The CPPI is one of the first true telescience facilities. It was designed to be a key sub-system of the X-Ray Crystallography Facility (XCF) that was to be flown on the International Space Station to grow, prepare, freeze, store, and x-ray protein crystals in space. The CPPI, which was developed entirely in-house by OSS, uses robotics and automation to prepare, freeze, and store the protein crystals. The CPPI removes crystals, along with a small amount of mother liquor (the liquid used to grow crystals) from their growth cells. It then isolates candidate crystals and, at the command of a scientist on the ground, captures and processes them, if necessary flash freezing the crystals to -183°C. All of this is performed in a tightly controlled thermal environment. The CPPI was the predecessor to the ACTORTM Robotic Crystal Placement System.


