View Live Data on Web from Experiment onboard Space Shuttle Endeavour!

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- MAY 13, 1996 -- For a limited time, people around the
world with access to the World Wide Web can view live data from out of
this world. Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are using
LabVIEW graphical instrumentation software (National Instruments, Austin,
Texas) to monitor the status of the Brilliant Eyes Ten-Kelvin Sorption
Cryocooler Experiment (BETSCE -- pronounced "Betsy") onboard the STS-77
mission of the space shuttle Endeavour. The live data will be available
for viewing on the National Instruments InstrumentationWeb at
http://www.natinst.com/shuttle/ Apple will provide access to the BETSCE
experiment data on its new Science, Engineering and Design web site at
http://www.technical.apple.com/

The data is downloaded from Endeavour to the NASA Johnson Space Center in
Houston, which in turn relays the data to an Apple Macintosh computer
running LabVIEW at the Measurement Technology Center (MTC) at JPL in
California. JPL sends the data to a LabVIEW-based web server at National
Instruments in Austin. To view the shuttle data, viewers need to use
Netscape Navigator Version 2.0 or later. The BETSCE experiment is
scheduled to begin on May 21, but may take place anytime during the
mission.

ABOUT BETSCE

BETSCE is a cooling device that can produce temperatures below 10 Kelvin
(K) without the vibration produced by standard refrigeration techniques.
(Before BETSCE, the only way to achieve temperatures as low as 10 K in
space has been to launch extremely large, heavy, and expensive cooling
equipment containing liquid helium or solid hydrogen.) This new
refrigeration technology is designed for precision-pointing astronomy,
earth observation, and surveillance space shuttle applications.

The Web page shows the status of a number of experiment parameters,
including:

 Temperature and pressure of the coolant
 Status of the coolant (solid, liquid, or gas)
 Temperature of specific parts of the system
 Status of valves (open or closed)

According to NASA, launch of Endeavour is targeted for May 18, 1996 from
Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39-B. The STS-77 mission is forecast
to last 10 days. An on-time launch and full 10-day mission duration will
result in a landing on May 28 at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing
Facility, Fla.

ABOUT NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

National Instruments, headquartered in Austin, Texas, manufactures software
and hardware products for PCs and workstations that scientists and
engineers worldwide use to build virtual instrumentation systems. These
systems are used for research and industrial applications, such as
automated testing, laboratory automation, advanced research, industrial
control, factory automation, physiological monitoring, numerical analysis,
and data visualization.

National Instruments stock is traded on the NASDAQ National Market System
under the symbol NATI. Further information on National Instruments may be
obtained from the company's SEC filings or by directly contacting the
company's Investor Relations Department at (512) 349-5090.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the BETSCE experiment, contact Dr. Steven Bard,
Principal Investigator, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, MS 157-316, 4800 Oak
Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, e-mail steven.bard@jpl.nasa.gov For
more information about applications using LabVIEW including test,
measurement, and ground support, contact Dr. Edmund Baroth, Technical
Manager, Measurement Technology Center, MS 125-177 at the JPL address
above, e-mail ebaroth@jpl.nasa.gov

For more information about LabVIEW, contact:

National Instruments
6504 Bridge Point Parkway
Austin, Texas 78730-5039
(512) 794-0100

Or call toll free in the U.S. and Canada at (800) 433-3488, fax (512)
794-8411, e-mail info@natinst.com. Readers can also access information
through the company's InstrumentationWeb at http://www.natinst.com/

For more information about Apple products, access the company's web site at
http://www.apple.com/
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What They're Saying About LabVIEW and BETSCE

"We're pleased that the Macintosh is playing a vital role in the BETSCE
Experiment. The combination of a Macintosh and LabVIEW application in the
space shuttle experiment is indicative of the major presence of Macintosh
solutions in the scientific community and on the Internet." -- Mike
Dionne, Senior Vice President of the Business Markets Division of Apple
Computer, Inc.

"We are always pleased to hear about exciting applications of our products,
but real-time data on the web from an experiment in space is definitely a
first. The Macintosh continues to be an important platform for virtual
instrumentation, and Apple is working hard to strengthen its mind share
with technical users." -- Dr. James Truchard, President and CEO of
National Instruments

"The time to write and modify the code using LabVIEW graphical programming
is significantly less -- by a factor of four to 10 -- than using
text-based code. The gains in productivity are attributed to the
communication among the customer, developer, and computer that are
facilitated by the visual syntax of the language." -- Dr. Edmund Baroth,
Technical Manager, Measurement Technology Center, Jet Propulsion
Laboratory

"I found the use of LabVIEW to be a very cost-effective solution for data
acquisition and ground support." -- Dr. Steven Bard, Principal
Investigator and Project Manager, BETSCE, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
 
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