you
Space Shuttle coffee or this is the red
jewel the blue shift is sleeping right
now but we thought we would bring you
some highlights of our date today I will
videotape where we explain three
different science experiments we have
going on and then we've got a little bit
ministration about what we eat aboard
the space shuttle Columbia okay well
they they even let the commander back in
the space level once in a while for some
of the more supports them it's this
isn't some extent but it's one that has
a lot of problems called H HDTV ahead
tell diffusion test cell this is one of
several protein crystal growth
experiments that we have all born
protein crystal growth lives of many
settlements that there's a boaster
because it's one of the most property
and bec security research that we've
identified to date is zero gravity we
could grow bigger more perfect crystal
those crystals of all kinds and as a
result we can bring those back home and
the scientists can study them where the
next ray diffraction microscope and
really understand the character of what
they're trying to study for example this
flight some of the proteins that we're
crystals that we are growing might help
out the development for remedies for
arthritis some antibacterial drugs are
on the horizon that we're studying the
sexy actually shows where the test cells
that that we're growing on the htpc
that's located back there the Spacelab
wall the crystals look like flexor
drains of fans that to somebody like me
who's perhaps by then 3 verse don't miss
we have eight cells in each chamber
breather selves actually have stuff
growing at the current time I spent part
of my day working on the large
isothermal furnace called LIF it's a
facility provided by the japanese space
agency we've blown it on this is the
fourth time it's been on a space lab
flight and the third time i've had the
privilege of flying women to large
furnace we can put samples proximately
eight inches long and about one inch in
diameter and i'm pulling one of them out
of the furnace right now we fly a 25
days on our mission and we're just about
done processing them i think we've done
23 or 24 at this point
and it was pretty much automated
facility some wonder what you're going
to see in the space station a job up
here is basically to exchange samples
we're here I'm taking one of them outs
and I'm getting another one to put back
into to start its processing there's a
lot of ground commanding during the
whole processing run of these
experiments and doesn't involve on too
much so it's a good way to get science
with the minimal crew time on our part
experiments were connecting right now a
diffusion type experiments were looking
at atomic motion and how accurate ease
move around inside of a crystal
structure and this is a sample of ten or
in other ones we've been flying or led
to in telluride or gallium and purity
such as a tin and antimony in germanium
these have great technological
importance for electronics and infrared
detectors one thing we always get asked
is how we bring these little fires in
space that's what I'm demonstrating here
how do we do it safely the public to
watch the experiment the chamber this is
a gap that's the bottle would hold the
gas we install that into the experiment
that is released into the combustion
chamber which is behind all those pieces
of equipment in the front then that
valve there is used after the experiment
is over to vent the gas is to space
during the experiment recorte de pues
with four cameras which are pointing to
here and don't have computers of course
to monitor what's going on so the
combustion is completely contained
within the experiment this experiment
the principal investigator is compliant
Corbin Williams at the University of
California San Diego this is a drop with
warming between the needles the related
ignites and burns this particular burden
has a fibrous support but both of the
droplets will burn we want the fiber
support you can see the flame and the
soup formation in the middle this tells
us a tremendous amount about single
droplet combustion okay let's put a mr.
