African American Astronaut Manages Research in Space
NASA astronaut and Payload Commander Michael Anderson
will manage more than 80 experiments during a 16-day
science mission on the Space Shuttle Columbia.
Anderson, along with Columbia Commander Rick Husband, Pilot
Willie McCool, Mission Specialists Dave Brown, Kalpana
Chawla, Laurel Clark, and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon
will work around-the-clock in shifts to conduct biology,
physics, chemistry and Earth science experiments. They will
work inside the Shuttle’s middeck and in a new Spacehab
Research Double Module during the mission dedicated to
scientific research.
The research, developed by NASA, the European Space Agency,
commercial enterprises, and students could lead to a
cleaner environment, better construction materials and the
development of drug therapies that may assist with the
prevention of breast, lung, colon and brain cancer.
In addition to managing the research, Anderson, a
lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force and former
instructor pilot, will perform experiments exploring heart
and lung functions; fire suppression and soot processing;
bone and muscle atrophy; kidney stone and viral infection
prevention.
Selected by NASA in December 1994, Anderson flew on Space
Transportation System (STS)-89 in 1998, the eighth Shuttle-
Mir docking mission. He has logged more than 211 hours in
space. Anderson attended Creighton University where he
earned a Master of Science degree in physics.
The Shuttle Columbia (STS-107) is scheduled to launch
Thursday, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. EST, from the Kennedy
Space Center, Fla. The precise launch time will be
announced approximately 24 hours prior to liftoff.
Additional information about the STS-107 mission is
available on the Internet at:
http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/
A biography and photo of Anderson is available at:
