Shuttle Success Includes Goddard FREESTAR Cargo

The report from the international crew of seven aboard Space Shuttle Columbia is that the STS-107 mission continues to go very well. Thursday, Jan. 23 marked the halfway point of a 16-day science mission dedicated to space, life and physical sciences research.

The 80-plus experiments aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-107 represent the latest application of microgravity as a fundamental, versatile tool to gain insights in space and improve life on Earth as well as enable future space exploration.

Nestled within the cargo bay of Columbia is housed The Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling Science (FREESTAR), which is a Goddard managed Hitchhiker payload composed of six experiments. They include the Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment (MEIDEX), Solar Constant Experiment-3 (SOLCON-3), Shuttle Ozone Limb Sounding Experiment-02 (SOLSE-02), Critical Viscosity of Xenon-2 (CVX-2), Low Power Transceiver (LPT), and Spacer Experiment Module-14 (SEM).

The FREESTAR mission status reported by the operations crew at Goddard reports the following. The MEIDEX observations continue to go well. The MEIDEX team has confirmed they have obtained an image of several phenomenons that are being evaluated.

The Solar Constant Experiment (SOLCON) operations continue and the instrument is performing nominally, having completed 7 solar observations. The Shuttle Ozone Limb Sounding Experiment (SOLSE) has completed 4 Limb Views and 1 Earth View but the data has yet to be analyzed. Critical Viscosity of Xenon (CVX-2) has performed well. The second CVX-2 critical period is scheduled to start the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 22.

Low Power Transceiver (LPT) operations are nominal. The first Global Positioning Satellite period successfully converged on an orbital solution by continually tracking 4 satellites. The Space Experiment Module (SEM) will be evaluated once the shuttle has returned. The crew of Columbia includes the first ever Israeli to fly in space. Columbia is currently scheduled to return to the Kennedy Space Center the morning of February 1.