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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Report of the Committee on a Commercially Developed Space Facility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18565.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Report of the Committee on a Commercially Developed Space Facility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18565.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Report of the Committee on a Commercially Developed Space Facility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18565.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Report of the Committee on a Commercially Developed Space Facility. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18565.
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REFERENCE COPY FOR LIBRARY USE ONLY Report of the Committee on a Commercially Developed Space Facility Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems National Research Council PROPERTY OF NRC LIBRARY JUL15'90 NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 1989

„ • I NOTICE: The project that ii the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel O. Thier is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council waa organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the • principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Committee on a Commercially Developed Space Facility was convened at the request of the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The study was supported by Contract No. NASW-4003 between NASA and the National Academy of Sciences. Available from: Committee on a Commercially Developed Space Facility National Research Council 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20418 Printed in the United States of America 11

Committee on a Commercially Developed Space Facility JOSEPH F. SHEA (Chairman), Senior Vice President, Engineering, Raytheon Company, Lexington, Massachusetts H. GUYFORD STEVER (Vice Chairman), National Academy of Engineering, Washington, D.C. W. BOWMAN CUTTER III, Partner, Coopers & Lybrand, Washington, D.C. WOLFGANG H. DEMISCH, Director of Research, UBS Securities, New York, New York DANIEL J. FINK, President, D. J. Fink Associates, Inc., Potomac, Maryland ALEXANDER H. FLAX, National Academy of Engineering, Washington, D.C. HARRY C. GATOS, Professor of Electronic Materials and Molecular Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology MARTIN E. GLICKSMAN, Professor, Department of Materials Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute LOUIS J. LANZEROTTI, Research, Physics Division, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey JOHN M. LOGSDON III, Director, Space Policy Institute, George Washington University DUANE T. McRUER, President, Systems Technologies, Inc., Hawthorne, California SIMON OSTRACH, Professor of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Case Western Reserve University THOMAS B. SHERIDAN, Professor of Engineering and Applied Psychology, Man-Machine Systems Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ARTHUR C. VAILAS, Director, Biodynamics Laboratory, University of Wisconsin, Madison Staff ROBERT H. KORKEGI, Director, Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board JOANN C. CLAYTON, Senior Program Officer DAVID S. JOHNSON, Senior Program Officer RICHARD M. OBERMANN, Senior Program Officer ELIZABETH LEE, Project Secretary ANNA L. FARRAR, Administrative Assistant JENNIFER T. ESTEP, Administrative Secretary Hi

Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board ALBERTUS D. WELLIVER (Chairman), Vice President, The Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington EUGENE E. COVERT (Vice Chairman), Head, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology JAMES M. BEGGS, Bethesda, Maryland RICHARD G. BRADLEY, Director, Aerospace Technology, General Dynamics, Ft. Worth, Texas BERNARD BUDIANSKY, Gordon McKay Professor of Structural Mechanics, Abbot and James Lawrence Professor of Engineering, Harvard University ROBERT H. CANNON, JR., Charles Lee Powell Professor and Chairman, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University RICHARD W. HESSELBACHER, Executive Vice President-Programs, Fairchild Space Company, Germantown, Maryland BYRON K. LICHTENBERG, President, Payload Systems, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts ROBERT G. LOEWY, Institute Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute STANLEY MARTIN, JR., Technical Director, Bell-Boeing Joint Program Office, Arlington, Virginia JOHN H. McELROY, Dean of Engineering, University of Texas-Arlington, DUANE T. McRUER, President, Systems Technology, Inc., Hawthorne, California GARNER W. MILLER, Senior Vice President, Maintenance and Engineering, USAir, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania GEORGE W. MORGENTHALER, Associate Dean for Research, College of Engineering and Applied Science, Professor and Chair, Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado HARVEY O. NAY, Director of Engineering, Piper Aircraft Corp., Vero Beach, Florida FRANK E. PICKERING, Vice President & General Manager, Aircraft Engines Engineering Division, General Electric Co., Lynn, Massachusetts R. BYRON PIPES, Dean of Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Delaware ANATOL ROSHKO, Theodore Von Karman Professor of Aeronautics, Acting Director, Graduate Aeronautics Lab, California Institute of Technology RICHARD S. SHEVELL, Professor, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University THOMAS P. STAFFORD, Defense Technologies, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Liaison Member FRANKLIN K. MOORE, Joseph C. Ford Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University (Sabbatical at NASA Headquarters through September 1989) Staff ROBERT H. KORKEGI, Director JOANN C. CLAYTON, Senior Program Officer RICHARD M. OBERMANN, Senior Program Officer ANNA L. FARRAR, Administrative Assistant JENNIFER T. ESTEP, Administrative Secretary ELIZABETH LEE, Senior Secretary IV

Acknowledgments The members of the Committee on a Commercially Developed Space Facility wish to thank the many individuals from government, academia, and industry who took the time to either brief us in person or respond to our inquiries. Several offices of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminstration deserve special thanks for sharing with us projections into the 1992-1997 time frame and, in some cases, for developing and analyzing new long-range projections at our request and in response to our tight deadlines. There is sometimes a natural reluctance to venture forth with such estimates, and we very much appreciate the good faith efforts that were exerted to help us fulfill our task. We are especially indebted to the many scientists from private industry who travelled to Washington, D.C., to describe their company's involvement in research in the space environment.

Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 1. INTRODUCTION 5 2. RESEARCH IN THE MICROGRAVITY ENVIRONMENT 9 The Nature of Microgravity Research 9 Key Parameters in Microgravity Research 10 Gravitational Acceleration Environment 10 Energy Intensiveness of Processes 11 Duration of Processes 12 Degree of Experimenter Understanding of Phenomena Under Study 12 3. DEMAND FOR MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS ACTIVITIES 15 NASA Programs 15 Space Science and Applications Activities 15 Experiments in Materials Science and Transport Phenomena 16 Experiments in the Life Sciences 17 Commercialization Activities 18 Advanced Space Technology Development 19 Space Station Development 20 Observations on NASA Microgravity Programs 20 Other Governmental and Private Requirements for Microgravity Research 21 Manufacturing in Space 22 Vll

Summary Requirements for Research in the Microgravity Environment 23 4. FACILITIES TO SUPPORT MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 25 Ground-Based Facilities 25 Space Shuttle-Based Capabilities 26 Get-Away-Special Canister 26 Space Shuttle Middeck 26 Material Science Laboratory and U.S. Microgravity Payload 27 Spacelab Module 27 Impact of Extended Duration Orbiter 28 Proposed U.S. Facilities 28 AMIGA 28 External Tank-Based Facilities 28 Industrial Space Facility 29 Leasecraft 30 SPACEHAB 31 Space Station Freedom 31 Non-U.S. Facilities 32 EURECA 32 FSW 33 Japanese Free-Flyer 33 Photon 33 Space Station Mir 34 Summary of Information on Space-Based Facilities 34 viii

Impact of Space Transportation Schedule on Microgravity Research 35 5. DIRECT MANNED INTERACTION, AUTOMATION, ROBOTICS, AND TELESCIENCE 41 Manned Interaction 41 Automation, Robotics, and Telescience 42 Conclusions 44 6. ASSESSMENT OF THE NEED FOR A CDSF 47 Requirements Versus Capabilities 48 Acceleration, or g Level 48 Duration 49 Power 49 Adequacy of Anticipated Flight Opportunities 50 A&R and Telescience Considerations 51 Resource Considerations 51 Economic and Commercial Considerations 52 Need for a CDSF in the Pre-Space Station Era 53 ACRONYMS 57 ABBREVIATIONS/SYMBOLS 59 APPENDIXES 61 A. Letter from James Fletcher and Statement of Work 63 B. List of Participants 69 C. NASA Office of Space Science and Applications Projected Requirements for Materials Microgravity Experiments 75 D. NASA Office of Space Science and Applications Projected Requirements for Life Sciences Microgravity Experiments 81 ix

E. NASA Office of Commercial Programs Projected Requirements for Microgravity Experiments 87 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 103

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The Committee on a Commercially Developed Space Facility assessed the scientific and commercial benefit to the nation of having a CDSF in place prior to Space Station operations. The committee examined planned and anticipated microgravity research and manufacturing requirements of the federal government and commercial users as well as the extent to which existing, planned, and proposed capabilities and infrastructure could support these requirements. The committee's findings concentrate on the desirability of having an additional space facility in service to the interim preceding Space Station Freedom.

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