Status of the Project Research in the NASDA Microgravity Science Program

With the recent launch of the first element of the International Space Station (Zarya) and the success of the first Shuttle flight dedicated to the assembly of KS, the human race is embarking in a new era of space exploration, development and scientific research. For the fust time since the beginning of the exploration of space more than 20 nations have joined efforts for the design, building and maintaining of a laboratory in space. Modest compared to what was anticipated by W.V.Braun and Arthur C. Clark, but gigantic if we look at all the efforts necessary to build the ES. Canada is partner in this major endeavour. With our contribution, the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), Canada will have access to about 2.3% of the resources of the Space Station and this will represent a tremendous opportunity for Canadian scientists and Canadian companies. For more than 10 years the Canadian Space Agency, through its Microgravity Science Program, has been a key player, often leading the international community, in the utilization of the unique microgravity conditions in Space for the research and development. A wide range of experiments have been conducted in space (fluid physics, material science, etc) and recently through the NASA Phase 1 Program, CSA has conducted many experiment, aboard the Mir Space Station, totaling more than 3000 hours of operation, The experience gained with this project has been excellent and has been used for the planning of the utilization of the International Space Station. At this time, the allocation of funds for the next planning period has not been approved by the Copyright Q I998 by the American Institute of Aeronautics And AstronauticsJnc. All rights reserved 1 Canadian government. If we are allowed to speculate this paper presents the proposed program and research activities to be sponsored by the Microgravity Science Program (MSP) of the Canadian Space Agency. Figure 1: W.V.Braun Space Station (1952) Courtesy of NASA MICROGRAVITY SCIENCES PROGRAM The CSA mission statement is very clear: “ The Canadian Space Agency is committed to leading the development and applications of the space knowledge for the benefit of Canadians and Humanity”. It has been the basis for the development of the following program. The program will be tailored to make efficient use of the Canadian allocation of the resources of the ISS as well as taking into account the particular nature of the Canadian scientific community and industry. With the experience gamed during the NASA Phase 1 Program it has been possible to clearly identify . . . . American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (c)l999 American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics domains where Canada has an advantage and a lead. With the utilization of the Microgravity Vibration Isolation Mount (MIM) (see paper presented at this conference) CSA has been able to begin the study of the effects of g-jitter in a systematic way. The ISS science program will continue in this direction. ISS will also offer the possibility of conducting long duration experiment of interest to material scientists and crystal grower but will also allow the possibility of conducting experiments from the ground. CSA will put the emphasis on telescience and it is anticipated that scientist will be able to monitor experiment from their laboratories with assistance from CSA’s operation personnel. The research program will be balanced between fundamental research and applied research. Fundamental research is important for the understanding of different phenomena that could ultimately be applied to day to day problems. Applied research will be promoted in areas where industrial benefits can be generated in the short and medium time frame. Based on the experience gained in the past, the level of support required to support an active research program should be divided among, science research, payload developmenf flight cost and operation, and program support. The proposed split will be 40% for Scientific Research, 30% for Payload Development, 25% for Flight Cost and Operation and 5% for Program Support. For the scientific research, the breakdown of funding is anticipated to be 50% for Material Science, 30% for Fluid Physics and 20% for Biotechnology (non-living). For the scientific research, 60% will go to University and 40% to

The report presents fifteen papers from a workshop on microgravity science and applications held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, on December 3 to 4, 1984. The workshop and panel were formed by the Solid State Sciences Committee of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Research Council in response to a request from the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The goal was to review the microgravity science and applications (MSA) program of NASA and to evaluate the quality of the program. The topics for the papers are metals and alloys, electronic materials, ceramics and glasses, biotechnology, combustion science, and fluid dynamics.

Recommendations of the Committee on Microgravity Research (CMGR) of the Space Studies Board of the National Research Council are found in the Summary and Recommendations in the front of the report. The CMGR recommends a long-range research strategy. The main rationale for the microgravity research program should be to improve our fundamental scientific and technical knowledge base, particularly in the areas that are likely to lead to improvements in processing and manufacturing on earth. The CMGR recommends research be categorized as Biological science and technology, Combustion, Fluid science, Fundamental phenomena, Materials, and Processing science and technology. The committee also recommends that NASA apply a set of value criteria and measurement indicators to define the research and analysis program more clearly. The CMGR recommends that the funding level for research and analysis in microgravity science be established as a fixed percentage of the total program of NASA's Microgravity Science and Applications Division in order to build a strong scientific base for future experiments. The committee also recommends a cost-effective approach to experiments. Finally the CMGR recommends that a thorough technical review of the centers for commercial development of space be conducted to determine the quality of their activities and to ascertain to what degree their original mission has been accomplished.

Japanese Microgravity Science Program

The Italian microgravity science program

The Microgravity Science and Space Applications Program (MSSAP) is described in terms of the research it supports in fields related to physical processes and materials. Three primary fields are reviewed which include fundamental sciences such as transport phenomena, materials science, and biotechnology issues such as macromolecular crystal growth. The program strategy is to begin with MSSAP studies in ground-based facilities such as drop towers and to evolve to flight experiments as the research achieves technical maturity. Ground-based experiments in progress include the Acceleration Characterization and Analysis Project and the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE). Several furnace experiments for materials studies are described including flight tests for the SSCE, and reference is given to a flight for the Protein-Crystal Growth Experiment.