Spacelab

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

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). 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 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. 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) List of parts Examples of Spacelab components or hardware: • EVA Airlock • Tunnel • Forward end cone • Aft end cone • Core segment/module • Experiment racks • Experiment segment/module • Electrical Ground Support Equipment • Mechanical Ground Support Equipment • Electrical Power Distribution Subsystem • Command and Data Management Subsystem • Environmental Control Subsystem • Instrument Pointing System • Pallet Structure • Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure (MPESS) The Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) assembly was not Spacelab hardware, strictly speaking. However, it was used most often on Spacelab flights. Also, NASA later used it with the SpaceHab modules. ==Missions==

Spacelab components flew on 22 Space Shuttle missions from November 1983 to April 1998. 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. Mission name acronyms: • ATLAS: Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science • ASTRO: Not an acronym; abbreviation for "astronomy" • IML: International Microgravity Laboratory • LITE: Lidar In-space Technology Experiment • LMS: Life and Microgravity Sciences • MSL: Materials Science Laboratory • SLS: Spacelab Life Sciences • SRL: Space Radar Laboratory • TSS: Tethered Satellite System • USML: U.S. Microgravity Laboratory • USMP: U.S. Microgravity Payload Besides contributing to ESA missions, Germany and Japan each funded their own Space Shuttle and Spacelab missions. Although superficially similar to other flights, they were actually the first and only non-U.S. and non-European human space missions with complete German and Japanese control. , included over seven tons of German science research equipment. The first West German mission Deutschland 1 (Spacelab-D1, DLR-1, NASA designation STS-61-A) took place in 1985. A second similar mission, Deutschland 2 (Spacelab-D2, DLR-2, NASA designation STS-55), was first planned for 1988, but due to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, was delayed until 1993. It became the first German human space mission after German reunification. 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 ==Legacy==

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==