Report of the Committee on a Commercially Developed Space Facility (1989) / Chapter Skim
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DEMAND FOR MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS ACTIVITIES
DEMAND FOR MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS ACTIVITIES
Pages 15-24
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From page 15... ...
The Office of Space Station also plans to utilize in-space proof-of-concept technology demonstrations and demonstrations of research equipment in advance of the Space Station's deployment. Space Science and Applications Activities The OSSA microgravity activities address research in the areas of materials (including metals and alloys, electronic and photonic 15
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From page 16... ...
There have been limited flight opportunities to gain a better understanding of the complex phenomena involved in microgravity processes or to develop experimental facilities. Most of the microgravity experiments performed to date have carried into space materials processing techniques that were developed and optimized for a terrestrial environment in order to identify phenomena and improvements that might result from the suppression of gravitational effects.
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From page 17... ...
The life sciences microgravity program includes research efforts in the areas of cellular and molecular biology, botany, genetics, and organismic biology. Exposure to microgravity induces changes in fluid-electrolyte balance; endocrine function; neurophysiological function; immune system, cardiovascular, and renal function; bone mineralization; and muscle mass.
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From page 18... ...
In essence, the commercialization process starts with an idea for a potential research or commercial activity, proceeds through ground-based and flight research phases, development, and finally to pilot projects, initial production, test marketing, and full-scale production. The OCP has estimated that a period of about seven years from inception of a concept will normally be required to reach the pilot production phase for any promising microgravity process.
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From page 19... ...
; • fluid management; • space environment effects; • life support; • information systems; • space environment characterization; • automation and robotics; and • in-space operations. The current OAST strategy is based on the nature of the experiments, the available flight opportunities, and the planned budget.
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From page 20... ...
The committee believes some pre-Space Station R&D will need to be performed in space, such as some long-duration materials research, but, in its deliberations the committee could find no Space Station-related technology or process development that could only be undertaken successfully on a human-tended free-flyer. Observations on NASA Microeravity Programs As the study committee examined the NASA microgravity programs described on the preceding pages, it noted some significant manifestations of the embryonic state of microgravity research, which follow.
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From page 21... ...
or that have made funds available clearly view their participation in terms of a long-term commitment directed toward developing a basic understanding of materials and processes. The relatively low level of industrial commitment to activity in the microgravity environment, especially in terms of work directed toward materials processing, is consistent with the conclusions of a number of NRC reports on the subject and even with observations of potential facility providers that "there are no manufacturing requirements." This low level of industrial commitment to microgravity research and development accurately reflects the perceived value of space experimentation compared with ground-based work directed toward similar industrial objectives.
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From page 22... ...
Very few people argue that this will happen in the near future, however. Indirect benefits are derived by studying a process for manufacturing a certain product in space under reduced gravity conditions where it is possible to control and study various parameters such as temperature, processing rates, and chemical composition gradients.
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From page 23... ...
Based on some hard data and many best estimates, the following specific requirements were identified by the committee. • Duration: An examination of the anticipated needs of 83 proposers of microgravity experiments to NASA's OSSA Microgravity Science and Applications Division (MSAD)
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From page 24... ...
The nature of the acceleration requirements and their basis are set forth very well by Naumann. Appendixes C, D, and E include estimates of acceleration levels for the various NASA microgravity experiments.
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