
STS50-262-004 (25 June-9 July 1992) --- Astronaut Kenneth D. Bowersox, STS-50 pilot, holds an autoclave used in the growing of zeolite crystals on the middeck of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. He is standing near the Zeolite Crystal Growth (ZCG) furnace, which is housed in the space of two stowage lockers. On the 14-day U.S. Microgravity Laboratory mission, zeolite crystals were grown in 38 individual autoclaves, which were joined in pairs to be inserted into the 19 furnace orifices. While the autoclaves appear the same externally, there are several types of internal arrangements that were tested to determine which one provides the best mixing of the component solutions. The portrait of alternate payload specialist Albert Sacco, Jr. is mounted nearby. Sacco, serving as a ground controller at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, worked in conjunction with the red shift crew in the science module.
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NASA ID
sts050-262-004
Date Created
July 9, 1992
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Media Type
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