Northwestern Science Project Space Bound

A Northwestern University science experiment will be aboard space shuttle Endeavor when it lifts off for the International Space Station.

More than 20 years since its conception, the materials science experiment is crafted to help improve the design of a variety of materials, from steels to aluminum alloys.

Professor Peter Voorhees began working on the project with NASA in 1986 while a postdoctoral researcher. He said the success of his first two experiments convinced NASA to fly the current experiment to the International Space Station.

Endeavor is scheduled for launch on Wednesday.

Voorhees says his goal is to better understand the fundamental science of coarsening — a process that occurs in nearly every material composed of two crystals, such as the high-temperature metal alloys used in jet engine turbine blades.

Earth-based coarsening experiments are problematic because of the effects of gravity.

Voorhees hopes his experiment, to be conducted in the space station’s low-gravity, will shed additional light on the coarsening process.