Non-dimensionalization of the governing equations for the Moving Meniscus Model of detached solidification in zero gravity allowed consolidation of the operating conditions and physical properties into 5 dimensionless parameters: a dimensionless meniscus factor, a freezing rate Peclet number, the interfacial segregation coefficient k for dissolved gas, the ratio of gas solubility at the end of the melt to that at the meniscus, and the ratio of gas concentration in the gap to that in the adjacent melt. At steady state, the flux of gas dissolved in the melt moving toward the freezing interface must equal the sum of the flux of gas into the gap plus that being incorporated in the growing solid. Both numerical and material-balance results give two solutions, with an extremum value of each variable beyond which steady detachment is impossible. This behavior is now understood to originate from satisfaction of the material balance at two different gap widths, with these two solutions becoming identical at an extremum condition beyond which the material balance cannot be satisfied. Only one solution is obtained when no gas is incorporated in the solid. In the presence of gravity, the gas pressure in the gap must be much larger to compensate for the added hydrostatic pressure, causing the gap width to be narrow. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.