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This blood typing machine flew as part of a "Getaway Special" experiment package on the STS 61-C Space Shuttle mission in 1986. Getaway Specials are containers in the payload bay for automated experiments that require no crew attention. A hospital flew the Joint Utilization of Laser Integrated Experiments (JULIE) to study the effects of laser light and cosmic radiation on various medical materials and human tissues. The apparatus included this blood-typing machine, a small laser, and syringes of blood samples and medications. One purpose of the experiment was to determine if blood cells clump together in space, as they do in the blood typing process on Earth. The hospital donated some of the experiment equipment to the Museum after the mission.

 Display Status

This object is on display in Space Science at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

Space Science
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type EQUIPMENT-Medical Manufacturer A. Ward Ford Memorial Institute
 Dimensions 3-D: 12 x 50.5cm (4 3/4 x 19 7/8 in.)
 Materials metals, plastic, fabric
 Inventory Number A19880033000 Credit Line Gift of St. Mary's Hospital, Milwaukee Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.