thumb|upright=1.0|right|Spacelab art, with lab interior cutaway, 1981

thumb|upright=1.0|right|[[Wubbo Ockels in the lab, 1985]]

thumb|upright=1.0|right|[[Mercuric iodide crystals grown on Spacelab 3]]

Spacelab was a reusable laboratory developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory comprised multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier, and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay. The components were arranged in various configurations to meet the needs of each spaceflight.

Spacelab components flew on a total of about 32 Shuttle missions, depending on how such hardware and missions are tabulated. Spacelab allowed scientists to perform experiments in microgravity in geocentric orbit. There was a variety of Spacelab-associated hardware, so a distinction can be made between the major Spacelab program missions with European scientists running missions in the Spacelab habitable module, missions running other Spacelab hardware experiments, and other Space Transportation System (STS) missions that used some component of Spacelab hardware. There is some variation in counts of Spacelab missions, in part because there were different types of Spacelab missions with a large range in the amount of Spacelab hardware flown and the nature of each mission. There were at least 22 major Spacelab missions between 1983 and 1998, and Spacelab hardware was used on a number of other missions, with some of the Spacelab pallets being flown as late as 2008.

Background and history

In August 1973, NASA and European Space Research Organisation (ESRO), now European Space Agency or ESA, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to build a science laboratory for use on Space Shuttle flights. Construction of Spacelab was started in 1974 by Entwicklungsring Nord (ERNO), a subsidiary of VFW-Fokker GmbH, after merger with Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) named MBB/ERNO, and merged into EADS SPACE Transportation in 2003. The first lab module, LM1, was donated to NASA in exchange for flight opportunities for European astronauts. A second module, LM2, was bought by NASA for its own use from ERNO.

thumb|right|upright=1.0|Artist's impression of the Spacelab 2 mission, showing some of the various experiments in the payload bay

Construction on the Spacelab modules began in 1974 by what was then the company ERNO-VFW-Fokker.

thumb|right|upright=1.0|European astronauts prepare for their Spacelab mission, 1984.

In the early 1970s NASA shifted its focus from the Lunar missions to the Space Shuttle, and also space research. The Administrator of NASA at the time moved the focus from a new space station to a space laboratory for the planned Space Shuttle.

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Denmark
  • France
  • West Germany/Germany
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • United Kingdom

Components

thumb|right|upright=1.0|STS-42 with Spacelab hardware in the orbiter bay overlooking Earth

In addition to the laboratory module, the complete set also included five external pallets for experiments in vacuum built by British Aerospace (BAe) and a pressurized "Igloo" containing the subsystems needed for the pallet-only flight configuration operation. Eight flight configurations were qualified, though more could be assembled if needed.

The system had some unique features including an intended two-week turn-around time (for the original Space Shuttle launch turn-around time) and the roll-on-roll-off for loading in aircraft (Earth-transportation).

thumb|right|upright=1.0|Diagram of Spacelab pallet module

Spacelab consisted of a variety of interchangeable components, with the major one being a crewed laboratory that could be flown in the Space Shuttle orbiter's bay and returned to Earth. However, the habitable module did not have to be flown to conduct a Spacelab-type mission and there was a variety of pallets and other hardware supporting space research. The selection of appropriate modules was part of mission planning for Spacelab Shuttle missions, and for example, a mission might need less habitable space and more pallets, or vice versa.

Habitable module

<!-- thumb|upright=1.0|right|Spacelab flight configurations-->

thumb|right|upright=1.0|Shuttle Columbia during [[STS-50 with Spacelab Module LM1 and tunnel in its cargo bay]]

The habitable Spacelab laboratory module comprised a cylindrical environment in the rear of the Space Shuttle orbiter payload bay, connected to the orbiter crew compartment by a tunnel. The laboratory had an outer diameter of , and each segment a length of . The laboratory module consisted at minimum of a core segment, which could be used alone in a short module configuration. The long module configuration included an additional experiment segment. It was also possible to operate Spacelab experiments from the orbiter's aft flight deck. There were two different length tunnels depending on the location of the habitable module in the payload bay.

A Spacelab Pallet was transferred to the Swiss Museum of Transport for permanent display on 5 March 2010. The Pallet, nicknamed Elvis, was used during the eight-day STS-46 mission, 31 July – 8 August 1992, when ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier was on board Space Shuttle Atlantis to deploy ESA's European Retrievable Carrier (Eureca) scientific mission and the joint NASA/ASI (Italian Space Agency) Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1). The Pallet carried TSS-1 in the Shuttle's cargo bay.

Another Spacelab Pallet is on display at the U.S. National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. There was a total of ten space-flown Spacelab pallets.

Igloo

On spaceflights where a habitable module was not flown, but pallets were flown, a pressurized cylinder known as the Igloo carried the subsystems needed to operate the Spacelab equipment. The Igloo was tall, had a diameter of , and weighed . Two Igloo units were manufactured, both by Belgian company SABCA, and both were used on spaceflights.

Instrument Pointing System

The IPS was a gimbaled pointing device, capable of aiming telescopes, cameras, or other instruments. IPS was used on three different Space Shuttle missions between 1985 and 1995.

IPS would be mounted inside the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter, and could provide gimbaled 3-axis pointing. The IPS was mounted on a pallet exposed to outer space in the payload bay.

  • Astro-2, a.k.a. STS-67 launched in 1995

The Spacelab 2 mission flew the Infrared Telescope (IRT), which was a aperture helium-cooled infrared telescope, observing light between wavelengths of 1.7 to 118 μm. IRT collected infrared data on 60% of the galactic plane.

<gallery>

Spacelab IPS.jpg|Instrument Pointing System (IPS)

Astro2 sts67 big.jpg|IPS at work above the sky on Astro-2, 1995

Spacelab Instrument Pointing System at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Dec 2017.jpg|Dornier Instrument Pointing System at the Smithsonian Museum (Udvar Hazy Center)

</gallery>

List of parts

thumb|upright=1.0|right|Spacelab components are delivered, 1981.

thumb|upright=1.0|right|ASTRO-1 payload prepared, 1990

Examples of Spacelab components or hardware:

  • EVA Airlock
  • Tunnel
  • Forward end cone
  • Aft end cone
  • Core segment/module The Spacelab components were decommissioned in 1998, except the Pallets. Science work was moved to the International Space Station (ISS) and Spacehab module, a pressurized carrier similar to the Spacelab Module. A Spacelab Pallet was recommissioned in 2000 for flight on STS-99. The "Spacelab Pallet – Deployable 1 (SLP-D1) with Canadian Dextre (Purpose Dexterous Manipulator)" was launched on STS-123. The Spacelab components were used on 41 Shuttle missions in total.

The habitable modules were flown on 16 Space Shuttle missions in the 1980s and 1990s. Spacelab Pallet missions were flown 6 times and Spacelab Pallets were flown on other missions 19 times.

{| class="wikitable sticky-header"

|-

! Mission name

! Orbiter

! Launch date

! Spacelab <br>mission name

! Pressurized <br>module

! Unpressurized <br>modules

|-

| STS-2

| Columbia

| 12 November 1981

| OSTA-1

|

| 1 Pallet (E002)

|-

| STS-3

| Columbia

| 22 March 1982

| OSS-1

|

| 1 Pallet (E003)

|-

| STS-9

| Columbia

| 28 November 1983

| Spacelab 1

| Module LM1

| 1 Pallet (F001)

|-

| STS-41-G

| Challenger

| 5 October 1984

| OSTA-3

|

| 1 Pallet (F006)

|-

| STS-51-A

| Discovery

| 8 November 1984

| Retrieval of 2 satellites

|

| 2 Pallets (F007+F008)

