12.03.08

Janet Anderson 
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 
256-544-0034 
Janet.L.Anderson@nasa.gov 

RELEASE: 08-175

MATERIALS SCIENCE RESEARCH RACK ENROUTE TO SPACE STATION

Today, a new multi-user materials science laboratory began its journey 
to the International Space Station, leaving NASA's Marshall Space 
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for NASA's Kennedy Space Center, 
Fla., for final flight preparations. 

The Materials Science Research Rack or MSRR will allow for study of a 
variety of materials – including metals, ceramics, semiconductor 
crystals and glasses – onboard the orbiting laboratory. It is 
scheduled to fly aboard space shuttle Atlantis on STS 128 planned for 
launch in July 2009. Upon arrival at the space station, the research 
rack will be housed in the U. S. Destiny Laboratory Module. 

"Materials science is an integral part of development of new materials 
for our everyday life," said Alex Lehoczky, project scientist for 
MSRR at the Marshall Center. "The goal of studying materials 
processing in space is to develop a better understanding of the 
chemical and physical mechanisms involved. Then, with this knowledge, 
we can reliably predict conditions required on Earth to achieve 
improved materials." 

The research rack is a highly automated facility and contains two 
furnace inserts in which sample cartridges will be processed up to 
temperatures of 2500°F. Initially 13 sample cartridge assemblies will 
be processed, and each cartridge assembly contains experiment 
samples. The cartridges are placed one at a time into the furnace 
insert for processing. Once a cartridge is in place, the experiment 
can be run by automatic command or science can be conducted via 
telemetry commands from the ground. Processed samples will be 
returned to Earth as soon as possible for evaluation and comparison 
of their properties to samples similarly processed on the ground. 

"Completing the Materials Science Research Rack brings us one step 
closer to making the International Space Station a robust orbiting 
laboratory," said Jimmie Johnson, Marshall Center project manager for 
MSRR. 

The MSRR is about the size of a large refrigerator, measuring 6 feet 
high, 3 ½ feet wide and 40 inches deep and weighs about 1 ton. The 
development of the research rack was a cooperative effort between 
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the European Space Agency. 

For more information about the space station, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/station 

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