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STS-77 Mission Overview

Canadian talent and expertise figured prominently on Mission STS-77. Firstly, Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau celebrated his second flight into space. As well, Canadian scientific experiments on-board Space Shuttle Endeavour were part of the flight: the Commercial Float Zone Furnace (CFZF), the Aquatic Research Facility (ARF), the Nanocrystal Get Away Special (NANO-GAS) and the Atlantic Canada Thin Organic Semiconductors (ACTORS).

The Canadarm deployed and retrieved a scientific satellite, the SPARTAN 207/Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE). Dr. Garneau manoeuvred the Canadarm for the retrieval operations.

As well, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who flew on Mission STS-74 only six months ago, was CAPCOM (Capsule Communicator) for this mission, providing the only direct voice-link between Mission Control and the astronauts in the space shuttle.

The six-member crew of Endeavour had a busy schedule on their ten-day mission. They deployed and retrieved the Spartan satellite using the Canadarm. Spartan was a scientific satellite that offered a simple, reusable and relatively low-cost method of collecting valuable scientific data on a wide range of scientific problems.

Other mission highlights included a number of scientific experiments carried in the commercial SPACEHAB laboratory module housed in the shuttle's cargo bay. The multinational Commercial Float Zone Furnace experiment processed 12 sample materials contributed by scientists from Canada, the USA and Germany to produce high-quality crystals. These pure crystals can be used in manufacturing a wide variety of high technology products, including semiconductors, computer chips, lasers, infra-red detectors and many more.

STS-77 also carried the Aquatic Research Facility (ARF), a space laboratory designed and built in Canada, which allowed researchers to use the microgravity environment to study and better understand early birth defects, bone calcium loss and ocean ecology. This research provided important information on the earliest stages of development and on the feeding patterns and distribution of specific marine species of our coastal waters.

Two Canadian Get Away Special (GAS) experiments were also flying on Mission STS-77. GAS experiments are self-contained, fully-automated and supply their own power sources, data collection and processing. The Nanocrystal Get Away Special was designed to grow high-quality crystals of an advanced new class of materials called nanoporous crystalline semiconductors. The Atlantic Canada Thin Organic Semiconductors used the Physical Vapour Transport (PVT) method to produce enhanced quality organic thin films that could find applications as gas detectors, in computers, in lasers, and in high-performance electronic equipment.