B.USOC

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B.USOC

• Belgian User Support
• and
• Operation Centre
• Address
• B.USOC c/o BIRA-IASB
• Avenue Circulaire 3 Ringlaan
• B-1180 Brussels-Belgium

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THE BELGIAN USER SUPPORT AND OPERATION CENTRE
(B.USOC) gives support to the space users for
experiment definition, development and
operations. Location Space Pole 3rd floor of
the BIRA/IASB building Responsibles
Management M.C. LIMBOURG, OSTC (under the
authority of M.Wagner, Head of the Space
Department)
Administrative Management D.NEVEJANS, BIRA
(under the authority of P.C. Simon, Director)
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USOCs - Europe

• Name of USOC Country
• CADMOS France
• MARS Italy
• MUSC Germany
• DAMEC Denmark
• IDR/UPM Spain
• DUC The Netherlands
• B.USOC Belgium
• BIOTESC
  Switzerland
• and ERASMUS User Centre ESTEC

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USOCs - ESA Facilities
Facilities FSL Fluid Science
Laboratory Biolab Biology Laboratory EDR
European Drawer Rack EPM European Physiology
Modules (MSL Material Science Laboratory)
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USOCs - ISS

• The USOCs and the International Space Station
  (ISS)
• Name of USOC Function
• CADMOS FRC Medicine
• MARS FRC Fluid Sciences
• MUSC FRC Material Sciences and Biology
• DAMEC FSC Medicine (under Cadmos)
• IDR/UPM FSC Fluid Sciences (under
  Mars)
• DUC Support to the FRC European Drawer Rack
• B.USOC in ESTEC
• FRC Facility Responsible Centre
• FSC Facility Support Centre
• ESC Experiment Support Centre

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Role of the B.USOC
Support to experiment/space facility
developments for all disciplines Microgravity,
Earth Observation, Space Sciences, Space
Technology Functions Information / Promotion

(Promotion -
publications - database, website, etc) Technical
Support
(Experiment/facilit
y development) Operational Support
(Pre-operation - operation - post-operation -
mission centre, data reception and transmission,
data storage, data archiving, etc) For the ISS
ESC for the COLUMBUS facilities FSC for
multiuser facilities installed in the European
Drawer Rack (EDR) Support to FRC, located in
ESTEC, for the EDR (ESC Experiment Support
Centre / FRCFacility Responsible Centre)
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B.USOC - Staff

• Function Name
• Information/ Stéphanie
  Fratta
• Promotion Etienne Ladrière
• Luth
  Knockaert (BIRA-IASB)
• Technical Support Romuald
  Coszach
• Emiel
  Van Ransbeeck (BIRA-IASB)
• Operational Support Karin Cornelis
• Carlos Lippens (BIRA-IASB)
• Support for the ISS Etienne
  Haumont
• Secretary Pascale Cambier
• Publication Secretary David
  Plaisant
• Manager B.USOC Marie-Claude Limbourg
  (OSTC)
• Administrative Manager Dennis Nevejans
  (BIRA-IASB)

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B.USOC - Information / Promotion

• I. Preparation of the Database
• .

• Containing
• List of the Belgian scientists involved in
  Microgravity, Space Sciences, Earth Observation,
  Space Technology and information related to
  Belgian scientists
• Participation of the Belgian scientists to
  future ESA missions (or with other space
  agencies)
• Participation of the Belgian scientists to ESA
  consultative and scientific structures, European
  Union, etc.
• Summary of the Belgian space research (abstracts
  and publications list)
• . Links to ESA data base and other agencies -
  annoucements of flight opportunities (AO s)
• 
  - technical
  description/plans of facilities
• Information related to the funding sources for
  space research PRODEX and GSTP

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B.USOC - Information / Promotion

• II. Public Relations and Information to the Press
• List of selected Belgian scientists and summary
  in English, French and Dutch (in preparation of
  STS-107 mission)
• Press kit
• Link between the B.USOC and the ESTEC
  Information Centre in relation with the
  International Space Station
• Access to teleoperations and SOPG rooms for
  officials, for the universities, for the press
  and for the public during the missions
• Invitation to launch transmissions (ESA TV)
• Retransmissions of space events on Belnet
  including sequences related to the Belgian
  scientific and industrial participation

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B.USOC - Information / Promotion
III. Information Meetings Space research
meetings in Microgravity, Space Sciences, Earth
Observation and Space Technology and meetings
for the telescience missions involving the User
Home Bases (UHB) are scheduled
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B.USOC - Information / Promotion

• IV. Publications
• Space Scientific Research in Belgium
• In Microgravity from 1994 to 2000
• In Space Sciences from 1994 to 2000
• In Earth Observation from 1994 to 2000
• In Space Technology from 1996 to 2000
• This publication contains research results, by
  the Belgian scientists involved

