AIR & SPACE
EDUCATION CONSORTIUM, LLC
PROSPECTS FOR MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH
IN THE NEXT-GEN LAUNCH VEHICLE ERA
PRESENTED TO THE
AIAA SPACE 2010 CONFERENCE & EXPOSITION
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA
30 AUGUST – 2 SEPTEMBER 2010
John M. Cassanto, President, ITA
(610) 280-0869 (O), (484) 431-5028 (C)
jcassanto@aol.com
Ronald M. Jones, Boeing Phantom Works
(314) 232-0991 (O), (703) 447-1188 (C)
ron6214@aol.com
Rolando Branly, President, ASEC
(954) 495-1949
rbranly@gmail.com
TODAY’S REALITY
• Today we are at the threshold of a new generation of commercial
launch (Nextgen) earth to space vehicles
• Unfortunately, the microgravity community from the previous era has
been largely decimated and must be resuscitated
• Fortunately, unlike the beginning of the previous generation, flight
proven Shuttle and EELV era commercial hardware is available for use
by a new generation of µ-gravity users and researchers
• Capable of supporting a wide array of research areas (Biomedical,
Fluid Physics, Manufacturing Processes Research)
• Enabling stepping stone research: aircraft to suborbital to orbital
• Secondary Research Payloads represent a significant potential market
& additional revenue stream for Nextgen space launch providers
• High value biomedical research & manufacturing processes
/experiments
• Education experiment opportunities (Grade school thru College
level)
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TODAY’S REALITY CONTINUED
• Payload processing and integration void/opportunity remains to be
filled
• New commercial µ-gravity facilitators like NanoRacks, LLC offering
researchers extended stay opportunities at ISS
•
CubeLab approach applicable to a variety of future platforms
• ITA Microgravity hardware is available today for lease to conduct low-g
aircraft, suborbital or orbital microgravity experimentation
• ASEC thru an agreement with NanoRacks will be flying legacy ITA
hardware on STS-134
• Commercial, academic and student space education experiments
manifested
• Research opportunities still available (see me after the talk)
• Now planning for STS-135 opportunity and beyond!
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Next-Gen Launch Companies Changing
Space Paradigm
• Infusing much needed
competition into moribund
space industry
• ConOps offering hope for
lowering costs to orbit
• Will enable new era of
microgravity research
• Secondary payloads offer
additional revenue stream
• But… new P/L processing
and Integration industry must
raise to occasion
• Don’t wait for the dinosaur
aerospace industry!
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ITA’S THREE DECADES OF SPACE PROCESSING
HARDWARE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
9 Space Shuttle Missions
Early 1980’s
2010
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ITA’S
SPACE PROCESSING HARDWARE
OVERVIEW
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SPACE PROCESSING µ-GRAVITY
HARDWARE RESEARCH APPLICATIONS
• Hardware can be used to conduct a wide range of research:
– Materials science/industrial applications
– Diffusion studies
–
–
–
–
–
–
Cell research
Biomedical research
Protein crystal growth
Thin film membranes
Chemistry
Inorganic crystals via furnace hardware
• Stepping stone aircraft research prior to suborbital flight
• Stepping stone experiments prior to orbital flight
• Available to piggyback on near-term space tourism missions
– Suborbital or Orbital
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ITA’S COMMERCIAL MICROGRAVITY
HARDWARE CHARACTERISTICS
HARDWARE
SIZE ANALOG
WEIGHT
NO. SAMPLES
CIGARETTE
PACK
~ 6 OUNCES
16
BRICK
~ 4 Lbs
90
BOOK
~8 Lbs
290
SMALL
BREADBOX
~16 Lbs
~ 500
with
9 optical wells
Single
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ITA HARDWARE BASED ON
SLIDING BLOCK TECHNOLOGY
Specific gravity of samples drives diffusion rates on Earth
Liquid-Liquid Diffusion
With samples with
equal specific gravity
Liquid-Liquid Diffusion
With samples with
different specific gravity
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MDA (MATERIALS DISPERSION APPARATUS) – DMDA
(DUAL MATERIALS DISPERSION APPARATUS ) SPACE
PROCESSING HARDWARE EVOLUTION
•
•
•
•
•
•
Four low-g Aircraft flights
Six Consort, One Joust, One Brazilian VS-30 sounding rocket missions
Nine Space Shuttle Mid-Deck Locker missions
One Meteor/Comet orbital flight (destroyed)
One Mir Space Station mission
One International Space Station mission (MEPS)
1st Gen MDA
2nd Gen MDA
3rd Gen MDA
Flown on
Aircraft &
Suborbital Rockets
Flown on
Suborbital Rockets &
Space Shuttle
Flown on
Space Shuttle
ITA HARDWARE
• 22 Space Missions
• 13 Space Shuttles
1st Gen DMDA
& DMDA-O
2nd Gen DMDA
& DMDA-O
Flown on
Space Shuttle
Flown on
Space Shuttle & Mir
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DMDA MICROGRAVITY HARDWARE HAS
