What is it like to sit on seven and one half million pounds of thrust, go from zero velocity to just under five miles a second in eight and a half minutes and look down on earth from space? Why would a scientist risk his life to do science in space, what was done, what do the results show and was it worth the risk? Take a trip on the space shuttle Columbia. Spend sixteen days in low earth orbit doing science in the areas of crystal growth, combustion, fluid physics and environmental earth observations. Data will be presented that illustrate the potential benefits of processing in low earth orbit, and an explanation will be on why these activities should be of interest to you.