Space station furnace facility

The Space Shuttle Furnace Facility (SSFF) is the modular, multi-user scientific instrumentation for conducting materials research in the reduced gravity environment of the International Space Station. The facility is divided into the Core System and two Instrument Racks. The core system provides the common electrical and mechanical support equipment required to operate experiment modules (EMs). The EMs are investigator unique furnaces or apparatus designed to accomplish specific science investigations. Investigations are peer selected every two years from proposals submitted in response to National Aeronautics and Space Administration Research Announcements. The SSFF Core systems are designed to accommodate an envelope of eight types of experiment modules. The first two modules to be developed for the first instrument rack include a high temperature gradient furnace with quench, and a low temperature gradient furnace. A new EM is planned to be developed every two years.