Monday, April 28, 2014

There and back again: Space protein research at ISS, in Smithsonian

The SpaceX Dragon 3 capsule, carrying crucial protein crystal experiments from UAB, docked to the International Space Station on April 25. Image courtesy SpaceX.

On April 18, UAB's protein crystal experiments leapt into orbit aboard the SpaceX Dragon rocket. Check out some very cool photos and follow the mission live at www.spacex.com/webcast/. The experiments will take place aboard the International Space Station; want to find out when it passes overhead? Just visit the live tracker here.

While that work is going on in orbit, you can learn more about the history-making aspects of UAB's protein crystal expertise on the ground — in an exhibit now on display in Washington, D.C.



UAB-developed hardware from space shuttle missions in 1992 and 1995 is part of the "Moving Beyond Earth" gallery at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum. The equipment was first flown aboard the space shuttle Columbia from June 25-July 9, 1992, in the first flight of the U.S. Microgravity Laboratory-1. UAB's Larry DeLucas, who is principal investigator of the research now taking place at ISS, was a payload specialist on the 1992 flight.



Learn more about the exhibit here, and find out more details on research in UAB's Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering here.


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