NSSDCA ID: MSL-1
The Materials Science Laboratory payload, designated here as MSL-1, is a reflight of the materials experiment assembly (MEA) facility which flew on the OSTA-2 payload on the STS 7 Shuttle mission. Three Get Away Special (GAS) payload canisters from the NASA small self-contained payload program will also be part of the payload, which is located in the Shuttle cargo bay, on a mission-peculiar equipment support structure (MPESS). The MSL-1 objectives are to perform materials processing investigations in the low gravity Shuttle environment to produce data and samples for post-flight analysis by the investigators, to provide engineering verification of the Single Axis Acoustic Levitation (SAAL) furnace for conducting containerless processing in the low-gravity environment, and to provide carrier accommodations for three GAS payload canisters. Operation of the payload is autonomous once individual MEA or GAS experiments are activated by the crew from the Shuttle cabin. The MEA is self-contained, and has thermal, electrical, data, and structural subsystems necessary to support the following facilities: a gradient-type general-purpose rocket furnace (G-GPRF), an isothermal-type general-purpose rocket furnace (I-GPRF), and the SAAL. The five materials investigations described below use the MEA facilities, and deal with directional solidification, vapor crystal growth, miscibility gap alloys, diffusion, and containerless glass technology.
Launch Date: 1985-10-01
Launch Vehicle: Shuttle
Launch Site: , United States
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Dr. William A. Oran | Program Manager | NASA Headquarters | |
Mr. Donald B. Wrublik | Program Scientist | NASA Headquarters |