based in a microgravity environment for

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a company to pursue a commercial venture

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in space the project must be broken down

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from conception through execution into a

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series of steps each of which must fit

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the duration and

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resource requirements of that company's

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planning horizons that makes it possible

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to review progress periodically and

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reassess the commercial potential of a

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project before committing more time and

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money to it it's a sensible step-by-step

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approach that lewis can support with

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unique tailor-made facilities

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particularly in the area of microgravity

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research the first of these facilities

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is the microgravity material science

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laboratory the purpose of the mm SL is

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to give American companies a competitive

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edge in their markets by helping them

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take the first step toward developing

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better products and processes through

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microgravity research specifically the

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mm SL offers a low-cost low-risk way for

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researchers to test new ideas for

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material science and process research

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before starting formal efforts in their

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own laboratories Thomas K Glasgow

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manager of the mm SL at lewis elaborates

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a company should consider the use of the

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microgravity environment if it is

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interested in growing more perfect

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semiconductors or opto-electronic

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crystals the microgravity environment is

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also a good laboratory for studying what

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are usually convection dominated

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processes such as combustion another

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reason we're looking at the microgravity

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or space flight environment is for

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preparation of corrosive glasses such as

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those which might interact highly with a

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container on earth for these processes

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or any other process which would be

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dominated by convection or gravity

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effects on earth the microgravity

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environment of space offers an

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the mm SL has equipment with functional

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capabilities similar to space shuttle

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flight hardware major items in the mm SL

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are a general-purpose furnace which

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simulates one of the three furnace

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cavities flown aboard the shuttle an

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electromagnetic levitating furnace with

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a one-second instrumented drop tube for

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container less solidification up to 10

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isothermal dendrite growth apparatus to

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observe the growth and shape of

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individual free dendrites in a

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transparent supercooled melt a

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general-purpose resistance heated high

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vacuum furnace to heat treat samples in

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a vacuum or an inert gas atmosphere a

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single axis acoustic levitator to study

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the container less solidification of

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reactive and unusual glasses a high

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temperature batch melt furnace for

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glasses and a hot stage microscope to

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observe phase separation in glasses in

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addition a visiting researcher will be

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supported by Lewis's computer capability

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and by the center's micro structural

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characterization chemical

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characterization and spectrometric

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analysis facilities the microgravity

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material science laboratory however is

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only the first step that can be taken by

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a researcher at Lewis a typical project

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might begin by establishing 1g baseline

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data in the mm SL and then proceeding if

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indicated to a drop tower or to a

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research aircraft to qualify the project

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for spaceflight Lewis has to drop towers

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the larger of the two is designed to

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provide reduced gravity exposure for

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either 5 or

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10 second periods experiment packages

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fall through a distance of 430 feet

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during a five-second drop for a

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10-second simulation the experiment

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package is propelled by means of a

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pneumatic accelerator from the bottom of

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the tower to within inches of the top

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before falling back reducing the air

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pressure inside the shaft makes possible

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an experimental drop in which

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gravitational force has been reduced to

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one 100,000 of its normal earth value

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high speed motion picture cameras inside

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the experiment vehicle record the

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experiment during the period of reduced

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gravity statistical data such as

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pressure temperature and acceleration

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are recorded by onboard instrumentation

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and transmitted to the control room a

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clean room is available for the

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preparation of experiments that are

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particularly sensitive to contamination

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even from normal atmospheric conditions

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an example would be certain fluid

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physics studies during testing all

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activity in the experiment chamber is

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monitored on closed-circuit television

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in the control room a cross-sectional

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scale model of the test chamber provides

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a simple visual explanation of the

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system and its capabilities most of the

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facility is below ground level inside

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the concrete shaft is a 20 foot diameter

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steel vacuum chamber in the model a

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vehicle containing an experiment is

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shown at the top of the chamber ready

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for a five-second drop at the end of a

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drop the experiment package is brought

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to a stop in a container of polystyrene

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pellets the experiment stops in

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approximately 15 feet and experiences a

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force of about 35 GS the package is

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designed so that there is no damage to

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the experiment or to the recording

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another frequently used lewis facility

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is a smaller ninety five foot drop tower

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which can provide 2.2 seconds of reduced

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gravity the small drop tower is open to

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the atmosphere reduced gravity

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conditions are achieved by enclosing the

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experiment packaged in a shield to

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isolate it from aerodynamic drag longer

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periods of reduced gravity are possible

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with research aircraft lewis has a

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Learjet model 25 a small passenger jet

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with a modified interior that serves as

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an airborne reduced gravity laboratory

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by flying parabolic trajectories it can

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produce variable low gravity conditions

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for as long as 20 seconds in

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nineteen-sixty-nine when Neil Armstrong

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stepped onto the moon mankind took its

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first giant leap in space today

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commercial potential offers us the

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chance to take the second commercial use

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of space is a tremendous opportunity for

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the researcher with good ideas and for

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the manager who wants his company to be

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in a unique market position in the years

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ahead but it is an opportunity that can

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be lost by a wait-and-see attitude the

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decision to go forward is being made by

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those managers who are focusing on what

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is possible and are willing to explore

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new approaches to meeting the

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competitive and technical challenges

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that lie before them to take the first

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step requires courage however the

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opportunity to discover something

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totally new through microgravity