Providing an Optimal Environment Utilizing the Avian Development Facility for Research in Microgravity

Space Hardware Optimization Technology (SHOT), Inc. has developed an Avian Development Facility (ADF) to isolate the effects of microgravity on embryogenesis of Japanese quail embryos by initiating and preserving embryo development in weightlessness. The ADF will monitor embryogenesis during orbit by fixing specimens at various times and will shut down the experiment before leaving orbit. In effect, the ADF makes every attempt to minimize launch and re-entry effects in order to isolate and preserve the effects of the experimental variable(s) of the space environment. The ADF also allows for egg rotation (similar to turning in a natural environment) and provides separate carousel rotation to accommodate centrifugation controls (up to 1-G) in a microgravity environment. Although no non-avian applications of ADF have yet been implemented, application to several fields can be considered, such as cell science, plant science, invertebrate biology and aquatic biology. The ADF is currently scheduled to fly and be operated on the space shuttle mid-deck in November 2001 during the UF-1 flight to the International Space Station and back.