The Initial Blood Storage Experiment--the spaceflight hardware program
Almgren, D.W.; Csigi, K.I.; Glaser, P.E.; Lucas, R.M.; Spencer, R.H.
Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine 60(12): 1215-1221
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0095-6562 PMID: 2604680 Document Number: 344161
The Initial Blood Storage Experiment (IBSE) was conceived to investigate the effects of microgravity on the formed elements of human blood. The experiment flew on the January 1986, 61-C mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia. The experiment hardware was designed to provide a closely controlled temperature and air flow environment for all blood samples. During the mission, two IBSE modules were on board the orbiter and an identical set of hardware and blood samples were maintained on Earth as a control. This paper describes the development and performance of the IBSE hardware which was converted from a conceptual design to an on-orbit, man-rated, mid-deck locker experiment in 17 months.