A Multi-Purpose Furnace Material Science experiment holder for the Apollo Soyuz Test Project, 7.75 x 9 x 2.75, containing a total of 15 tubes, each 8″ in length, with the front housing marked “6640-00 L66-1212,” and labeled “Not For Flight Use,” “Experiment MA-O10 Cartridge Container, Contains 6 Sets of Experimental Cartridges, Part No. 101E689GO1A,” and “S/N 002.” Each of the tubes contained samples of different metals that would be melted in the zero-G environment; up to three of these tubes could be inserted into the furnace. In fine condition, with wear and scuffs.
The primary purpose of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Mission was to demonstrate international cooperation in space. It showed that with a docking adapter, American and Russian spacecraft could perform rescue operations in space. The American crew performed 29 scientific experiments, 11 in materials sciences. The mission profile involved a separate launch of the two spacecraft, with a rendezvous and docking on the second day in orbit, followed by several docking tests and separation, after which most scientific experiments were performed. The materials science experiments were conducted in three pieces of apparatus: the tube furnace and two electrophoresis devices.
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) multipurpose furnace was modified from a larger version used aboard Skylab for materials science experiments. The insert that held the experimental materials cylinders in this item is similar in that it takes the same size cylinders as the Skylab version. The ASTP experimental requirements differed from those performed during the Skylab missions, so the control, cool-down, and protection from overheating of the furnace components were modified for the ASTP experimental goals. The tube furnace was 15 cm in diameter, and it had three tubes, 2 cm in diameter, surrounded with insulation of nested thermal radiation shields. The windings were Kanthal A-1 embedded in an alumina cement, which provided the capability to heat each tube to 1150 °C, using 250 electrical watts. The second part of the furnace was the programmable controller which provided variable heating and cooldown rates. There were 11 materials experiments and 8 of these were accomplished in the furnace. The experiments are described in the Final Science Report of the Apollo-Soyuz Experiments, published by Marshall Space Flight Center as NASA TMX-73360.
In the tube furnace experiments, each experiment was solidified and melted in a sealed tube in which the environment surrounding the specimen was controlled. The experiments - 14 on Skylab, 11 on Apollo Soyuz, and 20 on the three SPAR rockets - provided much valuable data in weightless.
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