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B.USOC - Information / Promotion
V. Information concerning the Flight
Opportunities AOs (Announcements of
Opportunities) of ESA and other space agencies on
the Website of the B.USOC, and support to the
scientists for the answer to these AOs. WEBSITE
http//www.oma.be/B.USOC VI. Administrative
Support For the preparation of industrial
contracts For the preparation of scientific
agreements
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B.USOC - Technical Support
The facilities for space experiments are
developed by the Belgian industry in the
framework of the Prodex programme. The Prodex
staff provides the management for the development
of projects, the technical and administrative
monitoring of the contracts. A complementary
technical support is provided by the B.USOC
- technical information, specification
definition support, pre- qualification tests,
etc. Responsibles Emiel Van Ransbeeck
(BIRA-IASB) Romuald
Coszach
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On going STS-107 Experiment Preparation I. PI
experiment of Prof. R. Bouillon (KULeuven) Study
Cell biology - osteoblasts Role of the
B.USOC Support - to
the development of new cells for Biobox 5
- to the ground preparation (vibration
effect and acceleration)
test at OIP (Oudenaarde) and at Bell Telephone
(Antwerp) and later at CSL
(Liège) where a vibration table will be installed
II. Experiment of Prof. A. Poffijn (RUG) and
P. Van Oostveldt (RUG) Study Cell
biology of connective tissues (Biobox
experiment) Role of the B.USOC
Support to the ground experiments
Support to the vibration/acceleration tests
(OIP-Bell Telephone)
B.USOC - Technical Support
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B.USOC - Technical Support
III. Experiment of Prof. C. Lapière (ULg)
Study Cell biology of connective tissues
(Biopack) Role of the B.USOC Support to
the ground experiments
Support to the vibration/accelerat
ion tests
(OIP-Bell Telephone) IV.
Experiment of Prof. P. Cornelis (VUB-VIB)
Study Effect of microgravity on biological
cells Role of the B.USOC Design
(B.USOC) and development of
experiment units (ground
and flight)
(PEDEO-Techniek)

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B.USOC - Technical Support

• V. Experiment of Prof. L. Wijns (VUB)
• Experiment of Prof. J. Martial (ULg)
• Two experiments of Prof. J.P. Declercq
  (UCL)
• Study Crystallization of proteins in
  microgravity
• Role of the B.USOC
• Technical and administrative support
• Support to the ground study (in preparation)
• Utilization of diagnosis means in order to
  prepare PCDF experiments, Protein Crystallisation
  Diagnostic Facility (Drawer Rack facility for the
  Space Station) and chemical-physical aspects of
  crystallization (organization of working groups)

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B.USOC - Technical Support

• Future Projects (selected)
• Support to the MELISSA Team (Microbial Ecological
  Life Support System Alternative)
• Preparation of experiments for the ISS - Drawer
  Rack (cf. GSTP- 2 and 3 / EMIR-2 extension)
• Prof. A. Poffijn - P. Van Oostveldt
  (RUG) Radiation
• Prof. W. Verstraete (RUG) Biological cycles
• Dr. L. Diels (VITO) Biological cycles
• Prof. D. Vander Straete (RUG) Plants
• Prof. D. Berckmans (KULeuven) Animal cages
• Ir. F. Preudhomme (Verhaert)
  Biorat (Drawer Rack Facility
  Development)
• Role of the B.USOC
• Coordination support
• Administrative support (organization of
  meetings)
• Technical Support

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B.USOC - Operational Support

• Responsibles Karin Cornelis (B.USOC)
• Carlos Lippens (BIRA-IASB)
• The operations are decentralised in the User Home
  Bases  - UHBs, laboratories in universities and
  research institutes equipped for UHB
  teleoperations
• For the solar experiments, SROC in the RMIB
• For the space sciences, in the ROB
• For the material sciences, MTM in the KULeuven
• For the fluid sciences, MRC in the ULB
• For the life sciences, BPL in the ULB, Erasmus
• The operations can also take place in the B.USOC

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B.USOC - Operational Support

• Role of the B.USOC
• Support to the installation of the UHBs
• Support to the missions preparations (cf.
  HitchHiker mission, etc)
• Support during the operations of the mission
  shifts in the B.USOC and/or in the UHBs (cf.
  HitchHiker mission, etc)
• Support to the data reception (antenna, etc)
• Data archiving
• Data dispatching
• Database for the telescience projects, hardware,
  software and communication equipment of the
  B.USOC and the UHBs
• New technology for the communication interfaces
  (ISDN, ATM, etc)
• Mission centre (cf. PICARD mission)
• FRC for the solar experiments (cf. SOVIM,
  SOLSPEC, SOL-ACES)
• Support to FRC for the European Drawer Rack
  (EDR) and the European Technology Exposure
  Facility (EUTEF)

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B.USOC - Operational Support

• Future activities in the UHBs

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B.USOC - Operational Support

• Mission Centre for the PICARD mission

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B.USOC - Operational Support

• FRC for the solar experiments on ISS External
  Pallet

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B.USOC - Operational Support

• Support to FRC for the EDR and the EUTEF

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B.USOC - Operational Support

• ESC to the Microgravity Facilities for Columbus
  (MFC)