This double exposure image shows Spacelab-1 in the cargo bay of orbiter Columbia. From top to bottom inside the cargo bay are the Spacelab Access Turnel, which is connected to the mid-deck of the orbiter; the Spacelab module, a pressurized module in which scientists conduct experiments not possible on Earth; and Spacelab pallets, which can hold instruments for the experiments requiring direct exposure to space. The first Spacelab mission, Spacelab-1, sponsored jointly and shared equally by NASA and the European Space Agency, was a multidisciplinary mission; that is, investigations were performed in several different fields of scientific research. The overall goal of the mission was to verify Spacelab performance through a variety of scientific experiments. The disciplines represented by these experiments were astronomy and solar physics, earth observations, space plasma physics, materials sciences, atmospheric physics, and life sciences. International in nature, Spacelab-1 conducted experiments from the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Beluga, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Spacelab-1 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on November 28, 1983 aboard the orbiter Columbia (STS-9). The Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for managing the Spacelab missions.
This photograph shows the Spacelab-1 module and Spacelab access turnel being installed in the cargo bay of orbiter Columbia for the STS-9 mission. The oribiting laboratory, built by the European Space Agency, is capable of supporting many types of scientific research that can best be performed in space. The Spacelab access tunnel, the only major piece of Spacelab hardware made in the U.S., connects the module with the mid-deck level of the orbiter cabin. The first Spacelab mission, Spacelab-1, sponsored jointly and shared equally by NASA and the European Space Agency, was a multidisciplinary mission; that is, investigations were performed in several different fields of scientific research. The overall goal of the mission was to verify Spacelab performance through a variety of scientific experiments. The disciplines represented by these experiments were: astronomy and solar physics, earth observations, space plasma physics, materials sciences, atmospheric physics, and life sciences. International in nature, Spacelab-1 conducted experiments from the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Beluga, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Spacelab-1, was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on November 28, 1983 aboard the orbiter Columbia (STS-9). The Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for managing the Spacelab missions.
Interior view of Spacelab 1 to show layout of equipment and astronauts testing tools. Operations Checkout (O C) Building located at KSC.
The Space Shuttle was designed to carry large payloads into Earth orbit. One of the most important payloads is Spacelab. The Spacelab serves as a small but well-equipped laboratory in space to perform experiments in zero-gravity and make astronomical observations above the Earth's obscuring atmosphere. In this photograph, Payload Specialist, Ulf Merbold, is working at Gradient Heating Facility on the Materials Science Double Rack (MSDR) inside the science module in the Orbiter Columbia's payload bay during STS-9, Spacelab-1 mission. Spacelab-1, the joint ESA (European Space Agency)/NASA mission, was the first operational flight for the Spacelab, and demonstrated new instruments and methods for conducting experiments that are difficult or impossible in ground-based laboratories. This facility performed, in extremely low gravity, a wide variety of materials processing experiments in crystal growth, fluid physics, and metallurgy. The Marshall Space Flight Center had overall management responsibilities.
In this photograph, astronauts Owen Garriott on the body restriant system and Byron Lichtenberg prepare for a Vestibular Experiment during the Spacelab-1 mission. The Vestibular Experiments in Space were the study of the interaction among the otoliths, semicircular canals, vision, and spinal reflexes in humans. The main objective was to determine how the body, which receives redundant information for several sensory sources, interprets this information in microgravity. Another objective was to record and characterize the symptoms of space sickness experienced by crewmembers. The body restraint system was a rotating chair with a harness to hold the test subject in place. The crewmember wore an accelerometer and electrodes to record head motion and horizontal and vertical eye movement as the body rotated. The first Spacelab mission, Spacelab-1, sponsored jointly and shared equally by NASA and the European Space Agency, was a multidisciplinary mission; that is, investigations were performed in several different fields of scientific research. The overall goal of the mission was to verify Spacelab performance through a variety of scientific experiments. The Spacelab-1 was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia for the STS-9 mission on November 28, 1983. The Marshall Space Flight Center had management responsibilities for the mission.
A Space Shuttle mission STS-9 onboard view show's Spacelab-1 (SL-1) module in orbiter Columbia's payload bay. Spacelab-1 was a cooperative venture of NASA and the European Space Agency. Scientists from eleven European nations plus Canada, Japan and the U.S. provided instruments and experimental procedures for over 70 different investigations in five research areas of disciplines: astronomy and solar physics, space plasma physics, atmospheric physics and Earth observations, life sciences and materials science.
