STS-77.Press.Kit    [ 2May96, 67kb](66k)




NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION STS-77
PRESS KIT
MAY 1996

Spartan 207, SPACEHAB-4

For Information on the Space Shuttle

For Information on the Space Shuttle

Ed Campion    Policy/Management202/358-1778
  Headquarters, Washington, DC

Rob Navias   Mission Operations, Astronauts713/483-5111
  Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX

Bruce Buckingham  Launch Processing, KSC Landing 407/867-2468
  Kennedy Space Center, FL




June Malone  External Tank/Shuttle Propulsion   205/544-0034
  Marshall Space Flight Center,Huntsville, AL

Cam Martin    DFRC Landing Information805/258-3448
  Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA

For Information on STS-77 Experiments & Activities

James CastSPACEHAB202/358-1779
  Headquarters, Washington, DC

Mike Braukus               Mir Science          202/358-1979


Fred Brown     Spartan-207/TEAMS               301/286-7277
  GoddardFlight Center, Greenbelt, MD

Tammy Jones   TRIS                              301/286-5566
  GoddardFlight Center, Greenbelt, MD




CONTENTS


1.0 General Release
2.0 Media Services Information
  2.1 NASA Television Transmission
  2.2 Status Reports
  2.3 Briefings
  2.4 Internet Information
  2.5 Access by CompuServe
3.0 Quick-Look Facts
4.0 Shuttle Abort Modes
5.0 Mission Summary Timeline
6.0 STS-77 Orbital Events Summary
7.0 Payload and Vehicle Weights
8.0 Crew Responsibilities.

STS-77 PAYLOADS & ACTIVITIES


9.0 DTOs/DSOs
10.0 Spartan-207
11.0 PAMS/STU Deploy and Rendezvous Operations
12.0 Spacehab-04
13.0 TEAMS-01
14.0 Secondary Payloads
  14.1 Brilliant Eyes Ten Kelvin Sorption Cryocooler
Experiment (BETSCE)
  14.2 Aquatic Research Facility (ARF)-1
  14.3 Biological Research in a Canister (BRIC)-07
15.0 Get Away Special (GAS)
16.0 STS-77 Crew Biographies


1.0 General Release

RELEASE:  96-83


SPACE COMMERCIALIZATION AND TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATIONS

HIGHLIGHT SHUTTLE MISSION STS-77

     NASA's fourth Shuttle mission of 1996 is devoted to the
continuing effort to help open the commercial space frontier.

     During the flight, designated STS-77, Endeavour and a
six-person crew will perform microgravity research aboard the
commercially owned and operated SPACEHAB Module.  Endevour's
crew also will deploy and retrieve a research satellite and
perform rendezvous operations with a test satellite.

     Launch of Endeavour is currently targeted for May 16,
1996 at approximately 6:32 a.m. EDT from Kennedy Space
Center's Launch Complex 39-B.  The STS-77 mission is forecast
to last 10 days, 0 hours, 37 minutes.  The actual STS-77
flight duration will be determined by power consumption and
the amount of cryogenic fuel available to support Endeavour's
electrical power system depending on how close to the target
launch date Endeavour actually begins its mission.  Mission
Control in Houston will closely monitor power consumption

along with cryo reserves.  Shuttle managers will have the
option of shortening the mission one day if necessary.  An
on-time launch and full 10-day mission duration will result
in a landing on May 26 at 7:09 a.m. EDT at Kennedy Space
Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, FL.

     The STS-77 crew is commanded by John Casper, making his
fourth Shuttle flight.  The pilot for the mission, Curt
Brown, is making his third flight.  There are four mission
specialists assigned to the flight.  Andrew Thomas, serving
as Mission Specialist-1, is making his first flight.  Mission
Specialist-2 is Dan Bursch is making his third flight.  Mario
Runco, serving as Mission Specialist-3, also is making his
third flight.  Mission Specialist-4 is Canadian astronaut
Marc Garneau, who is flying in space for the second time.

     Over 90 percent of the payloads aboard Endeavour are
being sponsored by NASA's Office of Space Access and
Technology, Washington, DC, through its Commercial Space
Centers and their industrial affiliates.  Primary payloads

include experiments flying aboard the pressurized,
commercially-developed SPACEHAB Module, the Inflatable
Antenna Experiment to be deployed aboard the free-flying
Spartan-207 carrier spacecraft,  and a suite of four
technology experiments known as TEAMS, in the Shuttle's
payload bay.

     Additionally, secondary experiments on the flight will
include a Brilliant Eyes cryo-cooling experiment, a
facility for examining the effect of microgravity on small
aquatic creatures, and a small facility for examining the
microgravity effects on simple living systems.

     In 1990 NASA contracted SPACEHAB, Inc. for the lease of
their SPACEHAB Space Research Laboratories for a series of
flights.  STS-77 marks the fourth flight of the SPACEHAB
under this contract.

     The SPACEHAB single module will be carrying nearly 3,000
pounds of experiments and support equipment for 12 commercial

space product development payloads in the areas of
biotechnology, electronic materials, polymers and agriculture
as well as several experiments for other NASA payload
organizations.  One of these, the Commercial Float Zone
Facility (CFZF) has been developed through international
collaboration between the U.S., Canada and Germany. It will
heat various samples of electronic and semi-conductor
material through the float zone technique.

     Another facility on SPACEHAB will be the Space
Experiment Facility (SEF), which will grow crystals by vapor
diffusion. This experiment is expected to yield large,
defect-free crystals that are important for electronic
applications and remote sensing.

          In addition to the SPACEHAB module, the Goddard
Space Flight Center's deployable Spartan 207 is another one
of the primary payloads on this flight and the most ambitious
Spartan mission to date. It will deploy and test the
Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE).  The IAE experiment is

meant to lay the groundwork for future technology development
in inflatable space structures and will be launched and
inflated like a balloon on orbit.  The experiment will
validate the deployment (inflation) and performance of a
large inflatable antenna during a ninety-minute mission.  The
antenna structure then will be jettisoned and the Spartan
spacecraft recovered at mission end.

     Inside Endeavours cargo bay will be four experiments
called Technology Experiments for Advancing Missions in Space
(TEAMS):  The Global Positioning System (GPS) Attitude and
Navigation Experiment (GANE) will determine to what accuracy
the GPS system can supply attitude information to a space
vehicle;  the Vented Tank Resupply Experiment (VTRE) will
test improved methods for in-space refueling; the Liquid
Metal Thermal Experiment (LMTE), which will evaluate the
performance of liquid metal heat pipes in microgravity
conditions, and the Passive Aerodynamically Stabilized
Magnetically Damped Satellite (PAMS) payload will be a
technology demonstration of the principle of aerodynamic

stabilization in the upper atmosphere of low-Earth orbit.
Cameras on the Shuttle will record the PAMS satellite as it
is deployed. Later during the mission the Shuttle
rendezvous with the satellite on two separate days and will
point the PAMS measuring system, while cameras aboard the
Shuttle record the satellite's movements.

