January 11, 2001. Copyright, 2001, Graphic News. All rights reserved

SPACE STATION ON COURSE TO MEET DESTINY
By Elisabeth Ribbans

LONDON, January 11, Graphic News:  WHEN the Atlantis space shuttle blasts off from the Kennedy Space Centre on its seventh mission to the International Space Station (ISS), it will be delivering more than just another component. The 16-tonne Destiny space laboratory that it carries in its mailbag marks the beginning of an era that will see unprecedented scientific experiments with the potential to affect profoundly the course of human progress.

That, of course, is NasaÕs line Ð but it would take a highly unexcitable earthling to dismiss the boasts only as hyperbole to justify the astronomical expense associated with the final frontier. For better or worse, the Destiny is well named.

The module, built by Boeing in Alabama, will be the primary workstation for American involvement in the ISS. To protect it from space debris, Destiny wears an underblanket made of a similar material to bulletproof vests, plus a thin aluminium outer shield for extra defence. Inside, it will eventually house 23 versatile experiment racks for crew support and scientific research. It may be only one of six state-of-the-art science labs but none of the 16 other countries involved in the US$100bn station questions DestinyÕs claim to be the centrepiece.

Powered by the giant solar panels that were installed in December Ð making the ISS one of the brightest objects in the firmament Ð Destiny will host hundreds of experiments performed with the benefit of a near-zero gravity environment by scientists from around the world. Part of the research will focus on furthering space exploration and understanding of the solar system. But as the ISS slogan Ð ÒItÕs about life on EarthÓ Ð is keen to convey, much of the study will be aimed at assisting industrial, environmental and medical processes back home.

Research into combustion science could result in a better understanding of climate and pollution. Material science experiments could revolutionize products from contact lenses to car components. Fluid physics in space may assist precision engineering on earth. As for bio-medical investigation Ð exponents believe the sky really is the limit.

From cures for cancer, to treatments for osteoporosis and diabetes, if the ISS delivers only a fraction of what the scientists predict, it will silence many detractors. NasaÕs earth-bound ÒbioreactorÓ has already grown tissue samples as diverse as liver, muscle, cartilage and bone. It is now set to extend its repertoire in space where weightless conditions will produce better cell structures.

What Destiny most definitely will not be, is a repository of science for scienceÕs sake. It is unashamedly a commercial asset, with a third of American ISS resources reserved for economic development. Pharmaceutical and aeronautical companies will be among those lining up to dispatch scientists to the night skyÕs Òmost brilliant starÓ in the quest for profits.

As NasaÕs Daniel Goldin says: ÒSpace can and will become a new arena of commercial activity as researchers discover new ways to improve processes and products for life on earth and in space.Ó
/ENDS