MORE ABOUT RAHFS

Permit me to pass on some RAHF history.
Attached to this is a layout of the RAHF systems.

This system was designed many years ago through Lockheed Martin [a contracter to NASA]. Each RAHF is designed to hold up to 24 adult rodent animals for space flight experiments. The original design included two configurations, one designed to hold rodents and another configuration to hold primates or monkeys. We have no plans to fly primates.

The RAHF provides environmental control, food, water, lighting and waste management for the animals. The RAHFs have flown on the Shuttle Columbia twice before (maybe a third) in previous missions. The RAHFs on Neurolab will be flying with new electronics and a computer system that we call the MPCS (Monitoring and Process Control System). This is a major redesign and we, here at Ames Research Center, are eager to see it work in the microgravity of Earth orbit.

The RAHFs include a cage module that does the actual cage holding. This module also includes all the lighting systems, air ducts, water system components, temperature and humidity sensors.

Each RAHF holds twelve cages in the modules. Removal of one cage removes two adult rodents. RACK 3 will have cages with not two adult rodents, but one mother rodent and a rodent litter of eight baby rodents (neonates) in each cage. I like to call this the nursery or maternity ward.The neonates will be about seven days old when loaded into the orbiter Columbia.

That's all for now...
I will talk to you again next week....

Chris B. out......