NASA'S GET AWAY SPECIALS

On the fourth U.S. space shuttle mission in June 1982, the orbiter Columbia carried a canister containing nine experiments by students of Utah State University and Weber State College, Ogden, Utah. The experiments observed the effects of microgravity on growth of fruit flies, brine shrimp, algae, and duckweed; on alloying and soldering; on surface tension; and on the curling of composite materials.

On the fifth space shuttle mission in November 1982, the orbiter Columbia carried a Federal Republic of Germany experiment into Orbit. The experiment tested how molten mercury and gallium metals mixed in the microgravity (nearly weightless) environment of space.

These were the first two of NASA's Get Away Specials (GAS). GAS is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., for the Office of Space Flight, Washington, D.C. Since those flights, Get Away Specials have carried experiments by such disparate organizations as a large aerospace firm, a public school district, and a motion picture producer.

What is a NASA Get Away Special?

Get Away Special is the popular name for the Self-Contained Payload Program. At a comparatively modest cost, the program gives individuals and organizations, both private and public, of all countries an opportunity to send scientific research and development experiments into space aboard a NASA space shuttle.

Why Does the NASA Space Shuttle Carry Get Away Specials?

The space shuttle transports people and cargo between the ground and Earth orbit. The orbiter has a cavernous payload bay about 60-feet (18.3-meters ) long and 15 feet (6 meters) in diameter. The orbiter may carry a payload as heavy as 65,000 pounds (29,500 kilograms) into Earth orbit.

For the most part, the payload bay will accommodate application and scientific spacecraft and/or manned laboratories that come in a variety of shapes and sizes. These primary payloads, as they are referred to, on the average do not use all of the orbiter's payload capacity and may leave room for smaller experiments. As a result, NASA is able to offer Get Away Specials at a low cost on a space-available basis.

What Do Get Away Specials Cost?

Get Away Special fees are based on required container volume and experiment weight. Customers make a $500 down payment or pay in full for Get Away Special reservations.

What Are Get Away Special Requirements?

Like all carriers, NASA's Space Transportation System has established standards and conditions relating to Get Away Specials. These are detailed in the Federal Register, subpart 1214.9. Among its key provisions are the following:

In order to assure access to space by a diverse group of users, NASA will rotate Get Away Special flights among three major categories: educational (Class I); foreign and commercial (Class II); and U.S. Government (Class III). Within each group, Get Away Specials will be flown on a first-come, first-served basis.

• Payloads must fit NASA standard containers and must not be heavier than 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms). Two or more experiments may be included in a single container if they do not exceed weight limitations.

• The payloads must be peaceful and scientific in intent, safe, and in compliance with all laws and U.S. Government obligations.

• Biological experiments must be limited to insects, due to the long lead time (60 to 90 days) required for Get Away Specials.

• The payload may require no more than six simple inputs by crew operation of NASA-provided relays.

• The payload must be self-powered and not draw on the orbiter's electricity.

• The package containing the payload must attach to the mounting plate that NASA provides.

• A Get Away Special may be shared by more than one party. However, NASA will deal with only one selected representative of the group.

• Transfer of ownership of a Get Away Special requires NASA consent and is limited to one transfer of each payload.

What Does NASA Provide?

Standard services provided Get Away Special users by NASA are listed below:

A shuttle flight container and a NASA shipping container for transportation of the payload to Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Electrical test connectors are supplied with the shipping container.

• Choice of container atmosphere, such as dry nitrogen, dry air, or a vacuum.

• Installation in and removal of payloads from NASA standard containers at KSC.

• Installation in and removal of containers from the orbiter.

• Limited operational services aboard the orbiter in space.

Get Away Special Bridge

The GAS Bridge made its maiden flight on STS-61C, January 1986. The aluminum bridge fits across the payload bay of the orbiter and offers a convenient and economic way of flying several canisters simultaneously, and helps in decreasing the backlog of GAS payloads waiting to be flown. GAS experiments for STS-61C were as follows: Painted Canvas Reaction to Space Travel, Vertical Horizons, N.Y., N.Y; Brine Shrimp Hatching, Fluid/Air Interaction, Booker T. Washington High School, Houston, Texas Flexible Beam Experiment, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo; Joint Utilization of Laser Integrated Experiments, St. Mary's Hospital, Milwaukee, Wis; Gypsy Moth Eggs in Space, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Md; Liquid Experiment: measured the effect convection has upon heat flow in a liquid, General Electric Co. and Penn State University, State College, Pa.; Photometric Thermospherc Oxygen Night Glow Study, Canadian Center for Space Study, Ottawa, Ontario; Student experiment on radio transmission, Alabama Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, Ala; High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Alltech Associates Inc., Deerfield, Ill; Ultraviolet Cosmic Background Experiment one canister each from Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md; and University of California, Berkeley.

The Get Away Special bridge now has flown four times, on STS-61C, January 1986; STS-40, June 1991; STS-42, January 1992; and STS-47, September 1992. It is now in the orbiter Endeavour, which is in the Vehicle Assembly Building, ready to fly on STS-57, scheduled for launch in May 1993. GAS payloads also are flown on adapter beams, singularly or in pairs, attached to the orbiter sill.

For general information about NASA's Get Away Special program, contact Lettie Thompson, Program Specialist, Code MB-NASA Headquarters, Washington, D. C. 20546. For technical information contact Larry Thomas, Shuttle Small Payloads Program Customer Support Manager, Code 745, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 20771, (301) 286-6760.