In this Spacelab-1 mission onboard photograph, astronaut Byron Lichtenberg performs a drop experiment, one of the Vestibular Experiments in Space investigations. The experiment examined spinal reflexes to determine whether they changed in microgravity. In Earth's environment, the otoliths signal the muscles to prepare for jolts associated with falling. During the flight, the normal reflex between the otoliths and the muscles was partially inhibited early in flight, declined further as the flight progressed, and returned to normal immediately after landing, suggesting that the brain ignored or reinterpreted otolith signals during space flight. Crewmembers reported a lack of awareness of position and location of feet, difficulty in maintaining balance, and a perception that falls were more sudden, faster, and harder than similar drops experienced in preflight. Crewmembers experienced illusions as they performed prescribed movement tests. When crew members viewed various targets and then pointed at them while blindfolded, their perception of target location and position of their own limbs was inaccurate in flight compared with similar tests on the ground. The Spacelab-1 was a multidisciplinary mission; that is, investigations were performed in several different fields of scientific research. The overall goal of the mission was to verify Spacelab performance through a variety of scientific experiments. The Spacelab-1 was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia for the STS-9 mission on November 28, 1983. The Marshall Space Flight Center had management responsibilities for the mission.
This photograph shows activities inside the science module during the Spacelab-1 (STS-9) mission. Left to right are Mission Specialist Robert Parker, Payload Specialist Byron Lichtenberg, Mission Specialist Owen Garriott, and Payload Specialist Ulf Merbold. The overall goal of the Spacelab-1 mission, the first mission of the Spacelab facility, were: (1) To verify the Spacelab system capability, (2) to obtain valuable scientific, applications, and technology data from a U.S./European multidisciplinary payload, and (3) to demonstrate the broad capability of Spacelab for scientific research. More than 70 experiments in 5 disciplines from 14 nations were conducted during the mission. The mission marked the the entry of non-astronaut persornel, called Payload Specialists, into space as working members of the crew. They are fellow scientists representing the international group of investigators using the mission. Mission Specialists are NASA astronauts who have broad scientific training. They operate various Orbiter-Spacelab systems, perform any required activity outside the spacecraft, and support investigations as needed. The Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia that carried Spacelab-1 was operated by two other NASA astronauts serving as commander and pilot. The STS-9 mission, managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, was launched on November 28, 1983.
STS042-25-027 (30 Jan 1992) --- STS-42 International Microgravity Laboratory 1 (IML-1) Spacelab module and Spacelab tunnel (foreground) exteriors are documented in the payload bay (PLB) of Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, and backdropped against the Red Sea and part of the Sinai Peninsula.
Spacelab Life Science -1 (SLS-1) was the first Spacelab mission dedicated solely to life sciences. The main purpose of the SLS-1 mission was to study the mechanisms, magnitudes, and time courses of certain physiological changes that occur during space flight, to investigate the consequences of the body's adaptation to microgravity and readjustment to Earth's gravity, and bring the benefits back home to Earth. The mission was designed to explore the responses of the heart, lungs, blood vessels, kidneys, and hormone-secreting glands to microgravity and related body fluid shifts; examine the causes of space motion sickness; and study changes in the muscles, bones, and cells. This photograph shows astronaut Rhea Seddon conducting an inflight study of the Cardiovascular Deconditioning experiment by breathing into the cardiovascular rebreathing unit. This experiment focused on the deconditioning of the heart and lungs and changes in cardiopulmonary function that occur upon return to Earth. By using noninvasive techniques of prolonged expiration and rebreathing, investigators can determine the amount of blood pumped out of the heart (cardiac output), the ease with which blood flows through all the vessels (total peripheral resistance), oxygen used and carbon dioxide released by the body, and lung function and volume changes. SLS-1 was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (STS-40) on June 5, 1995.
S85-26571 (Feb 1985) --- Wearing a special collar, Millie Hughes-Fulford, payload specialist, practices medical test operations scheduled for the Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS-1) mission. Robert Ward Phillips, backup payload specialist, looks on. The collar, called the baroflex neck pressure chamber, is designed to stimulate the bioceptors in the carotid artery, one of the two main arteries that supply blood to the head.
