CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Shuttle Columbia's astronauts had no problem setting fires this week as part of their orbital science mission, but it's been a little more difficult to begin experiments on snuffing out the flames.
Originally set to start Monday, the Water Mist Fire Suppression Experiment (MIST) was delayed because of a problem the crew had in setting up the proper research equipment.
Both shifts of astronauts -- who are working around the clock aboard Columbia and its attached Spacehab laboratory -- had trouble establishing an air-tight seal in the combustion module where the fires are set.
Initial attempts to fix the problem late Monday and into Tuesday were unsuccessful, but by late Tuesday afternoon the crew had worked through an in-flight maintenance procedure that left the module in the proper configuration to begin the tests.
"Everything's looking great so far," NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said Tuesday.
The Blue Shift crew of pilot Willie McCool and mission specialists Mike Anderson and Dave Brown were scheduled to start and continue operating the MIST experiment overnight to help everyone catch up on the timeline.
The experiment is designed to study how a finely-sprayed water mist puts out a fire. The resulting information is expected to help design and build more effective fire suppression systems for use on future spacecraft, as well as in everyday applications on the ground.Earlier experiments using the combustion module during two separate science studies went well. One experiment studied the formation of soot while another looked at creating flame balls with low mixtures of fuel and air.
As the troubleshooting with MIST continued, another experiment to grow bone and prostate cancer tissue inside a device called a bioreactor is going so well that scientists have had to take measures to slow down the growth.
"These results are somewhat unprecedented," said Tom Goodwin, NASA project scientist for the Bioreactor Demonstration System that is part of a cooperative effort with Emory University in Atlanta.
In video clips displayed Tuesday during the daily mission status briefing, Goodwin showed how tumors have grown to the size of golf balls, dramatically larger and denser than tissue grown in the same hardware on the ground.
Researchers are growing the tumors to be studied in an effort to find better ways to prevent or treat prostate cancer before it attaches itself to bone tissue and spreads through the skeleton.
Meanwhile, the science took a back seat Tuesday for a few brief moments in recognition of the 17th anniversary of the 1986 Challenger disaster in which seven astronauts and a $2 billion spaceplane was lost in the skies over Kennedy Space Center.
As is now the tradition, workers at NASA centers around the nation paused for a moment of silence at 11:38 a.m. EST (1638 GMT) to mark the time the shuttle lifted off and honor not only the Challenger astronauts, but those lost in the 1967 Apollo 1 spacecraft fire and others who have lost their lives reaching for the stars.
Columbia's crew remembered the day by calling down to Mission Control in Houston just before the moment of silence took place.
"It is today that we remember and honor the crews of Apollo 1 and Challenger. They made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives and service to their country and for all mankind," said STS-107 commander Rick Husband.
"Their dedication and devotion to the exploration of space was an inspiration to each of us, and still motivates people around the world to achieve great things in service to others. As we orbit the Earth, we will join the entire NASA family for a moment of silence in their memory. Our thoughts and prayers go to their families as well."
At the Johnson Space Center the moment of silence was followed by ringing a bell for each astronaut that has died in the line of duty.
In Florida, while space center employees observed a moment of silence, residents of Florida's Space Coast gathered at Sand Point Park in Titusville for an annual memorial service. The park is located directly across the Indian River from KSC and is a favorite place for residents and tourists to watch shuttle launches.
Veteran Skylab astronaut Bill Pogue was the featured speaker.
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