Engineering support of microgravity life science research - Development of an Avian Development Facility

The Avian Development Facility (ADF) is designed to provide a 'window' for the study of embryogenesis in space. It allows researchers to determine and then to mitigate or nullify the forces of altered gravity upon embryos when leaving and re-entering the Earth's gravity. The ADF design will allow investigations to begin their incubation after their experiments have achieved orbit, and shut down the experiment and fix specimens 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.