During the nearly 16-day long STS-78 mission, the seven-member crew will conduct microgravity research experiments in the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS) module mounted in the payload bay of the Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia. They will be working with scientists from the European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and NASA in the Payload Operations Control Center at the Marshall Space Flight Center throughout the mission.
The majority of the life sciences experiments onboard will be devoted to the study of the effects of microgravity on human physiology. These investigations will include specific studies on bone tissue loss, muscle performance and adaptation, caloric intake and energy expenditure, pulmonary function, neurovestibular adjustment and general studies on the effects of space flight on human performance and on daily sleep and biological (circadian) rhythms. The other life sciences experiments will study three additional organisms to provide a comprehensive view of the effects of gravity and the stresses of space flight on biological systems.
In the microgravity experiments, the crew, along, with the ground-based research personnel, will produce metallic alloys and protein crystals, study the behavior of fluids and examine how surface tension forces, thermal gradients and other parameters affect materials processing and fluid behavior in the near-weightless environment of space.
*Note: Shuttle Mission dates are subject to change. Updates may be obtained by calling the following telephone numbers: Kennedy Space Center, Florida -- (407) 867-2314 or 867-4636; and NASA Headquarters, Washington, D. C. -- (202) 358-4184.
The seven-member TS-78 crew includes astronauts representing the French Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, as well two medical doctors and a veterinarian.
Mission Commander Terence T. Henricks (Col. USAF) is on his fourth space flight, having served as the Commander of STS-70 and the pilot of both the STS-55 and STS-44 missions. He has more than 5,000 hours of flight time in over 30 types of aircraft and holds a commercial pilot rating.
Pilot Kevin R. Kregel first flew as the pilot of STS-70. A former Air Force pilot, he joined NASA in 1990 as an aerospace engineer and instructor pilot. He became an astronaut in 1992.
Payload Commander Susan J. Helms (Lt. Col., USAF) has flown on STS-64 and STS-54. She holds a master’s degree in aeronautics/astronautics and has flown as a flight test engineer in 30 different types of aircraft. Helms will also serve as flight engineer on this mission.
Mission Specialist Richard M. Linnehan (DVM) is on his first Shuttle mission. He received his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Ohio State University in 1985. Before becoming an astronaut in 1992, he was a chief clinical veterinarian for the U.S. Navy.
Mission Specialist Charles E. Brady, Jr. (Cdr., USN) received his doctorate in medicine from Duke University in 1975. He then became a flight surgeon at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute. Brady was named as a astronaut in 1992.
Payload Specialist Jean-Jacques Favier (Ph.D.) became a French Space Agency astronaut in 1985. He holds a doctorate degree in metallurgy and physics from the University of Grenoble. He has been the principal investigator for several materials experiments in space.
Payload Specialist Robert Brent Thirsk (M.D.) has served as chief astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency. He is a co- leader of an international team investigating the effect of microgravity on the body’s venous system.
Each of the Shuttle’s two solid rocket boosters (SRBs) burns 5 tons of propellant each second, or a total of 1.1 million pounds in two minutes. The plume of flame during launch ranges up to 500 feet long.