Columbia astronaut Susan Still waves as James Halsell talks with mission control in Houston from the space shuttle in this image from NASA Television Friday. The seven-member crew is on day 10 of a 16-day microgravity science mission. AP Photo/NASA TV

Astronauts melt, cool metals

Web posted July 12, 1997

Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - Scientists melted and then cooled metal samples aboard space shuttle Columbia on Friday in hopes of eventually benefiting industries on Earth.

The researchers worked by remote control from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. That's similar to the way things will be handled on NASA's future international space station.

After being melted, the metals were cooled to below the freezing point inside Columbia's electromagnetic levitation unit.

Robert Bayuzick, a professor of materials science at Vanderbilt University, was delighted with how his tests on zirconium turned out.

``We're doing fundamental science so like always it's a long stretch between the fundamental science and the applications,'' he said Friday. ``Could it have eventual applications? Yes, but that's still further down the road.''

Columbia's astronauts spent part of the day fixing a broken camera in the levitation unit. They also set more test fires and conducted more fluid and crystal experiments.

The 16-day laboratory mission is due to end Thursday.

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