S85-26582 (Feb 1985) --- Training on the rebreathing assembly, astronaut James P. Bagian, STS-40 mission specialist, inhales a predetermined gas composition. A gas analyzer mass spectrometer determines the composition of the gases he exhales. The rebreathing assembly and gas analyzer system are part of an investigation that explores how lung function is altered. Dr. Bagian will be joined by two other mission specialists, the mission commander, the pilot and two payload specialists for the scheduled 10-day Spacelab Life Sciences-1 (SLS-1) mission. The flight is totally dedicated to biological and medical experimentation.
STS083-302-005 (4-8 April 1997) --- Payload specialist Gregory T. Linteris enters data on the progress of a Microgravity Sciences Laboratory (MSL-1) experiment on a lap top computer aboard the Spacelab Science Module while astronaut Donald A. Thomas, mission specialist, checks an experiment in the background. Linteris and Thomas, along with four other NASA astronauts and a second payload specialist supporting the Microgravity Sciences Laboratory (MSL-1) mission were less than a fourth of the way through a scheduled 16-day flight when a power problem cut short their planned stay.
The primary payload for Space Shuttle Mission STS-42, launched January 22, 1992, was the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1), a pressurized manned Spacelab module. The goal of IML-1 was to explore in depth the complex effects of weightlessness of living organisms and materials processing. Around-the-clock research was performed on the human nervous system's adaptation to low gravity and effects of microgravity on other life forms such as shrimp eggs, lentil seedlings, fruit fly eggs, and bacteria. Materials processing experiments were also conducted, including crystal growth from a variety of substances such as enzymes, mercury iodide, and a virus. The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Featured are activities in the SL POCC during STS-42, IML-1 mission.
STS042-11-016 (30 Jan 1992) --- Astronaut Norman E. Thagard, STS-42 missions specialist and payload commander, and payload specialist Roberta L. Bondar are busily engaged with experiments in the International Microgravity Laboratory 1 (IML-1) Spacelab module. Bondar reads a checklist near the Rack 5 Biorack and glovebox while Thagard performs a VCR tape change-out. The Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) (foreground) and shuttle middeck lockers are secured in IML-1's center aisle. In the background the open hatch and Spacelab tunnel interior are visible. Crewmembers enter and exit the IML-1 module via the Spacelab tunnel which connects to Discovery's, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103's, airlock.
STS009-03-093 (28 Nov-8 Dec 1983) --- A mission specialist and two payload specialists busy themselves in the Spacelab 1 module aboard the Earth orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. Left to right are Payload Specialist Robert A. R. Parker. Parker is partially obscured by a deployed instrument of the fluid physics module at the materials sciences double rack. Merbold, a physicist from Max-Planck Institute in the Federal Republic of Germany, wears a head band-like device and a recorder as part of an overall effort to learn more about space adaptation. Both Space lab 1 payload specialists wore the devices during most of their waking hours on this 10-day flight. The frame was exposed with a 35mm camera.
STS078-368-022 (20 June - 7 July 1996) --- Astronauts Susan J. Helms, payload commander, and Terence T. (Tom) Henricks, mission commander, prepare a sample cartridge containing semiconductor crystals for Spacelab research. The crystals were later placed in the Advanced Gradient Heating Furnace (AGHF) in the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS-1) Science Module. The AGHF is designed for directional solidification of the crystals in the sample cartridges. The microgravity of space allows the crystals to grow in a perfect state that can not be accomplished in Earth's gravity.
The primary payload for Space Shuttle Mission STS-42, launched January 22, 1992, was the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1), a pressurized manned Spacelab module. The goal of IML-1 was to explore in depth the complex effects of weightlessness of living organisms and materials processing. Around-the-clock research was performed on the human nervous system's adaptation to low gravity and effects of microgravity on other life forms such as shrimp eggs, lentil seedlings, fruit fly eggs, and bacteria. Materials processing experiments were also conducted, including crystal growth from a variety of substances such as enzymes, mercury iodide, and a virus. The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Featured activities are of the Mental Workload and Performance Experiment (MWPE) team in the SL POCC during the IML-1 mission.
The primary payload for Space Shuttle Mission STS-42, launched January 22, 1992, was the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1), a pressurized manned Spacelab module. The goal of IML-1 was to explore in depth the complex effects of weightlessness of living organisms and materials processing. Around-the-clock research was performed on the human nervous system's adaptation to low gravity and effects of microgravity on other life forms such as shrimp eggs, lentil seedlings, fruit fly eggs, and bacteria. Materials processing experiments were also conducted, including crystal growth from a variety of substances such as enzymes, mercury iodide, and a virus. The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Featured are activities of the Organic Crystal Growth Facility (OCGF) and Radiation Monitoring Container Device (RMCD) groups in the SL POCC during the IML-1 mission.
