Daily News Wednesday, July 1, 1992 24-hour audio service at 202/755-1788 % Microgravity experiments going extremely well with fluid physics a "star;" % Science crew performs first-ever candle flame start-to-finish experiment; % Richards and Bowersox open and fix regenerative air scrubber system; % Onboard crew exercise protocols testing new "non-disturbance" methods; % KSC preparing Atlantis for Tether mission, Delta for Geotail mission; % Administrator Goldin signs agreement to explore "space salvage" opportunities; % Steve Hawley to return to Houston as deputy director of crew operations; % Dan Brandenstein to retire from NASA, U.S. Navy on October 1. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The orbiting science laboratory aboard Columbia continues to occupy both the flight crew and their ground-team counterparts in Houston and Huntsville. And, the Drop Physics Module remains the star of mission interactive science with nearly continuous experiments running for the past three days. The experiment principal investigator, Dr. Taylor Wang, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (he flew on the Spacelab 3 mission in April of 1985) reported yesterday that his fluid physics experiments aboard Columbia were "just fantastic." Wang has been working directly with STS-50 payload specialist Eugene Trinh, with the pair comparing ideas and making adjustments in real time based on both the downlink television image from the orbiting experiment and on Trinh's comments to Wang as the experiments progressed. Trinh was able to sustain an acoustically- suspended drop during a single three-hour run yesterday, the longest ever for this containerless vessel. In another experiment, Trinh increased the acoustic suspension energy on a drop until it burst into scores of tiny bubbles. In another "first-ever" experiment, mission specialist Carl Meade was able to conduct a candle-flame experiment using the Glovebox which followed a flame from initiation through burning to extinction. This is the first time this sequence has been performed and recorded in a weightless environment. The ground-based candle flames investigators, Howard Ross and Daniel Deitrich from the Lewis Research Center, remarked that their experiments would not have been possible without the interactive manipulations made by their orbiting counterparts and further that their experiment runs could not have been programmed. Both Meade and Trinh were outfitted yesterday with portable medical diagnostic sensors which continuously record their heart activity and blood pressure. This data will be analyzed post- flight to determine if there are any correlations with the reduced sensitivity in the crewmembers' body gravity sensors used to regulate heart rate and blood pressure. These and other medical experiments are being performed throughout this flight. And, the orbiter crew performed a bit of maintenance magic yesterday and, following a 32- step process to bypass the faulty sensor on the Regenerative Carbon Dioxide Removal System, was able to rewire the control logic of the prototype air scrubbing system and bring it back on line. The regenerative system is now performing nominally and is cleansing Columbia's cabin air. This system is being tested as a possible replacement for the standard air scrubbing lithium hydroxide canisters since the use of a regenerative system would save weight and stowage space -- important elements in any long-duration mission. In another test of potential future equipment, mission commander Dick Richards and pilot Ken Bowersox each exercised for an hour on a modified stationary bicycle on the orbiter's flight deck. The exercycle was tethered using bungee cords to test their shock-absorption capabilities as a possible way to reduce crew-induced disturbances to the microgravity environment. A different test using an electromagnetic shock-absorbing system has been successfully tested on the lower deck. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Work at the Kennedy Space Center on two upcoming missions continues to progress well. The KSC orbiter team working on Atlantis to prepare it for the upcoming STS-46 Tethered Satellite System mission is ready to install the payloads into the orbiter's bay. Atlantis is on Launch Pad 39-B and the payloads will arrive there later today. Adjacent to the KSC launch area, Geotail technicians are preparing for spacecraft weight and balance checks prior to mating their payload to its PAM-D upper stage. The Geotail/PAM-D pair will move to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Pad 17-A on July 14. The launch is targeted for July 24 at 10:29 am EDT aboard a Delta 2 launcher. The launch window is only 81 seconds long for Geotail's planned, extremely elliptical, orbit. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin yesterday signed an agreement between NASA and the International Technology Underwriters to explore ways the insurance industry can assist in financing human and robotic satellite rescue and repair missions. INTEC will look at options for providing incentives for the construction of commercial satellites which make them easier to rescue and repair if problems arise. Administrator Goldin said "we need to consider new approaches to salvaging satellites that will encourage the further commercialization of space." INTEC chairman James Barrett said "the insurance industry has had a great tradition of salvage in the maritime field and similar concepts must be explored for the benefit of the continued expansion of commercial and civil space enterprise." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Dr. Steven Hawley, associate director of the Ames Research Center, will return to Johnson Space Center on August 1 to become deputy director of flight crew operations. Hawley said "this is a unique opportunity to return home and play a part in running my old organization." Hawley flew on three shuttle missions logging 412 hours of spaceflight. Astronaut office chief Daniel Brandenstein announced he will be retiring from the U.S. Navy and leaving NASA on October 1 to pursue other interests. Brandenstein flew the Endeavour on its maiden flight and had previously flown on three other shuttle missions, logging 789 hours of spaceflight -- the shuttle record. JSC center director Aaron Cohen said that Brandenstein "is one of the finest human beings I have ever had the privilege to know. He has been an outstanding astronaut. His leadership skills are unparalleled here or elsewhere." Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Select TV. Note that all events and times may change without notice, and that all times listed are Eastern. Live indicates a program is transmitted live. Wednesday, July 1, 1992 Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. Live 12:12 pm STS-50 Blue Team talks with CBS radio. Live 2:00 pm Today in Space report on the progress of the USML-1 mission. Live 3:00 pm Mission status briefing on crew, orbiter and Spacelab systems. Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. 9:00 pm Replay of Today in Space program from earlier. Thursday, July 2, 1992 Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. Live 2:00 pm Today in Space report on the progress of the USML-1 mission. Live 3:00 pm Mission status briefing on crew, orbiter and Spacelab systems. Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. 9:00 pm Replay of Today in Space program from earlier. Friday, July 3, 1992 Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. Live 10:00 am Live coverage of the SAMPEX launch aboard a multi-stage Scout vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., begins. Live 10:19 am Scheduled launch of the Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer on a Scout rocket from LSC-5 at VAFB. Live 2:00 pm Today in Space report on the progress of the USML-1 mission. Live 3:00 pm Mission status briefing on crew, orbiter and Spacelab systems. Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. 9:00 pm Replay of Today in Space program from earlier. This report is filed daily at noon, Monday through Friday. It is a service of NASA's Office of Public Affairs. The editor is Charles Redmond, 202/453-8425 or CREDMOND on NASAmail. NASA Select TV is carried on GE Satcom F2R, transponder 13, C-Band, 72 degrees West Longitude, transponder frequency is 3960 MegaHertz, audio subcarrier is 6.8 MHz, polarization is vertical.