     The Brilliant Eyes Ten Kelvin Sorption Cryocooler
Experiment (BETSCE) carries an instrument that can quickly
cool infrared and other sensors to near absolute zero using
the evaporation of hydrogen.  BETSCE is a technology
demonstration experiment to show that cryocoolers of this
type, called "sorption coolers," can operate in the absence
of gravity.  Sorption coolers have essentially no vibration,
are very efficient at these cold temperatures, and can
operate reliably for over 10 years.

     NASA's Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and
Applications, Washington, DC, is responsible for two
experiments. The two experiments are the Aquatic Research

Facility (ARF), and the Biological Research In a Canister
(BRIC).
               The ARF is a joint Canadian Space Agency/NASA
project and will be making its first flight into space on
Endeavour.  The ARF allows sophisticated investigations with
a wide range of small aquatic species.  The facility will
permit scientists to investigate the process of
fertilization, embryo formation and development of calcified
tissue and feeding behaviors of small aquatic organisms while
in microgravity.

           The BRIC payload has flown several times.  The
focus on this flight will be on the tobacco hornworm during
its metamorphosis period.  This study will examine the
synthesis of protein necessary to form muscle.  Analysis will
be made using the hemolymph (blood), flight muscle,
intersegmental muscles and cuticle of the insect.  This study
will clarify the mechanism(s) behind one endocrine system in
insects which may aid in research on endocrine systems in 4l
general, including those of humans when subject to

microgravity effects.

end of general release


2.0 Media Services Information

2.1 NASA Television Transmission

     NASA Television is available through the Spacenet-2
satellite system.  Spacenet-2 is located on Transponder 5, at
69 degrees West longitude, frequency 3880.0 MHz, audio 6.8
MHz.

   The schedule for television transmissions from the Orbiter
and for mission briefings will be available during the
mission at Kennedy Space Center, FL; Marshall Space Flight
Center, Huntsville, AL; Dryden Flight Research Center,
Edwards, CA; Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX; and NASA
Headquarters, Washington, DC.  The television schedule will

be updated to reflect changes dictated by mission operations.

     Television schedules also may be obtained by calling
COMSTOR at 713/483-5817.  COMSTOR is a computer data base
service requiring the use of a telephone modem.  A voice
update of the television schedule is provided daily at noon
Eastern time.

2.2 Status Reports

     Status reports on countdown and mission progress, on-
orbit activities and landing operations will be produced by
the appropriate NASA newscenter.

2.3 Briefings

     A mission press briefing schedule will be issued prior
to launch.  During the mission, status briefings by a flight
director or mission operations representative and when
appropriate, representatives from the payload team, will

occur at least once each day.  The updated NASA television
schedule will indicate when mission briefings are planned.

2.4 Internet Information

     The NASA Headquarters Public Affairs Internet Home Page
provides access to the STS-77 mission press kit and status
reports.  The address for the Headquarters Public Affairs
Home Page is: http://www.nasa.gov/hqpao/hqpao_home.html

Informational materials, such as status reports and TV
schedules, also are available from an anonymous FTP (File
Transfer Protocol) server at ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao.  Users
should log on with the user name "anonymous" (no quotes),
then enter their E-mail address as the password. Within the
/pub/pao directory there will be a "readme.txt" file
explaining the directory structure.

     Pre-launch status reports from KSC are found under
ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/statrpt/ksc, and mission status

reports can be found under
ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/statrpt/jsc.  Daily TV schedules can
be found under ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/statrpt/jsc/tvsked.

2.5 Access by CompuServe

     Users with CompuServe accounts can access NASA press
releases by typing "GO NASA" (no quotes) and making a
selection from the categories offered.

3.0 STS-77 QUICK LOOK

Launch Date/Site:            May 16, 1996/KSC Launch Pad 39-B
Launch Time:                 6:32 AM EDT
Launch Window:               2 hours, 30 minutes
Orbiter:                     Endeavour (OV-105), 11th flight
Orbit Altitude/Inclination:  153 nautical miles, 39 degrees
Mission Duration:10 days, 37 minutes
 (if power margins permit)
Landing Date:                May 26, 1996

Landing Time:                7:09 AM EDT
Primary Landing Site:        Kennedy Space Center, FL
Abort Landing Sites:   Return to Launch Site - KSC
  Transoceanic Abort Sites    Ben Guerir, Morocco
 Moron, Spain
Zaragoza, Spain
   Abort-Once Around          Edwards Air Force Base, CA

Crew:  John Casper, Commander (CDR)
Curt Brown, Pilot (PLT)
       Andrew Thomas, Mission Specialist 1 (MS 1)
Dan Bursch, Mission Specialist 2 (MS 2)
       Mario Runco, Mission Specialist 3 (MS 3)
       Marc Garneau, Mission Specialist 4

EVA Crew (if required): Mario Runco (EV 1), Dan Bursch (EV 2)

Cargo Bay Payloads: SPACEHAB-04
BETSCE
             Spartan-207/IAE

             TEAMS-01

In-Cabin Payloads:  ARF-1
                    BRIC-07

4.0 Shuttle Abort Modes

  Space Shuttle launch abort philosophy aims toward safe
and intact recovery of the flight crew, Orbiter and its
payload.  Abort modes for STS-76 include:

 -- Abort-To-Orbit (ATO) -- Partial loss of main engine
thrust late enough to permit reaching a minimal 105-nautical
mile orbit with the orbital maneuvering system engines.

 -- Abort-Once-Around (AOA) -- Earlier main engine shutdown
with the capability to allow one orbit of the Earth before
landing at the Kennedy Space Center, FL.

 -- Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) -- Loss of one or more engines

Spartan Deploy
IAE Inflation and Jettison
Separation Maneuvers

Flight Day 3:
Spartan Rendezvous and Retrieval
SPACEHAB Operations

Flight Day 4:
SPACEHAB Operations
PAMS-STU Ejection and Initial Separation

Flight Day 5:
SPACEHAB Operations
TEAMS Operations
PAMS-STU Rendezvous Maneuvers

Flight Day 6:
TEAMS Operations
SPACEHAB Operations

Off Duty Time

Flight Day 7:
PAMS-STU Rendezvous and Stationkeeping
Separation Maneuver
SPACEHAB Operations

Flight Day 8:
PAMS-STU Rendezvous, Stationkeeping and Final Separation


Flight Day 9:
TEAMS Operations

Educational Activities
Crew News Conference



Flight Control System Checkout
Reaction Control System Hot-Fire
Cabin Stow

Flight Day 11:
Deactivation
Deorbit Prep
Deorbit Burn
KSC Landing


6.0 STS-77 ORBITAL EVENTS SUMMARY
(Based on a May 16, 1996 Launch)

EVENT                 METTIME OF DAY
(EDT)

