MSRR1 facility, three will be performed in the MSG facility, and two will make use of the EML facility to be fabricated by the ESA and installed in the European Columbus Orbital Facility (COF).

The 14 flight investigations that have been eliminated from the materials science program are listed alphabetically in Table 2.1. These investigations were designed to enhance the materials processing science base, thereby allowing improvements in metal casting technology; process modeling of casting and welding; design of alloys for automotive, aerospace, and computer applications; fabrication of new microporous materials for application in detergents and petroleum cracking; fabrication of alloys compatible with high-temperature applications; the manufacture of improved electro-optical materials; and the commercial production of bulk metallic glasses.

As shown in Appendix A, seven flight investigations in materials science are planned for MSRR1 over the time frame 2005-2008. Of the three flight investigations to be carried out in the MSG facility, one is scheduled for 2002 and the remaining two for 2007. The two flight investigations in the EML facility are scheduled for 2005.

The severe reduction in the scope and number of flight investigations in materials science from 26 to 12 (54 percent) comes from the elimination of MSRR2 with its complement of experiment modules and the elimination of planned experiment modules from MSRR1. MSRR3 was to have accommodated modules for future experiments, international hardware, and equipment for new initiatives and multidisiciplinary utilization (Robey, 2001).

Consideration is being given to restoring the two investigations by Beckermann and one each by Koss and Glicksman (Wargo, 2002). A funding wedge (a research reserve mandated by OBPR to enforce prioritization of OBPR science) has been set aside in the research budget of the OBPR programs to cover the cost of experiments identified as having a high priority. It may also be possible to reinstate Trivedi’s investigation by using the French DECLIC apparatus through a collaborative agreement. With the reorientation of the research to emphasize the use of specific facilities across disciplines, it may be possible to use the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR), should it be built, for a limited number of materials science experiments.

The overall impact of restructuring and downsizing the ISS research program in materials science is that much of the basic science integral to key areas of materials processing is deferred indefinitely. In particular, all U.S. space research on the ISS involving thermophysical property measurements, dendritic solidification, and the evolution of microstructure on a local scale using transparent model systems—research that is important to both space- and ground-based manufacturing—will be terminated. There will also be a significant reduction in the amount of research on semiconductor crystal growth, optoelectronic materials, and microstructure development and pattern formation in metal casting. No new starts in nascent areas (such as biomaterials) will be possible, unless these areas are given a higher priority.

With the restructured research program for the ISS, it becomes difficult to claim that materials scientists will have a state-of-the-art laboratory for pursuing cutting-edge research in materials processing in a microgravity environment. In its phase I report (NRC, 2001), the task group cautioned that investigator readiness is beginning to deteriorate, and that it will continue to do so as the date of completion for the ISS slips—an opinion shared widely in the ISS user community (Sekerka, 2001b; Fettman, 2001; Katovich, 2001). The restructuring and downsizing of the materials science component of the ISS research program will have a negative impact on PI readiness in this discipline. Only one flight experiment in materials science is scheduled prior to 2005.

A major factor limiting utilization of the ISS by the materials science community is the elimination of MSRR2 and the experiment modules associated with nine experiments in MSRR1 and MSRR2 collectively (Robey, 2001). The only remaining experimental capability is that associated with the Low Gradient Furnace (LGF) and the Quench Module Insert (QMI) in the Materials Science Laboratory (MSL). This has imposed a limit of seven experiments in MSRR1 (Appendix A) but it

Front Matter (R1-R14)

Prologue (1-2)

Executive Summary (3-7)

1 Introduction (8-12)

2 Impact of ISS Changes on Physical Sciences Research (13-28)

3 Impact of ISS Changes on Bioastronautics (29-48)

4 Impact of ISS Changes on Fundamental Biology (49-57)

5 Conclusions and Recommendations (58-64)

References (65-68)

Appendix A: Future Investigations in Materials Science Planned for the ISS (69-71)

Appendix B: Planned ISS Combustion-Related Investigations through 2006 (72-72)

Appendix C: Future Flight Investigations in Fluid Physics Planned for ISS (73-74)

Appendix D: List of ISS Fundamental Physics Experiments 2002-2008 (75-76)

Appendix E: Systems Physiology Experiments Planned for the ISS (77-79)

Appendix F: Cardiovascular Physiology Experiments (80-80)

Appendix G: Future Bone and Muscle Physiology Experiments for ISS (81-81)

Appendix H: Radiation Experiments Currently Planned for the ISS (82-82)

Appendix I: Future Investigations in Cell and Developmental Biology on the ISS (83-83)

Appendix J: Future Experiments in Plant Biology Currently Planned for the ISS (84-84)

Appendix K: Acronym List and Glossary (85-85)

Appendix L: Excerpt from NASA Authorization Act of FY 2001 (89-89)

Appendix M: Short Biographies (90-92)