sts-73

STS-73 was a Space Shuttle program mission, during October–November 1995. The mission was the second mission for the United States Microgravity Laboratory. The crew, who spent 16 days in space, were broken up into 2 teams, the red team and the blue team. The mission also included several Detailed Test Objectives or DTO's.
The second United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) Spacelab mission was the prime payload on STS-73. The 16-day flight continued a cooperative effort of the U.S. government, universities and industry to push back the frontiers of science and technology in "microgravity", the near-weightless environment of space.
Some of the experiments carried on the USML-2 payload were suggested by the results of the first USML mission that flew aboard Columbia in 1992 during STS-50. The USML-1 mission provided new insights into theoretical models of fluid physics, the role of gravity in combustion and flame spreading, and how gravity affects the formation of semiconductor crystals. Data collected from several protein crystals grown on USML-1 enabled scientists to determine the molecular structures of those proteins.

The second United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) Spacelab mission was the prime payload on STS-73. The 16-day flight continued a cooperative effort of the U.S. government, universities and industry to push back the frontiers of science and technology in "microgravity", the near-weightless environment of space.
Some of the experiments carried on the USML-2 payload were suggested by the results of the first USML mission that flew aboard Columbia in 1992 during STS-50. The USML-1 mission provided new insights into theoretical models of fluid physics, the role of gravity in combustion and flame spreading, and how gravity affects the formation of semiconductor crystals. Data collected from several protein crystals grown on USML-1 enabled scientists to determine the molecular structures of those proteins.
USML-2 Built on that foundation. Technical knowledge gained was incorporated into the mission plan to enhance procedures and operations. Where possible, experiment teams refined their hardware to increase scientific understanding of basic physical processes on Earth and in space, as well as to prepare for more advanced operations aboard the International Space Station and other future space programs.

This Experiment was flown on STS-73, USML-2. Previously flown on USML-1. The Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiment apparatus allows investigators to view in great detail the basic fluid mechanics and heat transfer of thermocapillary flows, motions created within fluids by non-uniform heating of their free surfaces. Temperature variations cause irregularities in the fluid's surface tension (the force which makes an unhindered liquid surface tend to form a sphere, like a raindrop), which in turn triggers flows in the fluid. This thermocapillary flow, then, can also be referred to as surface-tension-driven convection. The facility uses a laser diode to illuminate particles suspended in silicone oil. Particle motions due to fluid flows, created by heating the oil either internally or on its surface, are recorded by a video camera attached to a chamber viewport. An infrared imaging system records oil surface temperature. A third camera, in concert with an optical measurement system, is used to monitor oil surface deformations and motion.[1]
 
[1] User Sparkr13
 

 
The second United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) Spacelab mission was the prime payload on STS-73. The 16-day flight continued a cooperative effort of the U.S. government, universities and industry to push back the frontiers of science and technology in "microgravity", the near-weightless environment of space.
Some of the experiments carried on the USML-2 payload were suggested by the results of the first USML mission that flew aboard Columbia in 1992 during STS-50. The USML-1 mission provided new insights into theoretical models of fluid physics, the role of gravity in combustion and flame spreading, and how gravity affects the formation of semiconductor crystals. Data collected from several protein crystals grown on USML-1 enabled scientists to determine the molecular structures of those proteins.

Payload on STS-50 and STS-73 on board USML-1 (U.S. Microgravity Laboratory) and USML-2 respectively.

The Drop Physics Module has been developed so scientists can study several fluid
physics phenomena: a simple surface, such as the sphere formed by a liquid drop in
the absence of gravity; how a drop reacts to different forces (drop dynamics); and
how surfaces and compound drops - a drop of one liquid surrounding a drop of a
different liquid - interact.

Payload on STS-73, USML-2 (DPM-2)
Payload on STS-50, Spacelab