Launch        0/00:006:32 AM, May 16

OMS-2              0/00:437:15 AM, May 16

Vehicle/Payload               Pounds

Orbiter (Endeavour) empty and 3 SSME's152,696

Shuttle System at SRB Ignition4,519,288

Orbiter Weight at Landing with Cargo254,879

SPACEHAB Module8,948

Spartan-2071,866

Inflatable Antenna Experiment   992

PAMS-STU      115

BETSCE887

Aquatic Research Facility117


BRIC               68

8.0 CREW RESPONSIBILITIES

Payloads                    Prime          Backup

SPACEHAB                    Thomas       Garneau
Remote Manipulator System   GarneauRunco, Thomas
Rendezvous     CasperBrown, Bursch
Spartan/IAEThomasRunco
TEAMS      RuncoThomas
PAMS-STURuncoBursch
EVA                         Runco (EV 1)   Bursch (EV 2)
Intravehicular Crewmember   Brown--------
GBA     GarneauBrown
GANERuncoThomas
SecondariesThomasGarneau
DSO'sBrownCasper
Earth Observations          Runco Thomas



9.0 Developmental Test Objectives/Detailed Supplementary
Objectives


DTO 301D: Ascent Structural Capability  Evaluation
DTO 305D: Ascent Compartment Venting Evaluation
DTO 306D: Descent Compartment Venting Evaluation
DTO 307D: Entry Structural Capability
DTO 312:  External Tank Thermal Protection System Performance
DTO 415:  Water Spray Boiler Electrical Heater Capability
DTO 700-8: Global Positioning System Development Flight Test
DTO 805:          Crosswind Landing Performance
DSO 331:  LES and Sustained Weightlessness on Egress
    Locomotion
DSO 487:  Immunological Assessment of Crewmembers
DSO 491:  Characterization of Microbial Transfer Among
              Crewmembers
DSO 493:  Monitoring Latent Virus Reaction and Shedding in

Astronauts
D 802:  Educational Activities
DSO 901:  Documentary Television
DSO 902:  Documentary Motion Picture Photography
DSO 903:  Documentary Still Photography

10.0 SPARTAN 207/IAE

     Spartan 207 (SP207/IAE) is one of the primary payloads
on mission STS-77 and the most ambitious Spartan mission to
date.  The STS-77 crew will deploy and test --as the Spartan
spacecraft's sole payload -- the Inflatable Antenna
Experiment (IAE).

     Managed by Goddard, Spartan is designed to provide
short-duration, free-flight opportunities for a variety of
scientific studies. The Spartan carrier provides an attitude
control system, a data handling and power system, and a
thermal control system. A typical Spartan configuration
consists of two main pieces of hardware, a Spartan Flight

Support Structure (SFSS) and a Spartan free-flyer with the
experiment. Part of the SFSS is the Release Engage Mechanism
(REM) which allows the free-flyer to be removed from and
returned to its berthing position in the Orbiter cargo bay.
The free-flyer is  deployed and retrieved by the Remote
Manipulator System which is operated by an astronaut.

     This mission's Spartan configuration is unique in that
the IAE is in an additional separate unit that will be
ejected once the experiment has completed. Only the Spartan
carrier with the experiment recorders will be returned to the
cargo bay.

This is the second flight for this Spartan carrier,
which flew successfully on STS-63 in February 1995.  It is
the fifth flight for the cross-bay support structure, and the
third for the REM. Overall, STS-77 will be the eighth Spartan
mission to fly on the Space Shuttle.

     The IAE experiment will lay the groundwork for future

technology development in inflatable space structures, which
will be launched and then inflated like a balloon on-orbit.
This payload will validate the deployment (inflation) and
performance of a large inflatable antenna during a ninety-
minute sequence before jettisoning the antenna structure and
recovering the Spartan spacecraft at sequence end. The
inflation process will be captured by the crew, using a
variety of still cameras, a motion picture camera, and video
cameras. The on-orbit performance of the antenna (surface
accuracy) will be determined by illuminating the antenna
surfacearrays of lights mounted on the Spartan and
capturing the resulting patterns on video recorders aboard
the Spartan. These will be analyzed after the Spartan is
returned to Earth by the Shuttle.

     The IAE is a large inflatable antenna 50 feet (14
meters) in diameter which is mounted on three 92-foot (28
meter) struts.  Once in low-Earth orbit, the Spartan will
become a platform for the antenna which, when inflated in
space, will be roughly the size of a tennis court.  The

antenna was developed by L'Garde Inc., of Tustin, CA, a small
aerospace business, and JPL under NASA's In-Space Technology
Experiments Program.

     Because the mass and stowed (uninflated) volume of
inflatable components is many times less than an equivalent
solid structure, inflatable structures have the potential to
significantly reduce by 10 to 100 times the cost of future
missions using these components. This inflatable antenna
weighs only about 132 pounds (60 kilograms) and the
operational version may be developed for less than $10
million -- a substantial savings over current mechanically
deployable hard structures that may cost as much as $200
million to develop and deliver to space.

Inflatable structures also have the potential to deploy
much more reliably
than conventional mechanical systems used for deploying rigid
structures. In addition, the small packaged size of the
inflatable components allows very large structures to be

deployed in space with a single small launch vehicle.  For
example, large space antennas many times the size of today's
mechanical orbiting antennas could be used for a variety of
applications in space, including satellite antennas for space
and mobile communications, Earth observations, astronomical
observations, and space-based radar.

     The IAE is a prime example of a low-cost technology
validation experiment. These experiments are designed to
inexpensively test the fundamental performance of a
technology in the weightless vacuum of space when it is
impossible to do so on the ground. Inflatable systems cannot
be evaluated on Earth due to the effects of gravity and
atmospheric pressure on the  balloon structure. They must be
tested on-orbit and the results compared with analytical
predictions to achieve the confidence necessary to allow
their use in operational systems.

     Additionally, the Spartan carrier itself will be
implementing new technologies. It will be testing a Solid-

State Recorder using flash EEPROM memory, developed under a
Small Business Innovative Research contract between Goddard
and SEAKR Engineering, Inc. of Englewood, CO. Some of the
electronics boxes on the Spartan carrier implemented a
Parylene coating process that allows the use of commercial
plastic integrated circuits on-orbit.

Experiment and Mission Management

     The Spartan project is managed by NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, for the Office of Space
Science, Washington, DC.  IAE is sponsored by NASA's Office
of Space Access and Technology, Washington, D.C.

Online Information

     Additional information about the Spartan Project is
available on the Internet on:

http://sspp.gsfc.nasa.gov/sptnhome.html


or

http://sspp.gsfc.nasa.gov/sp207.html.

Spartan-207 Release and deployment

      The Spartan-207 satellite will be deployed on Day two
of the mission. Mission Specialist Mario Runco will release
the Spartan using the shuttle's mechanical arm, and Commander
John Casper will back Endeavour away from the satellite.

