Dr. Richard Weber and Ms. Emma Clark from Materials Development Inc. during a visit to the MSFC electrostatic levitation (ESL) laboratory. Here they are preparing for ESL tests in support of Dr. Weber's NASA grant "Microgravity Investigation of Thermophysical Properties of Supercooled Molten Metal Oxides" (NNX17AH73G).

jsc2020e030482 (4/24/2020) --- A preflight view of the PFMI Furnace. The Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PFMI) facility objective is to study the fundamental phenomena responsible for the formation of certain classes of defects in different materials. Investigators examine the physical principles which control the occurrence of defects in manufacturing on Earth in order to develop methods to reduce flaws, defects or wasted material. (Image courtesy of: Techshot, Inc.)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - James E. Fesmire (right), NASA lead engineer for the KSC Cryogenics Testbed, works on Cryostat-1, the Methods of Testing Thermal Insulation and Association Test Apparatus, which he developed. At left is co-inventor Dr. Stan Augustynowicz, chief scientist with Sierra Lobo Inc. in Milan, Ohio. Cryostat-1 provides absolute thermal performance values of cryogenic insulation systems under real-world conditions. Cryogenic liquid is supplied to a test chamber and two guard chambers, and temperatures are sensed within the vacuum chamber to test aerogels, foams or other materials. The Cryostat-1 machine can detect the absolute heat leakage rates through materials under the full range of vacuum conditions. Fesmire recently acquired three patents for testing thermal insulation materials for cryogenic systems. The research team of the Cryogenics Testbed offers testing and support for a number of programs and initiatives for NASA and commercial customers.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - James E. Fesmire (right), NASA lead engineer for the KSC Cryogenics Testbed, works on Cryostat-1, the Methods of Testing Thermal Insulation and Association Test Apparatus, which he developed. At left is co-inventor Dr. Stan Augustynowicz, chief scientist with Sierra Lobo Inc. in Milan, Ohio. Cryostat-1 provides absolute thermal performance values of cryogenic insulation systems under real-world conditions. Cryogenic liquid is supplied to a test chamber and two guard chambers, and temperatures are sensed within the vacuum chamber to test aerogels, foams or other materials. The Cryostat-1 machine can detect the absolute heat leakage rates through materials under the full range of vacuum conditions. Fesmire recently acquired three patents for testing thermal insulation materials for cryogenic systems. The research team of the Cryogenics Testbed offers testing and support for a number of programs and initiatives for NASA and commercial customers.

The Pathfinder research aircraft's wing structure was clearly defined as it soared under a clear blue sky during a test flight July 27, 1995, from Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The center section and outer wing panels of the aircraft had ribs constructed of thin plastic foam, while the ribs in the inner wing panels are fabricated from lightweight composite material. Developed by AeroVironment, Inc., the Pathfinder was one of several unmanned aircraft being evaluated under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Modifications continue on the Mobile Launcher, or ML, at the Mobile Launcher Park Site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Two large cranes are situated next to the ML for lifting of heavy metal beams and other construction materials. In 2013, the agency awarded a contract to J.P. Donovan Construction Inc. of Rockledge, Fla., to modify the ML, which is one of the key elements of ground support equipment that is being upgraded by the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy. The ML will carry the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B for its first mission, Exploration Mission 1, in 2017. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Modifications continue on the Mobile Launcher, or ML, at the Mobile Launcher Park Site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A large crane is situated next to the ML for lifting of heavy metal beams and other construction materials. In 2013, the agency awarded a contract to J.P. Donovan Construction Inc. of Rockledge, Fla., to modify the ML, which is one of the key elements of ground support equipment that is being upgraded by the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy. The ML will carry the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B for its first mission, Exploration Mission 1, in 2017. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

Biomedical research offers hope for a variety of medical problems, from diabetes to the replacement of damaged bone and tissues. Bioreactors, which are used to grow cells and tissue cultures, play a major role in such research and production efforts. Cell culturing, such as this bone cell culture, is an important part of biomedical research. The BioDyn payload includes a tissue engineering investigation. The commercial affiliate, Millenium Biologix, Inc., has been conducting bone implant experiments to better understand how synthetic bone can be used to treat bone-related illnesses and bone damaged in accidents. On STS-95, the BioDyn payload will include a bone cell culture aimed to help develop this commercial synthetic bone product. Millenium Biologix, Inc., is exploring the potential for making human bone implantable materials by seeding its proprietary artificial scaffold material with human bone cells. The product of this tissue engineering experiment using the Bioprocessing Modules (BPMs) on STS-95 is space-grown bone implants, which could have potential for dental implants, long bone grafts, and coating for orthopedic implants such as hip replacements.