|-

| STS-51-B

| Challenger

| 29 April 1985

| Spacelab 3

| Module LM1

| MPESS

|-

| STS-51-F

| Challenger

| 29 July 1985

| Spacelab 2

| Igloo

| 3 Pallets (F003+F004+F005) + IPS

|-

| STS-61-A

| Challenger

| 30 October 1985

| Spacelab D1

| Module LM2

| MPESS

|-

| STS-35

| Columbia

| 2 December 1990

| ASTRO-1

| Igloo

| 2 Pallets (F002+F010) + IPS

|-

| STS-40

| Columbia

| 5 June 1991

| SLS-1

| Module LM1

|

|-

| STS-42

| Discovery

| 22 January 1992

| IML-1

| Module LM2

|

|-

| STS-45

| Atlantis

| 24 March 1992

| ATLAS-1

| Igloo

| 2 Pallets (F004+F005)

|-

| STS-50

| Columbia

| 25 June 1992

| USML-1

| Module LM1

| EDO

|-

| STS-46

| Atlantis

| 31 July 1992

| TSS-1

|

| 1 Pallet (F003)

|-

| STS-68

| Endeavour

| 30 September 1994

| SRL-2

|

| 1 Pallet (F006)

|-

| STS-66

| Atlantis

| 3 November 1994

| ATLAS-3

| Igloo

| 1 Pallet (F008)

|-

| STS-67

| Endeavour

| 2 March 1995

| ASTRO-2

| Igloo

| 2 Pallets (F002+F010) + IPS + EDO

|-

| STS-71

| Atlantis

| 27 June 1995

| Spacelab-Mir

| Module LM2

|

|-

| STS-73

| Columbia

| 20 October 1995

| USML-2

| Module LM1

| EDO

|-

| STS-75

| Columbia

| 22 February 1996

| TSS-1R / USMP-3

|

| 1 Pallet (F003)

The only Japan mission, Spacelab-J (NASA designation STS-47), took place in 1992.

Other missions

  • STS-92, October 2000, PMA-3, ()
  • STS-108, December 2001, Lightweight Mission Peculiar Support Structure Carrier (LMC) ()
  • STS-123, March 2008, Pallet (), Dextre

Cancelled missions

Spacelab-4, Spacelab-5, and other planned Spacelab missions were cancelled due to the late development of the Shuttle and the Challenger disaster.

<gallery>

Sunrise over Spacelab.jpg|Spacelab in payload bay during STS-90

STS-9 Spacelab 1.jpg|Shuttle Columbia during STS-9 with Spacelab Module LM1 and tunnel in its cargo bay

Spacelab-in-shuttle.jpg|Illustrated cutaway of orbiter and lab

</gallery>

Legacy

thumb|upright=1.0|right|Spacelab LM2 in Speyer, Germany (2008)

thumb|upright=1.0|right|A golden-colored egg floating weightless on the Spacelab D1 mission, due to the continuous free-fall of being in orbit creating a [[micro-g environment|microgravity environment on the spacecraft, 1985]]

The legacy of Spacelab lives on in the form of the MPLMs and the systems derived from it. These systems include the ATV and Cygnus spacecraft used to transfer payloads to the International Space Station, and the Columbus, Harmony and Tranquility modules of the International Space Station.

The Spacelab 2 mission surveyed 60% of the galactic plane in infrared in 1985.

Diagram, Spacelab module and pallet

thumb|left|upright=2|Spacelab layout showing tunnel, pressurized Module and Pallet:

See also

  • Columbus Man-Tended Free Flyer
  • Hermes (spacecraft)
  • International Space Station
  • Columbus (ISS module)
  • Space Shuttle retirement
  • Space Station Freedom
  • Spacehab module (various, not to be confused with Spacelab)
  • Spacelab, a 1978 song by Kraftwerk

References

  • Spacelab history on NASA.gov
  • Spacelab: An International Short-Stay Orbiting Laboratory, NASA-EP-165 on NASA.gov
  • Science in Orbit: The Shuttle & Spacelab Experience, 1981–1986, NASA-NP-119 on NASA.gov
  • Spacelab Payloads on Shuttle Flights on NASA.gov
  • James Downey Collection, UAH Archives and Special Collections files of James A. Downey III, project manager for Spacelab payloads
  • Lord, Douglas R. Spacelab An international success story, NASA-SP-487 NASA, 1 January 1987
  • SLP/2104-2: Spacelab Payload Accommodation Handbook