      Once Endeavour reaches a distance of 400 feet directly
in front of the Spartan, Casper will hold Endeavour's
position while experiment operations with the Spartan begin.
Slightly less than an hour later, Casper will begin a partial
flyaround of the satellite, maintaining a distance of about
400 feet, moving to a point directly above Spartan. This
partial flyaround will align Endeavour within the
transmission direction of the experiment work with the

Inflatable Antenna Experiment.

    Once Endeavour is directly above Spartan at a distance
of 400 feet, the IAE will be inflated. Endeavour will
stationkeep 400 feet above Spartan for about an hour and
twenty minutes while the IAE is inflated and experiment
operations are conducted.

       Following those operations, Casper will fire
Endeavour's jets to begin separating from the vicinity of the
Spartan. The jet firing will initially move Endeavour farther
above the satellite, and the shuttle will be about 900 feet
away at the time the IAE is jettisoned from Spartan. The
jettisoned IAE will move in front of and below than Spartan,
while the separation burn performed by Endeavour will move
the shuttle above and behind the satellite at a rate of
almost two and a half nautical miles per orbit. During the
next day, Endeavour will range as much as 40-60 nautical
miles behind the satellite before again closing in.


Spartan 207 Rendezvous and Retrieval

Endeavour will return to the vicinity of Spartan-207 on
Day three of the mission to retrieve the satellite. The final
phase of the rendezvous will begin when Endeavour reaches a
point eight nautical miles behind the satellite and the
Terminal Phase Initiation burn is performed by the shuttle,
putting Endeavour on a course to intercept the Spartan.

      As Endeavour closes the final eight nautical miles,
there will be an opportunity for four small midcourse
correction firings of the shuttle steering jets to fine-tune
its course toward Spartan. Also during this time, Garneau
will extend the shuttle's mechanical arm into the position
for retrieval of the satellite.

      Shortly after the fourth and final mid-course
correction, Casper will take over manual control of
Endeavour's flight. At the time Casper begins manually flying
Endeavour, the shuttle will be about 2,500 feet directly

below the satellite. Casper will fly the shuttle to a point
about 400 feet directly in front of Spartan before closing to
within 35 feet. As Casper aligns Endeavour with Spartan,
Garneau will move the mechanical arm into place to lock onto
the Spartan grapple fixture. Once captured, Garneau will
lower Spartan back into the cargo bay and latch it in place
for its return to Earth.

11.0 PAMS/STU Deploy and Rendezvous Operations

       The Satellite Test Unit (STU), part of the Passive
Aerodynamically Stabilized Magnetically Damped Satellite
(PAMS) test, will be deployed from Endeavour on Day four of
the mission. Although the satellite will not be retrieved,
Endeavour will subsequently rendezvous three times with the
satellite to acquire satellite attitude information during
the rest of the mission.

        After STU is ejected from the payload bay, Endeavour
will fire its engines to separate from the satellite, aiming

to reach a point about eight nautical miles behind STU over
the next two orbits. From that point, Endeavour will
immediately begin a rendezvous with the satellite, firing its
engines in a Terminal Phase Initiation (TI) burn which will
put the shuttle on a course to intercept a point about 2,000
feet behind the STU.

As Endeavour closes the eight nautical miles, the
shuttle will have the opportunity to perform as many as four
small midcourse correction firings, if needed, to fine tune
the course toward the satellite. When the shuttle crosses
directly behind the STU, Commander John Casper will fire the
shuttle steering jets to stationkeep at that position as PAMS
experiment operations are performed. Casper will maintain
at a distance of 2,000-2,300 feet behind the STU
for about an hour and forty-five minutes while the experiment
work is under way.  The experiments will consist of video
recordings of the on-orbit attitude of the satellite as it
passes through the upper atmosphere of low-Earth orbit.  Once
the experiment runs are completed, Casper will fire

Endeavour's engines to separate from the vicinity of the
satellite, putting the shuttle on a course thathave it
range as far as 100 nautical miles behind the STU.

        Endeavour will revisit the satellite for further
attitude measurements on both Day seven and Day eight of the
mission, performing the same basic rendezvous,
stationkeeping, and separation sequence starting from a point
eight nautical miles behind the satellite. During the Day
seven and eight operations, Endeavour will stationkeep at a
distance of 2,000-2,300 feet behind the STU for about six
hours on each day.

SPACE ACCESS AND TECHNOLOGY PAYLOADS

           Over 90 percent of the payloads aboard STS-77 are
being sponsored by the Office of Space Access and Technology,
Washington, DC, through its Commercial Space Centers and
their industrial affiliates, and by NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,

Pasadena, CA, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, and Lewis
Research Center, Cleveland, OH.

Primary payloads include experiments flying aboard
the pressurized, commercially-developed SPACEHAB Module;  an
Inflatable Antenna Experiment to be deployed aboard the free-
flying Spartan-207 carrier spacecraft;  and a host of four
technology experiments known as TEAMS, housed aboard a
Hitchhiker carrier mounted in the Shuttles payload bay.

            Additionally, secondary experiments will include
a Brilliant Eyes cryo-cooling experiment and the joint
U.S./Canada aquatic research facility.

12.0 SPACEHAB-4

     One of the objectives of NASAs Space Technology
enterprise is to use the unique attributes of the space
environment to enable industry creation of new and improved
products and services.  To carry out this objective, NASA's

Office of Space Access and Technology sponsors Commercial
Space Centers, which are non-profit consortia of industry,
academia, and government partners, that foster the use of
space for commercial products and services.  These payloads
primarily reflect the interests and initiatives of industry
partners.

     In 1990 NASA contracted SPACEHAB, Inc., for the lease of
their SPACEHAB Space Research Laboratories for a series of
flights.  STS-77 marks the fourth flight of the SPACEHAB
under this contract and it will carry 10 commercial space
product development payloads in the areas of biotechnology,
electronic materials, polymers and agriculture as well as
several experiments for other NASA payload organizations.

SPACEHAB Module

     A SPACEHAB single module will be carrying nearly 3,000
pounds of experiments and support equipment on the STS-77
mission.  Twenty-eight lockers, four SPACEHAB soft stowage

bags and two single racks  will house the experiments and
equipment in the module.  The SPACEHAB module will be located
in the forward portion of Endeavours payload bay, connected
to the middeck by a short tunnel to allow the crew access to
the commercial space laboratory.

The module was delivered to NASA on April 3 for
installation into Endeavours payload bay while on Launch Pad
39B.  Vertical installation of a SPACEHAB module first
occurred on the most recent Shuttle mission, STS-76, and has
become the standard method of installation for SPACEHAB
modules.

