Gas-Grain Simulation Facility (GGSF). Volume 2: Conceptual design definition

Abstract

This document is Volume 2 of the Final Report for the Phase A Study of the Gas-Grain Simulation Facility (GGSF), and presents the GGSF Conceptual Design. It is a follow-on to the Volume 1 Facility Definition Study, NASA report CR 177606. The development of a conceptual design for a Space Station Freedom (SSF) facility that will be used for investigating particle interactions in varying environments, including various gas mixtures, pressures, and temperatures is delineated. It's not possible to study these experiments on earth due to the long reaction times associated with this type of phenomena, hence the need for extended periods of microgravity. The particle types will vary in composition (solids and liquids), sizes (from submicrons to centimeters), and concentrations (from single particles to 10(exp 10) per cubic centimeter). The results of the experiments pursued in the GGSF will benefit a variety of scientific inquiries. These investigations span such diverse topics as the formation of planets and planetary rings, cloud and haze processes in planetary atmospheres, the composition and structure of astrophysical objects, and the viability of airborne microbes (e.g., in a manned spacecraft)