Scientists Experiment With Metals Aboard Columbia

Scientists melted and then cooled metal samples aboard space shuttle Columbia on Friday in hopes of eventually benefiting industries on Earth.

The researchers worked by remote control from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. That’s similar to the way things will be handled on NASA’s future international space station.

After being melted, the metals were cooled to below the freezing point inside Columbia’s electromagnetic levitation unit.

Robert Bayuzick, a professor of materials science at Vanderbilt University, was delighted with how his tests on zirconium turned out.

“We’re doing fundamental science so like always it’s a long stretch between the fundamental science and the applications,” he said Friday. “Could it have eventual applications? Yes, but that’s still further down the road.”

The 16-day laboratory mission is due to end Thursday.