SPACEHAB-4 Experiments

     The Advanced Separation Process for Organic Materials
(ADSEP) enhances separation technologies for medical
products.  Separation, purification and classification of
cells are limiting factors in biomedical research and
pharmaceutical drug development.  Advanced separation

technology, sponsored  by  the Consortium for Materials
Development in Space at the University of Alabama-Huntsville
and developed by Space Hardware Optimization Technology Inc.,
Floyd Knobs, IN,  is designed to foster separation
capabilities for terrestrial commercial application and
microgravity research.  This particular mission, in
collaboration with biomedical researchers, will focus on
understanding gravitational effects on the manufacture of
recombinant hemoglobin products.  This area may have
significant impact on blood transfusion products where
transfusion of hemoglobin rather than whole blood can reduce
complications such as blood rejection, infectious disease
transmission, and blood contamination in areas without
suitable storage capability.

Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CBGA)
will house a number of small test tube-sized fluid mixing
syringes controlled at several different temperatures. The
versatility of this apparatus allows investigations on a
variety of molecular, cellular, tissue and small animal and

plant systems.   For this flight the apparatus will be
configured into four temperature controlled lockers holding
272 individual experiments.  Sponsored by Bioserve Space
Technologies (NASA's Commercial Center at the University of
Colorado, Boulder) a number of  specific commercial
objectives will be pursued in partnership with several of the
Centers industrial affiliates. These will include evaluation
of pharmaceutical production of bacterial and fungal systems
with Bristol-Myers Squibb, crystallization of
oligonucleotides-RNA to gain 3-D structural information for
drug design in AIDS research with NeXstar and Amgen,
administration of a proprietary chemical to enhance bone
marrow macrophage differentiation with Chiron Corp., and
tests of a proprietary cell growth inhibitors (cancer
research) with Synchrocell, Lockheed Martin and the Kansas
State University Research Foundation.

     The Plant Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (PGBA) will be
flown for the first time. This two-locker plant growth
chamber has been developed by BioServe Space Technologies in

derived from plants.

     The Fluids Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus-2 (FGBA-2)
payload  represents an evolutionary step in carbonated fluids
management technology.  For the Coca-Cola Company, the
primary corporate sponsor, FGBA-2 will provide a test bed to
determine if carbonated beverages can be produced from
separately stored carbon dioxide, water and flavored syrups
and determine if the resulting fluids can be made available
for consumption without bubble nucleation and resulting foam
formation.  Coca-Cola also will be verifying and obtaining
additional data on the effects of space flight on changes in
taste perception.  Such data might aid in understanding
altered tastes in specific target populations on Earth, such
as the elderly, and eventually lead to altered beverage
formulations that could increase hydration for such
individuals and for astronauts.  The sponsor--BioServe Space
Technologies--is using the technology  and lessons learned
from this mission to apply to other commercial space life
sciences activities including the development of plant growth

proteins with objectives that address a range of diseases.
The insulin crystals will support a better understanding of
the proteins structure to help Eli Lilly, an affiliate of
the Center for Macromolecular Crystallography --a NASA
Commercial Space Center at the University of Alabama,
Birmingham--understand the mode of action of this new form of
insulin.  The microgravity environment helps to produce
large, well-ordered protein crystals that can be used for x-
ray diffraction studies to determine the three-dimensional
structures of the individual proteins.  Knowledge of these
structures can facilitate the development of new or more
effective pharmaceuticals to combat diseases.

     The vapor diffusion experiments will use flight hardware
that is an improved adaptation of the most common laboratory
method for growing protein crystals. It will provide for 128
 experiments.  The temperature driven hardware will
use sample holders of different volumes, with different
temperature gradients, to test systems that provide industry
with more operational flexibility, and allow smaller amounts

other through random motion of molecules.  The gradual
increase in concentration of the precipitant within the
protein solution causes the proteins to crystallize.  Liquid-
liquid diffusion is difficult on Earth because differences in
solution densities allow mixing by gravity-driven thermal
convection.  In addition, the greater density of the crystals
allows them to settle into inappropriate parts of the cell.

     The proteins that will be grown in microgravity include:
lysozyme, catalase, concanavalin b, cnavalin, myoglobin,
thaumatin, ferritin, apoferritin, satellite tobacco mosaic
virus and turnip yellow mosaic virus

Commercial Float Zone Furnace (CFZF) experiments have
the goal of producing large, ultra-pure compound
semiconductor and mixed oxide crystals for electronic devices
and infrared detectorree international agencies are
cooperating on the project:  NASA Marshall Space Fligh
Center, Huntsville, AL, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and
the German Space Agency (DARA).  The U.S. samples of gallium

arsenide (GaAs) and gallium antinomide (GaSb) have been
prepared by the University of Florida in cooperation with
industrial participant Atramet, Inc.  A liquid encapsulate
around the float zone to promote the growth of a larger
crystal in the microgravity environment will be used.  This
technique was investigated on the first SPACEHAB mission in
1993.   The parabolic-ellipsoid mirror type furnace is
provided by the CSA and DARA.  The furnace flew on the D-2
Spacelab mission in 1993.   Telescience will be used during
the mission to enable researchers on the ground to view
and/or control the melts and work with the astronauts to
control the melts.

The Space Experiment Facility (SEF), developed and
managed by The University of Alabama in Huntsville's
Consortium for Materials Development in Space will house a
crystal growth experiment and a metals experiment.

     The crystal growth experiment, which will use the SEF's
transparent furnace, will focus on mercurous chloride a

valuable electro-optic material of commercial interest.
Larger and higher quality mercurous chloride crystals could
improve devices used in spectral imaging.

      The metals experiment, conducted in SEF's opaque
furnace, will use liquid phase sintering (LPS) to bond
powdered metals. LPS may provide greater understanding of
alloy behavior and porosity on these metal composites. One
area that could potentially benefit from improved metal
composites is the machine tool industry.

     The NIH-C7 experiment continues the collaboration
between NASA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  It
is a middeck-locker experiment that will repeat and augment
previously flown experiments investigating the effect of
space flight  on musculoskeletal development at the cellular
level.

he experiment payload consists of two biomedical
studies sponsored by NASA and NIH.  These experiments will

use a computerized tissue culture incubator known as the
Space Tissue Loss Culture Module.  The module was develope
at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington,
DC, to study cells in microgravity.

     The experiments will study the effects of space flight
on muscle and bone cells from chicken embryos.  The
experiments on STS-77 will augment data from a previous
flight in November 1994.  Results of this research may lead
to development of measures to maintain the strength of
muscles and bones during long-duration space voyages and may
provide insights  and health benefits for people on Earth as
well.

     The scientific objective of the NIH/NASA collaboration
is to investigate fundamental biological processes governing
cell action under different levels of gravity.   The effects
of space flight on bone cells, specifically the calcification
and developmental activity in maturing cartilage cells will
be examined.


