2000
Space milestones
Kayser devices arrive at NASA
Three flight units of the Hand Grip Dynamometer are delivered to the Johnson Space Center. The hardware developed in Livorno enters NASA’s operational setting, strengthening Kayser’s role in research into human physiology in microgravity.
Permanent human presence on the ISS begins
On 2 November, the arrival of the Expedition 1 crew inaugurates a continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station. A new phase of research in orbit begins: for Kayser, the ISS will become a key laboratory for developing and using its experimental systems.
Missions & Payloads
MOMO 3
Third flight of the facility dedicated to studying directional solidification using transparent organic substances that reproduce some behaviours of metal alloys. The experiments focus on the dynamics of the cellular microstructures that form during solid growth, observed directly through CCD images. The facility flies aboard the Shuttle Atlantis from 19 to 29 May 2000, during STS-101, the third Shuttle mission dedicated to ISS assembly and resupply. The mission lasts 9 days and 20 hours and takes place at an altitude of approximately 173 nautical miles, equivalent to 320 km, with an orbital inclination of 51.6°.
BIRBA
Stratospheric balloon campaign dedicated to biological experiments on the effects of cosmic radiation on cells and organisms.
BIRBA
Family of biological incubators used on the stratospheric balloons of ASI’s Biological Research on Balloons programme. The BIRBA 2000 configurations include modifications and upgrades introduced from 2000 onwards and are designed to host biological and physics experiments. The containers provide temperature control, power, pressure and temperature monitoring, data acquisition and telemetry. Some configurations also allow samples to be exposed to external radiation.
A300
Parabolic flight campaign aboard the Airbus A300 Zero-G, dedicated to short-duration experiments in microgravity. It hosts the ARIEL payload, which studies the behaviour of bubbles in fluids.
MITA
Italian minisatellite, whose acronym stands for Italian Advanced Technology Minisatellite, designed to validate in orbit a platform intended for future small scientific missions. It is launched on 15 July 2000 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, aboard a Cosmos-3M launch vehicle, as a secondary payload alongside the CHAMP satellite. It carries NINA-2, dedicated to studying galactic and solar cosmic rays, and MTS-AOMS, an ESA experimental system for autonomous attitude and orbit determination.
MITA
Mission of the Italian minisatellite MITA, a platform for technology demonstration and scientific experiments in low Earth orbit.
ARIEL
Fluid physics experiment dedicated to studying the boiling of a dielectric liquid in microgravity. The apparatus makes it possible to investigate how an electric field can affect the formation, size and movement of bubbles, with the aim of improving heat transfer and fluid management. It participates in ESA’s 29th parabolic flight campaign, from 21 to 23 November 2000, aboard the Airbus A300 Zero-G, departing from Bordeaux-Mérignac. The aircraft makes three flights of 30 parabolas each, each providing around 20 seconds of microgravity. The campaign enables the technology to be tested and refined ahead of subsequent trials, culminating in the orbital flight on Foton-M2 in 2005.
STS 101
International Space Station resupply and maintenance mission. It supports the station’s assembly and prepares the onboard systems for a future permanent human presence.