2002
Space milestones
Kayser becomes an ASI prime contractor
With the CHIRO experiment, transported to the ISS during Roberto Vittori’s Marco Polo mission, Kayser acts as prime contractor for the Italian Space Agency. The company expands its responsibilities, taking direct management of an experimental programme intended for the International Space Station.
Roberto Vittori reaches the ISS
Roberto Vittori reaches the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TM-34 as part of the Marco Polo mission. The flight strengthens the link between Italian participation in crewed missions and research activities developed by the national space industry.
INTEGRAL observes the most energetic Universe
ESA launches INTEGRAL, an observatory equipped with instruments to study gamma rays, X-rays and visible light from the cosmos’s most energetic phenomena simultaneously.
Foton-M1 ends at launch
On 15 October, the Foton-M1 mission ends a few seconds after lift-off owing to the failure of the Soyuz-U launch vehicle. The loss of the capsule prevents the European microgravity experiments on board from being carried out.
Missions & Payloads
BIRBA
Second trans-Mediterranean stratospheric balloon campaign, dedicated to studying the effects of cosmic radiation on biological samples.
PHOTO 1
Experiment designed to assess the effects of the space environment, particularly radiation, on the efficiency of photosystem II, a molecular complex essential to photosynthesis and oxygen production. It involves comparing normal and mutant strains of microalgae of the genus Chlamydomonas to identify any differences in their response to space conditions. The samples are housed in a passive container specially designed by Kayser Italia. The experiment is lost in the Foton-M1 launch failure.
PHOTO 2
Experiment designed to measure chlorophyll fluorescence and photosystem II efficiency in flight. Kayser Italia builds the outer container, while Biosensor and Carso develop the electronics. The experiment is lost in the Foton-M1 launch failure before the planned measurements in orbit can be carried out.
FOTON M1
European and Russian mission dedicated to experimentation in microgravity. The launch fails a few seconds after lift-off owing to a fault in the Soyuz-U launch vehicle, causing the loss of the capsule and the experiments on board.
FLUIDPAC
ESA automatic facility developed by a consortium led by Verhaert for advanced fluid physics experiments in microgravity. The configuration intended for Foton-M1 hosts four new experiments: BAMBI, ARIEL, DAGOBERT and SIMBA, dedicated to thermocapillary convection, boiling, heat transfer and the behaviour of fluid interfaces. The facility is one of the main components of ESA’s scientific payload, designed for around 15 days of activity in microgravity. The launch failure on 15 October 2002, a few seconds after lift-off, destroys FLUIDPAC and prevents the experiments from being carried out.
BIOPAN 4
Fifth mission overall of ESA’s BIOPAN facility, designed to expose biological and chemical samples directly to vacuum and solar and cosmic radiation under microgravity conditions. The programme includes nine experiments, the highest number up to that point: LICHENS, MARSTOX, ORGANICS, PERMAFROST, PHOTO, YEAST, LETVAR, RADO and R3D-B. The research ranges from microbial survival and exobiology to dosimetry and the simulation of Martian conditions. On 15 October 2002, the failure of the Soyuz-U launch vehicle prevents Foton-M1 from reaching orbit. The platform is found relatively intact among the payload debris, allowing some of the hardware to be recovered for subsequent missions.
ARIEL
Fluid physics experiment dedicated to studying boiling and heat transfer in microgravity under the influence of an electric field. It evolves from Professor Walter Grassi’s earlier GABRIEL research and aims to investigate whether an electrostatic field can control bubble formation, size and movement under reduced gravity. It is one of four experiments selected for FLUIDPAC on Foton-M1, alongside BAMBI, DAGOBERT and SIMBA. The launch failure on 15 October 2002 prevents the experiment from being carried out; it is subsequently rebuilt and flies on Foton-M2 in 2005.
TM34 MARCO POLO
Ten-day mission to the International Space Station with ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori. It includes a programme of scientific and technological experiments aboard the station.
BIRBA
The 2002 campaign reuses the BIRBA2 configuration prepared in 2001, after a balloon problem compromised the previous attempt. The incubators host experiments on cosmic radiation and its biological effects, with studies of human lymphocytes, Xenopus laevis development, biodosimetry and biosensors. Experiments include RA.SKIN, ERAQ1 and TROPALO. The system keeps samples at a controlled temperature and, for some experiments, allows selective exposure to radiation through quartz windows and motorised shutters. Kayser Italia develops and supplies the incubators, also handling experiment integration, testing, installation on the gondola, launch support and data analysis after recovery.
CHIRO
Human physiology experiment dedicated to studying the effects of microgravity on hand and finger grip strength and upper-limb motor control. The name derives from Crew Health Investigation on Reduced Operability. Conducted as part of the Marco Polo mission, it marks an important step for Kayser Italia, which takes on the role of prime contractor for the Italian Space Agency for the first time.