     The effects of space flight on muscles to determine if
microgravity causes damage or loss of muscle fibers, using
special markers of cell damage, growth assays, measurements
of muscle size and multiple biochemical assessments also will
be studied.


13.0 TECHNOLOGY EXPERIMENTS FOR ADVANCING MISSIONS IN SPACE
(TEAMS)

     Inside the Space Shuttle Endeavours payload Hitchhiker
(HH) experiment carrier managed by the Goddard Space Flight
Center will be four experiments called Technology Experiments
for Advancing Missions in Space (TEAMS).

     These experiments will include:  The Global Positioning
System (GPS) Attitude and Navigation Experiment (GANE);  the
Vented Tank Resupply Experiment (VTRE); the Liquid Metal
Thermal Experiment (LMTE);  and the Passive Aerodynamically

Stabilized Magnetically Damped Satellite (PAMS).  The
experiments are flown together at reduced cost and with the
Hitchhiker carrier providing the needed resources (power,
data, etc.) to each experiment

     The Hitchhiker carrier can carry equipment mounted in
canisters and also has mounting plates of various sizes for
user equipment. The carrier provides electrical power,
command signals, and "downlink" data interfaces. Hitchhiker
customers operate their payloads from a Goddard control
center using their own ground support equipment (usually a
personal computer) to send commands and display data.

Global Positioning System (GPS) Attitude and Navigation
Experiment (GANE) JohnsoFlight Center (JSC), Houston,
Texas

     The Global Positioning System is a Department of Defense
navigation system that allows world-wide navigation
capabilities.  GPS is becoming the world standard navigation

system that allows anyone anywhere to know their position
within 100 meters or less.  Pilots, boaters hikers, and just
about anyone can use this system for accurate real-time
position and velocity determination.

One unique aspect of GPS is its capability for
determining the attitude of a vehicle using three or four
antennas, and measuring the GPS carrier phase through each
antenna.  This technique has been successfully tested on
surface vehicles and aircraft, but it has not been tested in
space before.

     The International Space Station will use GPS not only
for position, velocity, and time information but attitude
determination as well.  To assure GPS attitude can be
measured to 0.1 degrees or less per axis of rotation, a
flight experiment aboard the shuttle was proposed in 1994.
This flight experiment will fly commercial off-the-shelf
equipment and Station supplied equipment to determine the
accuracy with which GPS derived attitude can be measured in

an orbital environment.


Vented Tank Resupply Experiment (VTRE) NASA Lewis Research
Center, Cleveland, Ohio

     The Vented Tank Resupply Experiment (VTRE) is to test
improved methods for in-space refueling.  The results of the
experiment will be used in future designs of spacecraft
liquid storage tanks.  This experiment is the responsibility
of the Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, with
Lockheed Martin as contractor.

     When a spacecraft stays in space for long periods, such
as the planned International Space Station, they need to be
resupplied.  This includes resupplying everything from rocket
propellant to drinking water. The VTRE will primarily test
technologies for using a vented fill method in space. In a
vented fill, vapor is allowed to vent from the tank to make
room for the incoming liquid.  This is a common method as

familiar as pouring coffee into a cup or gasoline into a gas
tank.  In space, however, the near total absence of gravity
complicates the process.

     The key VTRE component undergoing test is the Capillary
Acquisition Vane, a set of flat panels inside the tank that
keep the liquid away from the tank vent tap. These simple
devices take advantage of a liquid surface tension or
capillary action, a property that makes liquids adhere to
solid surfaces and wick into small crevasses. The vanes are
designed to accumulate the liquid where the liquid tap is
located and provide a vapor pocket where the venting tap is
located. Capillary Acquisition Vanes have been successfully
used for years as liquid acquisition devices for rocket
propellant, but their ability to vent vapor without venting
any liquid remains to be demonstrated.

Passive Aerodynamically Stabilized Magnetically Damped
Satellite (PAMS), Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD


     The Goddard Space Flight Center's Passive
Aerodynamically Stabilized Magnetically Damped
Satellite(PAMS) experiment is a technology demonstration of
the principle of aerodynamic stabilization. PAMS consists of
a small deployed satellite and a measuring system to observe
the satellite during a shuttle mission.

     Aerodynamic stabilization is a method that can be used
to position a satellite in a specific orientation while in
low Earth orbit. Aerodynamic stabilization works the same way
as a dart. The front of the dart is weighted and once the
dart is thrown, it will always right itself with the head
facing forward. In the same manner, the PAMS satellite will
eventually be oriented with the heavy end facing forward in
orbit. This principle can be used to partially control the
attitude of small satellites.

     Cameras on the shuttle will record the satellite as it
is deployed. Later during the flight, the shuttle will
rendezvous with the satellite on two separate days. The

Shuttle will trail 2,000 feet behind the satellite and point
the PAMS measuring system. The cameras aboard the Shuttle
will record the satellite movements over eight orbits.

Liquid Metal Thermal Experiment (LMTE)
Air Force Phillips Laboratory

The purpose of the Liquid Metal Thermal Experiment
(LMTE) is to evaluate the performance of liquid metal heat
pipes in microgravity conditions.

     Heat pipes are thermal management devices used on many
existing and planned space systems for the purpose of waste
heat removal. In their simplest form, they consist of a tube
containing a porous wicking material saturated with a working
fluid. During operation, the fluid alternately vaporizes and
condenses at different ends of the pipe as it absorbs and
releases the waste heat.

     Many different kinds of fluids are used including

ammonia, oxygen, and potassium depending on the desired
operation temperatures. The three LMTE heat pipes contain
potassium and are designed to operate at 300 to 1000 degrees
Celsius. Heat pipes in this high temperature range have never
been operated in microgravity conditions. The operational
characteristics of liquid metals in space are, therefore, not
well understood. The data obtained from LMTE will be
invaluable to space system designers requiring high
temperature heat rejection.

     LMTE is sponsored by the Air Force Phillips Laboratory,
Albuquerque, NM, with support from the Air Force Space Test
Program.


14.0 SECONDARY PAYLOADS

14.1 Brilliant Eyes Ten Kelvin Sorption Cryocooler Experiment
(BETSCE)
The Brilliant Eyes Ten Kelvin Sorption Cryocooler

Experiment (BETSCE) is a microgravity experiment carrying an
instrument that can quickly cool infrared and other sensors
to near absolute zero.

     Developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),
Pasadena, CA, it will be used to cool infrared sensors aboard
spacecraft to 10 degrees Kelvin, or -441.6 degrees
Fahrenheit. (Absolute zero is -459.6 F).

     BETSCE is a space shuttle technology demonstration
experiment to show that cryocoolers of this type, called
"sorption coolers", can operate in the absence of gravity.
Sorption coolers have essentially no vibration, are very
efficient at these cold temperatures, and can operate
reliably for over 10 years.

