July 17, 1997 11 a.m. CDT
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A design for hitching a quick ride
to the International Space Station was tested with a new rack that itself was an experiment
as it hosted two other experiments.
The EXPRESS rack is designed to Expedite
the Processing of Experiments to Space Station
by providing a "plug and chug" capability. It is a modified Space
Station rack into which new experiments can be plugged, operated, then removed.
PHaSE was in EXPRESS throughout the mission. Although it had a few teething
problems, the concept was shown to be sound and quite usable.
That usability was demonstrated with the Plant Generic Bioprocessing
Apparatus (Astro/PGBA) which was stowed in the middeck then installed
in EXPRESS in orbit, and finally removed during shutdown. This miniature
greenhouse could help forests by making paper production more efficient.
Specifically, the experimenters want to understand how to reduce the growth
of lignin, the tough, unusable fiber in wood. Comparing ground- and space-grown
trees may shed light on this process.
Finally, all the experimenters will check their results against an array
of four sets of microgravity accelerometers that quietly spent the mission measuring just how smooth
the ride was.
Author: Dave Dooling
Curator: Bryan Walls
NASA Official: John M. Horack