Air Force Research Laboratory officials recently partnered with NASA to conduct materials experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The project incorporates 500 materials samples into two suitcase-like containers attached to the exterior of the ISS. The containers are fully opened and folded back to expose them to atomic oxygen bombardment, solar radiation, extreme temperature changes, and other severe space environmental factors. They will remain in that configuration until retrieved by ISS astronauts and brought back to Earth aboard a space shuttle. Members of the Laboratory's Materials and Manufacturing and Propulsion directorates, working with NASA, the U.S. Air Force Academy, Sandia National Laboratories, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Boeing, the Space Test Program, Aerospace Corp., deployed the sixth in a series of materials experiments to the ISS via a space shuttle.

Until now, the AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate staff has deployed only passive experiments to the ISS (experiments characterized before and after deployment). The ongoing mission, MISSE 6, incorporates eight active AFRL experiments that collect and store data in real time continuously or at set intervals for later analysis. MISSE 6 is comprised of two containers and incorporates 40 samples from AFRL including the eight active experiments. Officials say a seventh deployment is in the planning phase.