     Sorption coolers work by using specialized metal alloy
powders, called metal hydrides, that absorb the hydrogen
refrigerant through means of a reversible chemical reaction.
In the sorption compressor, the metal powder is first heated

to release and pressurize the hydrogen, and then cooled to
room temperature to absorb hydrogen and reduce its pressure.
By sequentially heating and cooling the powder, the hydrogen
is circulated through the refrigeration cycle.  Ten degrees
Kelvin is achieved by expanding the pressurized hydrogen at
the cold tip of the refrigerator. This expansion actually
freezes the hydrogen to produce a solid ice cube at 10
degrees Kelvin.  The heat load generated by the device being
cooled then sublimates the ice.  This closed cycle operation
is repeated over and over.

     Nothing moves in the compressor so it doesn't vibrate
and tend to wear out like conventional refrigerator
compressors that contain moving pistons that rub. The absence
of vibration is an important quality needed for spacecraft
and instruments such as infrared astronomical telescopes that
need a precision pointing capability or a mechanically quiet
platform on which to operate.

     Before this new technology, the only way to achieve

temperatures in space as low as 10 degrees Kelvin has been to
launch extremely large, heavy, and expensive dewars
containing liquid helium or solid hydrogen. Unfortunately,
these dewars have very limited lifetimes because the cryogens
eventually get boiled off and become depleted.  The ability
to achieve a lifetime of ten or more years, with no
vibration, opens the door to a wide variety of future
missions that could benefit from this novel technology.
Sorption coolers are currently baselined on several missions,
including the recently proposed Primordial Structure
Investigation (PSI) mission, and have been proposed for a
variety of future infrared astrophysics missions such as the
Next Generation Space Telescope and spaceborne
interferometers.

     BETSCE experiment development was funded by the Air
Force Space and Missiles System Center and the Department of
Defense's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO).
NASA's Office of Space Access and Technology (OSAT) is
sponsoring the Shuttle flight for BETSCE.


14.2 Aquatic Research Facility ARF-1
     The Aquatic Research Facility (ARF) is a joint Canadian
Space Agency (CSA)/NASA project with CSA providing flight
hardware, NASA providing flight opportunities, and both
agencies sharing in the scientific investigations.  This is
the first flight of ARF, a Canadian designed and built
middeck payload which allows sophisticated investigations of
a wide range of small aquatic species.  The facility will
permit scientists to investigate the process of
fertilization, embryo formation and differentiation,
development of calcified tissue and feeding behaviors of
small aquatic organisms.

The facilities three experiments will provide an
integrated international investigation of early development
and ocean ecology:  Dr. Bruce Crawford of the University
British Columbia will study developing starfish embryos until
they are able to orient and feed themselves.  Dr. Ron O'Dor
of Dalhousie University will study advanced stages of bi-

valves (mussels), focusing on the development of adult tissue
structure, calcium deposition/loss and feeding behavior.  Dr.
Heidi Schatten of the University of Wisconsin - Madison will
investigate the effects of gravity on sea urchin
fertilization and early embryo differentiation and
development.  This research will potentially improve the way
scientists model human development, as well as the factors
which may disrupt it.

14.3 Biological Research In a Canister
     The Biological Research In a Canister (BRIC) 07 is the
subject of research for NASA at the University of Arizona,
Tucson, AZ.

Spaceflight has been shown to effect the endocrine
system of crewmembers.  This study will aid in the discovery
of the mechanism(s) behind one endocrine system in insects
which may aid in research on endocrine systems in general,
including human systems.


     In addition to the principal investigator and NASA
staff, college undergraduates, high school students and an
elementary school teacher are involved in the project.
Specific activities include an outreach program in Tucson, AZ
that has elementary school kids excited about science the
space program, and this project in particular.

     The experimental procedures begin with the pupa, at 5 to
65 hours after development commences.  The pupa will be
placed in the BRIC canisters and loaded onto the Orbiter.  No
inflight manipulation or procedures are required.
Postflight, all pupae will be examined morphologically.  Half
to two-thirds of the pupa will be sacrificed for hemolymph
collection for amino acid and analysis of the hormone
ecdysone.  The remaining pupa will be transported back to the
PIs lab and monitored for development to adulthood.  During
the last 24 hours before adult emergence, the
dorsolongitudinal flight muscle will be excised and analyzed
for protein content and concentration.

BRIC experiments are sponsored by NASA's Office of Life
and Microgravity Sciences and Applications.

15.0 Get Away Special (GAS)

     The GAS project is managed by NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. NASA began flying these small
self-contained payloads in 1982.  The project gives
individuals or organizations an opportunity to perform
experiments in space on the Space Shuttle.

Customer:   California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
G-056

     Caltech's Gamma-ray Astrophysics Mission (GAMCIT)
payload is the first space payload built by Caltech's chapter
of the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space
(SEDS),  GAMCIT, originally designed by Astronaut John
Grunsfeld, will study an enigmatic source of cosmic radiation
known as gamma ray bursts.  While these intense bursts of

high-energy radiation were first discovered in the late 1960s
by satellites watching for clandestine nuclear tests, their
precise nature and origin still remains an intriguing
astrophysical mystery.


Customer:  German Space Agency
G-142 and G-144

     The German Space Agency (DARA) is flying two payloads.
The experiments are called MAUS, a German acronym for
autonomous material science experiments under microgravity.
It is one of the programs for flight opportunities the
Federal Republic of Germany offers scientists from
disciplines of material research and processing to perform
material science investigations under microgravity
conditions.  These experiments were developed by scientists
from the Technical University of Munich and the Technical
University of Clausthal.


Diffusion Coefficient Measurement Facility (DCMF)
G-163

     The Diffusion Coefficient Measurement Facility (DCMF)
will measure the speed at which Mercuric Iodide (solid) is
evaporated and then transported as a vapor under microgravity
conditions.

Customer:  Utah State University
G-200

     Three experiments are being flown in canister G-200.  In
addition, the payload will contain popcorn kernels in zip
lock bags as an experiment by an elementary school.  After
being flown, students will pop the popcorn and compare it
with a similar sample maintained in one gravity.

Customer:  British Sugar plc.
 G-490

     This experiment was designed and constructed by the
School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering in the
Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland.  The launch
services were sponsored by British Sugar plc.

      The payload carries two main experiments.  The first
investigation is to verify a proposal that low-level
gravitational field can be measured by observing their effect
on the convection currents present in a heated liquid.

The second project has been devised by a group of
children from Elrick Primary School near Aberdeen.  A series
of controlled experiments are being carried out on selected
samples of seeds, oats, wheat, barley and nape-oil to
quantify the effects of space flight on growth patterns.

Customer:  Canadian Space Agency
G-564 and G-565

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will fly experiments in

two GAS canisters, Nanocrystal Get Away Special (NANO-GAS)
and Atlantic Canada Thin Organic Semiconductors (ACTORS).
The results of these experiments may lead to the development
of new materials with applications in high performance lasers
and in electronic equipment and components.  Canadian
astronaut Marc Garneau will be on board this mission to
assist in monitoring the operation of these experiments in
his role as mission specialist.