Biomedical research offers hope for a variety of medical problems, from diabetes to the replacement of damaged bone and tissues. Bioreactors, which are used to grow cells and tissue cultures, play a major role in such research and production efforts. Cell culturing, such as this bone cell culture, is an important part of biomedical research. The BioDyn payload includes a tissue engineering investigation. The commercial affiliate, Millenium Biologix, Inc. has been conducting bone implant experiments to better understand how synthetic bone can be used to treat bone-related illnesses and bone damaged in accidents. On STS-95, the BioDyn payload will include a bone cell culture aimed to help develop this commercial synthetic bone product. Millenium Biologix, Inc. is exploring the potential for making human bone implantable materials by seeding its proprietary artificial scaffold material with human bone cells. The product of this tissue engineering experiment using the Bioprocessing Modules (BPMs) on STS-95 is space-grown bone implants, which could have potential for dental implants, long bone grafts, and coating for orthopedic implants such as hip replacements.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Modifications continue on the Mobile Launcher, or ML, at the Mobile Launcher Park Site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A large crane is situated next to the ML for lifting of heavy metal beams and other construction materials. In 2013, the agency awarded a contract to J.P. Donovan Construction Inc. of Rockledge, Fla., to modify the ML, which is one of the key elements of ground support equipment that is being upgraded by the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy. The existing 24-foot exhaust hole is being enlarged and strengthened for the larger, heavier SLS rocket. The ML will carry the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B for its first mission, Exploration Mission-1, in 2017. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

Experiments to seek solutions for a range of biomedical issues are at the heart of several investigations that will be hosted by the Commercial Instrumentation Technology Associates (ITA), Inc. Biomedical Experiments (CIBX-2) payload. CIBX-2 is unique, encompassing more than 20 separate experiments including cancer research, commercial experiments, and student hands-on experiments from 10 schools as part of ITA's ongoing University Among the Stars program. This drawing depicts a cross-section of a set of Dual-Materials Dispersion Apparatus (DMDA) specimen wells, one of which can include a reverse osmosis membrane to dewater a protein solution and thus cause crystallization. Depending on individual needs, two or three wells may be used, the membrane may be absent, or other proprietary enhancements may be present. The experiments are sponsored by NASA's Space Product Development Program (SPD).

This supernova in the constellation Cassiopeia was observed by Tycho Brahe in 1572. In this x-ray image from the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO-2/Einstein Observatory produced by nearly a day of exposure time, the center region appears filled with emissions that can be resolved into patches or knots of material. However, no central pulsar or other collapsed object can be seen. The HEAO-2, the first imaging and largest x-ray telescope built to date, was capable of producing actual photographs of x-ray objects. Shortly after launch, the HEAO-2 was nicknamed the Einstein Observatory by its scientific experimenters in honor of the centernial of the birth of Albert Einstein, whose concepts of relativity and gravitation have influenced much of modern astrophysics, particularly x-ray astronomy. The HEAO-2, designed and developed by TRW, Inc. under the project management of the Marshall Space Flight Center, was launched aboard an Atlas/Centaur launch vehicle on November 13, 1978.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana looks at the Polaris rover on display at NASA’s Fourth Annual Robotic Mining Competition. Developed by Astrobotic Technologies Inc. under a Small Business Innovative Research contract, Polaris will be demonstrated during the competition that takes place through May 24. The mining competition is coordinated by Kennedy Space Center’s Education Office for the agency’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Undergraduate and graduate students from 50 universities and colleges in the U.S. and eight countries around the world will use their remote-controlled robots to maneuver and dig in a supersized sandbox filled with a crushed material called regolith that has characteristics similar to asteroids, moons of Mars and Mars itself. Photo credit: NASA_Lorne Mathre

This x-ray photograph of the Supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, taken with the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO) 2/Einstein Observatory, shows that the regions with fast moving knots of material in the expanding shell are bright and clear. A faint x-ray halo, just outside the bright shell, is interpreted as a shock wave moving ahead of the expanding debris. The HEAO-2, the first imaging and largest x-ray telescope built to date, was capable of producing actual photographs of x-ray objects. Shortly after launch, the HEAO-2 was nicknamed the Einstein Observatory by its scientific experimenters in honor of the centernial of the birth of Albert Einstein, whose concepts of relativity and gravitation have influenced much of modern astrophysics, particularly x-ray astronomy. The HEAO-2, designed and developed by TRW, Inc. under the project management of the Marshall Space Flight Center, was launched aboard an Atlas/Centaur launch vehicle on November 13, 1978.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Modifications continue on the Mobile Launcher, or ML, at the Mobile Launcher Park Site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In this view looking up from beneath the ML, the tower and a large crane are visible. The crane is situated near the ML for lifting of heavy metal beams and other construction materials. Sections of the ML are being modified and strengthened to accommodate the weight, size and thrust at launch of NASA's Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. In 2013, the agency awarded a contract to J.P. Donovan Construction Inc. of Rockledge, Fla., to modify the ML, which is one of the key elements of ground support equipment that is being upgraded by the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy. The existing 24-foot exhaust hole is being enlarged and strengthened for the larger, heavier SLS rocket. The ML will carry the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B for its first mission, Exploration Mission-1, in 2017. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper