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Spacelab was a reusable laboratory flown into space on the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle

NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System , is the spacecraft currently used by the United States government for its human spaceflight missions....
. It allowed scientists to perform experiments in microgravity in Earth orbit. The laboratory consisted of multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware.

History
In August 1973, NASA
NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, responsible for the nation's public list of space agencies....
 and ESRO (now European Space Agency
European Space Agency

The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmentalism organisation dedicated to the Space exploration, currently with 18 member states....
 (ESA)) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build a science laboratory for use on Space Shuttle flights.






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Spacelab was a reusable laboratory flown into space on the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle

NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System , is the spacecraft currently used by the United States government for its human spaceflight missions....
. It allowed scientists to perform experiments in microgravity in Earth orbit. The laboratory consisted of multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware.

History


In August 1973, NASA
NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, responsible for the nation's public list of space agencies....
 and ESRO (now European Space Agency
European Space Agency

The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmentalism organisation dedicated to the Space exploration, currently with 18 member states....
 (ESA)) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build a science laboratory for use on Space Shuttle flights. Construction of Spacelab started in 1974 by the ERNO
Entwicklungsring Nord

The Entwicklungsring Nord - abbreviated ERNO - was a 1961 joint venture of Bremen -based Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH and Focke-Wulf with Hamburger Flugzeugbau to develop parts for rockets and get involved in space activities....
 (daughter of VFW-Fokker GmbH, after merger with MBB
Messerschmitt

Messerschmitt AG was a famous Germany aircraft manufacturer, known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Me 262....
 named MBB/ERNO, and since 2003 part of EADS SPACE Transportation
EADS SPACE Transportation

EADS Astrium Space Transportation was formed in June 2003 from the Space Infrastructure division of Astrium and the EADS Launch Vehicles division ....
). The first set including lab module, LM1, was given to NASA free of charge by ESA in exchange for flight opportunities for European astronauts. A second module, LM2, was bought by NASA
NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, responsible for the nation's public list of space agencies....
 for its own use from ERNO. In addition to the laboratory module, the complete set also included five external pallets for experiments in vacuum, built by British Aerospace (BAe)
British Aerospace

British Aerospace was a United Kingdom aircraft manufacturer, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. In 1999 it purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc to form BAE Systems....
 and a pressurized igloo containing the subsystems needed for the pallet-only flight configuration operation.

Eight flight configurations were qualified though even more could be assembled.

The Spacelab components were used on 25 shuttle flights, but the components were decommissioned in 1998 except the pallets. Science work was to be moved to the International Space Station
International Space Station

The International Space Station is a research facility Assembly of the International Space Station in outer space. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998, and is scheduled to be complete by 2011, with operations continuing until around 2015....
 and Spacehab
SPACEHAB

Spacehab, Inc. is an aerospace company headquartered in Webster, Texas, Texas near the Johnson Space Center.SpaceHab provides commercial space products and services to NASA, the U.S....
 module, a pressurized carrier similar to the Spacelab Module. A Spacelab Pallet was recommissioned in 2002 for flight on STS-99
STS-99

STS-99 was a Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Endeavour mission, that launched on February 11, 2000 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The primary objective of the mission was the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission project....
. The "Spacelab Pallet - Deployable 1 (SLP-D1) with Canadian Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator
Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator

Dextre is a two armed robot, or telemanipulator, which is part of the Mobile Servicing System on the International Space Station , and extends the function of this system to replace some activities otherwise requiring Extra-vehicular activity....
, Dextre" was launched on STS-123
STS-123

STS-123 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station which was flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. STS-123 was the 1J/A Assembly of the International Space Station mission....
. "Spacelab Pallet - Deployable 2 (SLP-D2)" is currently scheduled for STS-127
STS-127

STS-127 is a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station which will launch no earlier than May 15, 2009, a launch date dependent on whether STS-125 is given the go-ahead for a May 12 launch....
.

The LM2 is now on display in the Bremenhalle exhibition in the Bremen Airport
Bremen Airport

Bremen Airport or Flughafen Bremen serves the city of Bremen, Germany....
 of Bremen, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
.

Description


The Spacelab Module consists of a cylindrical main laboratory configurable as Short or Long Module flown in the rear of the Space Shuttle cargo bay, connected to the crew compartment by a tunnel. The laboratory had an outer diameter of 4.12 m, and each segment a length of 2.7 m. Most of the time two segments were used in forming the Long Module configuration.

The Spacelab Pallet is a U-shaped platform for mounting instrumentation, large instruments, experiments requiring exposure to space, and instruments requiring a large field of view, such as telescopes. The pallet has several hard points for mounting heavy equipment. The pallet can be used in single configuration or stacked end to end in double or triple configurations. Up to five pallets can be configured in the Space Shuttle cargo bay by using a double plus triple pallet.

Other Spacelab elements include the tunnel, Igloo, and the Instrument Pointing System (IPS) tailored to the pallet interfaces for precise pointing to space or earth targets.

Spacelab missions


  • STS-9
    STS-9

    STS-9 was the 6th mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia It was Columbia's last flight until early January of 1986, STS-61C. It was also the last time the old Space Transportation System numbering was used until STS-26 ....
    , Spacelab 1, November 1983, Module LM1 and Pallet
  • STS-51-B
    STS-51-B

    STS 51-B was the seventeenth flight of a Space Shuttle and the seventh flight of Space Shuttle Challenger....
    , Spacelab 3, April 1985, Module LM1
  • STS-51-F
    STS-51-F

    STS-51-F was the eighth flight of Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Challenger, and the nineteenth shuttle flight.The payload with most publicity was the Carbonated Beverage Dispenser Evaluation, which was an experiment where both Coca-Cola and Pepsi tried to make their drinks available to astronauts....
    , Spacelab 2, July 1985, triple Pallet configuration
  • STS-61-A
    STS-61-A

    STS-61-A was the 22nd Space Shuttle mission. It was a scientific Spacelab mission booked by Germany - hence the payload name D-1 . It was also the last successful mission of the Space Shuttle Challenger....
    , Spacelab D1, October 1985, Module LM2


  • STS-35
    STS-35

    STS-35 was the tenth flight of Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Columbia, the thirty-eighth shuttle flight, and a mission devoted to deploying ASTRO-1, an observatory consisting of 4 telescopes....
    , ASTRO-1, December 1990, Pallet
  • STS-40
    STS-40

    STS-40, the eleventh launch of Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Columbia, was a nine-day mission. It carried the Spacelab module for Spacelab Life Sciences 1 , the fifth Spacelab mission and the first dedicated solely to biology....
    , SLS-1, June 1991, Module LM1
  • STS-42
    STS-42

    STS-42 was a Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Discovery mission with the Spacelab module. Liftoff which was originally scheduled for 8:45 North American Eastern Time Zone January 22, 1992, but the launch was delayed due to weather constraints....
    , IML-1, January 1992, Module LM2
  • STS-45
    STS-45

    STS-45 was a 1992 spaceflight using Space Shuttle Atlantis....
    , ATLAS-1, March 1992, double Pallet configuration
  • STS-50
    STS-50

    STS-50 was a United States Space Shuttle mission, the 12th mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia orbiter.Columbia landed at Kennedy Space Center for the first time ever due to bad weather at Edwards Air Force Base caused by the remnants of Hurricane Darby ....
    , USML-1, June 1992, Module LM1
  • STS-47
    STS-47

    STS-47 was the 50th Space Shuttle mission of the Space Shuttle program....
    , Spacelab-J, September 1992, Module LM2
  • STS-56
    STS-56

    STS-56 was a Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Discovery mission to perform special experiments. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on April 8, 1993....
    , ATLAS-2, April 1993, Pallet
  • STS-55
    STS-55

    Space Transportation System 55 was the 55th overall flight of the US Space Shuttle and the 14th flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. This flight was a multinational Spacelab flight involving 88 experiments from eleven different nations....
    , Spacelab D2, April 1993, Module LM1
  • STS-58
    STS-58

    STS-58 shuttle mission of Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on October 18, 1993....
    , SLS-2, October 1993, Module LM2


Sunrise Over Spacelab
  • STS-59
    STS-59

    STS-59 Shuttle mission was a Space Shuttle program mission that took place in 1994. The launch was chronicled by the 1994 Discovery Channel special about the Space Shuttle Program....
    , SRL-1, April 1994, Pallet
  • STS-65
    STS-65

    STS-65 is a Space Shuttle program mission of Space Shuttle Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, July 8, 1994....
    , IML-2, July 1994, Module LM1
  • STS-68
    STS-68

    STS-68 was a human spaceflight mission using that launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 1994-09-30....
    , SRL-2, October 1994, Pallet
  • STS-66
    STS-66

    STS-66 was a Space Shuttle program mission that was flown by the Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Atlantis. STS-66 launched on November 3, 1994 at 11:59:43.060 am EDT from Launch Pad 39-B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center....
    , ATLAS-3, November 1994, Pallet
  • STS-67
    STS-67

    STS-67 was a human spaceflight mission using that launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on March 2, 1995....
    , ASTRO-2, March 1995, Pallet
  • STS-71
    STS-71

    STS-71 was the third mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried out the first Space Shuttle docking to Mir, a Russian space station....
    , Spacelab-Mir, June 1995, Module LM2
  • STS-73
    STS-73

    STS-73 was a Space Shuttle program mission, during October-November 1995....
    , USML-2, October 1995, Module LM1
  • STS-78
    STS-78

    STS-78 was the fifth dedicated Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission for the Space Shuttle program, flown partly in preparation for the International Space Station project....
    , LMS, June 1996, Module LM2
  • STS-83
    STS-83

    STS-83 was a mission of the United States Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Columbia....
    , MSL-1, April 1997, Module LM1
  • STS-94
    STS-94

    STS-94 was a mission of the United States Space Shuttle Columbia , launched on July 1, 1997....
    , MSL-1R, July 1997, Module LM1
  • STS-90
    STS-90

    STS-90 is a mission of the United States Space Shuttle....
    , Neurolab, April 1998, Module LM2
  • STS-99
    STS-99

    STS-99 was a Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Endeavour mission, that launched on February 11, 2000 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The primary objective of the mission was the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission project....
    , SRTM, February 2000, Pallet


Other missions


  • STS-92
    STS-92

    STS-92 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Discovery. STS-92 marked the 100th mission of the Space Shuttle....
    , October 2000, PMA
    Pressurized Mating Adapter

    The International Space Station uses three Pressurized Mating Adapters to interconnect spacecraft and modules with different docking mechanisms....
    -3,
  • STS-108
    STS-108

    STS-108 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. Its primary objective was to deliver supplies to and help maintain the ISS....
    , December 2001, Lightweight Mission Peculiar Support Structure Carrier (LMC)
  • STS-123
    STS-123

    STS-123 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station which was flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. STS-123 was the 1J/A Assembly of the International Space Station mission....
    , March 2008, Pallet , Dextre


External links