Customer:  NASA Lewis Research Center
  G-703

     The Microgravity Smoldering Combustion (MSC) experiment
studies the smolder characteristics of porous combustible
materials in a microgravity environment.  Smoldering is a
non-flaming form of combustion that takes place in the
interior of porous combustible materials.  The propagation of
the smolder reaction is controlled by complex thermos-
chemical mechanisms, which are not well understood.  The
experiment objective is to provide a better understanding of

these controlling mechanisms, both in microgravity and Earth
gravity.

Customer:  NASA Lewis Research Center
G-741

     The G-741 experiment is an extension of the study of the
fundamentals of nucleate pool boiling heat transfer under the
microgravity conditions of space.  An improved understanding
of the basic processes that constitute boiling is sought by
removing the buoyancy effects which mask other phenomena.
The canister consists of two reflight experiments which
propose to broaden the range of experimental parameters
beyond those covered previously in order to study an element
involved in the boiling process which, as a result of the
experimental work in microgravity conducted to date, appears
to play a significant role in pool boiling - that of dryout
and its reverse - wetting.

Tank Pressure Control Experiment/Reduced Fill Level

(TPCE/RFL)

An important issue in microgravity fluid management is
controlling pressure in on-orbit storage tanks for crogenic
propellants and life support fluids, particularly liquid
hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.  The purpose of the Tank
Pressure Control Experiment/Reduced Fill Level (TPCE/RFL) is
to provide some of the data required to develop the
technology for pressure control of cryogenic tankage.

     This STS-77 experiment will investigate pressure rise
rates and pressure control (using a mixer) for tanks that are
approximately 40 percent full of oxygen (Freon 113).  These
conditions simulate those encountered by multiple-burn
cryogenic stages used for lunar or planetary exploration.
Although the pressure rise rates are expected to be lower for
the reduced fill level tanks, the ability of the jet mixer to
effectively cool all regions of the tank is of great
interest.


     TPCE/RFL uses flight hardware previously developed by
the Boeing Defense and Space Group under NASA's In-Space
Technology Experiments activity.  The flight hardware is on
loan from the NASA Lewis Research Center.

16.0 STS-77 CREW BIOGRAPHIES

John H. Casper

     John H. Casper (Colonel, USAF) will serve as Commander
for STS-77.  Casper was born July 9, 1943, in Greenville, SC,
but considers Gainesville, GA, to be his hometown.  He
graduated from Chamblee High School, Chamblee, Georgia, in
1961; received a bachelor's of science degree in engineering
science from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1966, and a
master's of science degree in astronautics from Purdue
University in 1967. He also is a 1986 graduate of the Air
Force Air War College.

Casper was selected by NASA in May 1984 and became an

astronaut in June 1985.   A veteran of three space flights,
STS-36 in 1990, STS-54 in 1993, and STS-62 in 1994, Casper
has logged over 585 hours in space.

Curtis L. Brown Jr.

     Curtis L. Brown, Jr. (Lieutenant Colonel, USAF) will
serve as the Pilot for Mission STS-77.  Brown was born March
11, 1956, in Elizabethtown, NC.  He graduated from East
Bladen High School, Elizabethtown, NC, in 1974 and received a
bachelor's of science degree in electrical engineering from
the Air Force Academy in 1978.

     Brown was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in
June 1987 and completed a one-year training and evaluation
program in August 1988 which qualified him for assignment as
a pilot on future Space Shuttle flight crews.  A veteran of
two space flights, Brown has logged over 453 hours in space.
He was the pilot on STS-47 in 1992, and STS-66 in 1994.


Andrew S. W. Thomas
     Andrew S. W. Thomas (Ph.D.) will serve as Mission
Specialist-1 on the STS-77 mission.  Thomas was born December
18, 1951, in Adelaide, South Australia.  He received a
bachelor's of engineering degree in mechanical engineering,
with First Class Honors, from the University of Adelaide,
South Australia, in 1973, and a doctorate in mechanical
engineering from the University of Adelaide, South Australia,
in 1978.

     Thomas was selected by NASA in March 1992 and reported
to the Johnson Space Center in August 1992.  In August 1993,
following one year of training, he was appointed a member of
the astronaut corps and qualified for assignment as a mission
specialist on Space Shuttle flight crews.  STS-77 will be
Thomas' first space flight.

Daniel W. Bursch

     Daniel W. Bursch (Commander, USN) will serve as Mission

Specialist-2 during the STS-77 mission.  Bursch was born July
25, 1957, in Bristol, PA, but considers Vestal, NY, to be his
hometown.  He graduated from Vestal Senior High School,
Vestal, NY, in 1975; received a bachelor's of science degree
in physics from the United States Naval Academy in 1979, and
a master's of science degree in engineering science from the
Naval Postgraduate School in 1991.

     Bursch was selected by NASA in January 1990 and became
an astronaut in July 1991.  A veteran of two space flights,
Bursch has logged over 505 hours in space. He served as a
mission specialist on STS-51 in 1993, and STS-68 in 1994.

Mario Runco Jr.

     Mario Runco, Jr. will serve as Mission Specialist-3 on
the STS-77 mission.  Runco was born January 26, 1952, in the
Bronx, NY, but considers Yonkers, NY, to be his hometown.  He
graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School, Bronx, NY, in
1970; received a bachelor's of science degree in meteorology

and physical oceanography from the City College of New York
in 1974, and a master's of science degree in meteorology from
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, in 1976.

     Runco was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in
June 1987 and qualified for assignment as an astronaut
mission specialist in August of 1988.  A veteran of two space
flights, STS-44 in 1991 and STS-54 in 1993, Runco has logged
over 310 hours in space.

Marc Garneau

     Marc Garneau (Ph.D.) is a member of the Canadian Space
Agency (CSA) and will serve as Mission Specialist-4 on the
STS-77 mission.  Garneau was born February 23, 1949, in
Quebec City, Canada.  He attended primary and secondary
schools in Quebec City & Saint-Jean, Quebec, and in London,
England. He received a bachelor's of science degree in
engineering physics from the Royal Military College of
Kingston in 1970, and a doctorate in electrical engineering

from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London,
England, in 1973.  Garneau attended the Canadian Forces
Command and Staff College of Toronto in 1982-83.

Garneau was one of six Canadian astronauts selected in
December 1983 and flew as a payload specialist on Shuttle
M41-G in October 1984.  In July 1992 Garneau was
selected for astronaut candidate training and following one
year of training, he was appointed a member of the astronaut
corps and qualified for assignment as a mission specialist on
Space Shuttle flight crews.  Garneau has logged over 197
hours in space.


For complete biographical information on NASA astronauts, see
the NASA Internet astronaut biography home page at address:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/