we're going to show you a little bit
about the foods that we eat aboard the
space shuttle so actually five different
types of foods and the first thing I'd
like to show you is a typical m.o.e a
military meal it is a it is what we have
and Tim to show you what it's like
basically it has been cooked so much
said all the bacteria to taken out of it
and Marines can take this into the field
and eat it at any time that last three
years years and years so that's one type
of food that we flyers these normal
stabilized there is worthy irradiated
which is a similar technique but this
isn't done for the military specifically
it's done for us and the bacteria has
once again been taken out of it and so
it's eat right from the bag and this is
a beefsteak Don Scott rehydrate about
food this is a shrimp cocktail in its
pre rehydrated form and what we do is we
have water and here trip cocktail one of
everybody's favorite drag can't forget
the vegetables is that creamed spinach a
which is also rehydrate able we have
intermediate moisture foods which tim
has dried apricots we just keep that
straight out of the bag and dancer Apple
can be considered any different number
of items if Greg wants to pull something
out with a spin you can see Arthur it
sticks to the spin without getting all
over the place every day David is
natural form food this case or the dance
everybody loves the drinks that we drink
companies Silverbacks and they also have
a tip where we can have water and shake
about this case it's anxious and look
something like this when it's got water
in it in it and we had a straw and it
drinks right on up the people on the
ground that we've got our fingers and
nutritionists decide whether or not we
have the proper number calories and
whether all the minerals are represented
and if not don't recommend things that
we add but of course once we get up here
it's just up to us to eat our vegetables
every day back at where dr. Troy
gambling for today I would get after
place I'm Huntsville for Greg okay yes
Greg just want to give you a heads up
that it looks like we'll be ready to
continue cm-1 at step Juliet at 2259 so
that's right this is the one that needs
that downlinking time to write that is
affirmative
Janice we have a special guest Alabama
Senator Jeff Sessions here with us today
at the Space Lab mission operations
control center in huntsville he would
like to speak with you senator sessions
please go ahead good morning how are you
doing we're real proud of that I
Alabaman at all of America is it's not a
great time I think we're moving into one
of the finest centuries that will have
in terms of Technology and advancement
and you represent the very best this
country has to offer it we're just very
pleased with the work that you're doing
and how well things are going thanks a
lot we feel very privileged to be up
here in such a tremendously for the
space program with the Mars Pathfinder
mission the heroic efforts going on the
MIR space station to demonstrate what
people can do in space and with all the
great science here on the space our
module which shows all the things we can
learn from being up here well I
certainly agree with that and I think
this is a beginning of a commercially
feasible adventure in the space and
exploration that's what this nation what
is characterized this nation I think we
are a nation of explorers and we were
proud of you can you tell us some about
the experiments that are going on and
what kind of success you've had yeah
I'll talk a little bit about the
combustion experiments because that's
either mostly worked on and then I'll
pass on to Roger Crouch is here with me
and has been working on the board
material science and watch experiments
and then Mike can tell you a little bit
about what he's been doing to the
combustion experiments we had two brand
new ones that are flying for the first
time on the combined 83 and 94 the
combustion module one which is a space
station design and a drop of combustion
experiment which is a droplet burning
one all of these are looking at super
combinations of production lean flames
and just how flames burn in space so we
can hopefully create better means of
producing energy on the earth through
brain which accounts for ninety percent
of the way we generate energy on
and those been going exceptionally well
they as I understand experiment down
there very excited about the results
they're saying let me pass it off to
Roger as far as the details of what the
scientific experiments and objectives
are I think probably the principal
investigators there in the park will be
able to give you a real good feel for
that what I'd like to describe is that
the pleasure that it is to be up here
the opportunities to carry out these
material science experiments that we're
doing in LIF which is a cooperative
program between the u.s. and Japan we've
got the tempest which is a cooperative
and so I think the international flavor
that goes with that we have a
accelerometer that's also an
international German us and so I think
that this is a for tender of the future
that will be one world as we go to space
out even going to Mars i think is a
worldwide adventure rather than a single
us or a single nation venture I'll patch
it on over to break now that's just my
role has been to keep the Space Shuttle
flying and working i'm lee to support
the science back in the lab here and
fortunately we've had a beautiful ship
this time we've had very few problems
and been able to support all this great
science the other thing i think it's
real neat about this mission is it's
kind of a bridge to the space station a
lot of this experiments the techniques
that we're using are the same kinds of
things we'll be doing on Space Station
and I think you mentioned
commercialization a lot of the basic
research we're doing now will evolve I
believe in the space station era it's
produced commercially viable drugs from
the protein crystal growth and I think
once that starts happening we're going
to see space really open it up and low
in orbit to all kinds of commercial
opportunities which will be great for
our country and for the world well I
appreciate that it does sound like
things are going well I serve on the
Environment Committee and one of the
things that we're constantly working
about is how to burn cleaner and more
effectively and just a one percent on
half of one percent increase in learning
on an ability to produce energy would be
a marvelous thing for America and
I just wish you the best of luck and all
your experiment