VIDEO CAPABILITY DURING SPACE OPERATIONS
DMDA-O (OPTICAL) CAPABILITIES
HUMAN HAIR
PRE
LAUNCH
LAUNCH
+ 3 HOURS
LAUNCH
+ 10 HOURS
END OF
MISSION
9 DAYS
SCREEN
LYSOZYME CRYSTAL GROWTH
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NANORACKS FACILITATING RESEARCH
OPPORTUNITIES AT REASONABLE COSTS ON ISS
4” CubeLab at heart of system
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EXAMPLES OF
COMMERCIAL MICROGRAVITY
SOUNDING ROCKET DATA
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SOUNDING ROCKET µ-GRAVITY RESEARCH
LED TO NEW DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM
First Microcapsules were made in space aboard
Consort 4 Sounding Rocket using ITA Hardware
Microcapsules formed
During 6 minutes of flight
ITA’S MDA Space Processing Hardware
Consort 4 launched
out of White Sands, NM
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SOUNDING ROCKET µ-GRAVITY RESEARCH LED
TO IMPROVED THIN FILM POLYMER MEMBRANES
1 g (~ Earth)
µ-gravity (~ Space)
Ground Sample
Microgravity Sample
500X magnification
500X magnification
Photos courtesy of the Battelle Advanced Materials Center for the Commercial Development of Space
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EXAMPLES OF ORBITAL
RESEARCH RESULTS
Demonstrating the benefit of suborbital research as a
stepping stone to extended duration research in orbit
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GROUND VS SPACE:
ITA UROKINASE SPACE RESEARCH RESULTS
Urokinase: To our knowledge, these
crystals have never been grow larger
than ~50 microns on Earth
Typical of Earth
grown sizes achieved
1991
BIMDA-2, STS 43
LESS THAN 50 MICRONS
- TOO SMALL
- UNSTABLE
1993
CMIX-2, STS-56
~ 50 MICRONS
- STILL TOO SMALL
- UNSTABLE
1996
CMIX-5, STS-80
350 - 500 MICRONS
- LARGE
- UNSTABLE
1998
CBIX-1 STS 95
- 350 MICRONS
- LARGE, STABLE
- POOR DIFFRACTION
BECAUSE OF INSUFFICIENT
PURITY OF UROKINASE
UTILIZED
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CONCLUDING REMARKS
• Commercial flight heritage microgravity hardware exists to meet a
broad range of nextgen suborbital and orbital user needs
• Secondary payloads offer an additional revenue stream to nextgen
launch providers
• Payload processing and integration represents a significant
opportunity for the commercial space sector
• Flight proven space processing hardware is available for lease to
conduct low-g, suborbital, or orbital microgravity experiments
• Research opportunities exist on STS-134 and beyond using ASEC
payload processing services with legacy hardware and Nanoracks.
Those interested please see me here at the conference.
Anyone need a ride?
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AIR & SPACE
EDUCATION CONSORTIUM
www.itaspace.com
For Further Information
John M. Cassanto, CEO, ITA (PA)
610.280.0869 (O), 484.431.5028 (C)
jcassanto@aol.com
Ronald M. Jones, Boeing Phantom Works (MO)
314.232.0991 (O), 703.447.1188 (C)
ron6214@aol.com
Professor Rolando Branly, Broward College (FL)
Air & Space Education Consortium, LLC
954.201.6676 (O), 954.495.1949 (C)
rbranly@gmail.com
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BACKUP CHARTS
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DEMONSTRATION &
TRAINING HARDWARE
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MDA EXPERIMENT APPLICATIONS MATRIX
FOR CONSORT 3 SOUNDING ROCKET FLIGHT
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GROUND VS SPACE COMPARISON
OF SPACE GROWN BOVINE COLLAGEN
1 g (~ Earth)
Ground Sample
µ-gravity (~ Space)
Flight Sample
STS-95
• Essentially no microfibrils
• Collagen precipitates consisted entirely of large bundles
700-800 angstroms
• Bundles randomly dispersed with large open spaces
• Collagen aggregates grow from a few nucleation sites
forming thick filaments
• Spoke-like opaque regions containing microfibrils
• Random precipitation of connected microfibrils
• Size: 80-90 angstroms, occasional large collagen bundles
200-300 angstroms diameter
• Between spokes are large transparent areas devoid of collagen
• Fibril nucleation occurs at many independent sites
leading to many thin microfibrils
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GROUND VS SPACE COMPARISON: PLANARIA
REGENERATION STUDENT EXPERIMENT
Discovery:
Regeneration of Planaria cells in space is different than on Earth
Ground Control Planaria
Flight Planaria
Who woulda thought?
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GROUND VS SPACE:
LYSOZYME CRYSTAL GROWTH
MDA Minilab using Liquid-Liquid Diffusion
1 g (~ Earth)
Ground Sample
µ-gravity (~ Space)
Flight Grown Sample
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ITA TEST SUCCESS…
ANOTHER WORLD FIRST
• First Diffused “Vodka”
Martini
• 16 May 1990
• Experiment should be
repeated with Gin…..
Just to do it!
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