STS040-610-010 (5-14 June 1991) --- The blue and white Earth forms the backdrop for this scene of the Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS-1) module in the cargo bay of the Earth-orbiting Columbia. The view was photographed through Columbia's aft flight deck windows with a handheld Rolleiflex camera. Seven crewmembers spent nine days in space aboard Columbia. Part of the tunnel/airlock system that linked them to the SLS-1 module is seen in center foreground.
The primary payload for Space Shuttle Mission STS-42, launched January 22, 1992, was the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1), a pressurized manned Spacelab module. The goal of IML-1 was to explore in depth the complex effects of weightlessness of living organisms and materials processing. Around-the-clock research was performed on the human nervous system's adaptation to low gravity and effects of microgravity on other life forms such as shrimp eggs, lentil seedlings, fruit fly eggs, and bacteria. Materials processing experiments were also conducted, including crystal growth from a variety of substances such as enzymes, mercury iodide, and a virus. The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Featured is the Spacelab Operations Support Room Space Engineering Support team in the SL POCC during STS-42, IML-1 mission.
The primary payload for Space Shuttle Mission STS-42, launched January 22, 1992, was the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1), a pressurized manned Spacelab module. The goal of IML-1 was to explore in depth the complex effects of weightlessness of living organisms and materials processing. Around-the-clock research was performed on the human nervous system's adaptation to low gravity and effects of microgravity on other life forms such as shrimp eggs, lentil seedlings, fruit fly eggs, and bacteria. Materials processing experiments were also conducted, including crystal growth from a variety of substances such as enzymes, mercury iodide and a virus. The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts aboard the Spacelab and scientists, researchers, and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. The facility made instantaneous video and audio communications possible for scientists on the ground to follow the progress and to send direct commands of their research almost as if they were in space with the crew. Teams of controllers and researchers directed on-orbit science operations, sent commands to the spacecraft, received data from experiments aboard the Space Shuttle, adjusted mission schedules to take advantage of unexpected science opportunities or unexpected results, and worked with crew members to resolve problems with their experiments. In this photograph the Payload Operations Director (POD) views the launch.
The primary payload for Space Shuttle Mission STS-42, launched January 22, 1992, was the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1), a pressurized manned Spacelab module. The goal of IML-1 was to explore in depth the complex effects of weightlessness of living organisms and materials processing. Around-the-clock research was performed on the human nervous system's adaptation to low gravity and effects of microgravity on other life forms such as shrimp eggs, lentil seedlings, fruit fly eggs, and bacteria. Materials processing experiments were also conducted, including crystal growth from a variety of substances such as enzymes, mercury iodide, and a virus. The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Featured is the Critical Point Facility (CPF) team in the SL POCC during the IML-1 mission.
The primary payload for Space Shuttle Mission STS-42, launched January 22, 1992, was the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1), a pressurized manned Spacelab module. The goal of IML-1 was to explore in depth the complex effects of weightlessness of living organisms and materials processing. Around-the-clock research was performed on the human nervous system's adaptation to low gravity and effects of microgravity on other life forms such as shrimp eggs, lentil seedlings, fruit fly eggs, and bacteria. Materials processing experiments were also conducted, including crystal growth from a variety of substances such as enzymes, mercury iodide, and a virus. The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Featured is the Vapor Crystal Growth System (VCGS) team in SL POCC), during STS-42, IML-1 mission.
The primary payload for Space Shuttle Mission STS-42, launched January 22, 1992, was the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1), a pressurized manned Spacelab module. The goal of IML-1 was to explore in depth the complex effects of weightlessness of living organisms and materials processing. Around-the-clock research was performed on the human nervous system's adaptation to low gravity and effects of microgravity on other life forms such as shrimp eggs, lentil seedlings, fruit fly eggs, and bacteria. Materials processing experiments were also conducted, including crystal growth from a variety of substances such as enzymes, mercury iodide, and a virus. The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Featured is the Crystal Growth team in the SL POCC during STS-42, IML-1 mission.
The primary payload for Space Shuttle Mission STS-42, launched January 22, 1992, was the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1), a pressurized manned Spacelab module. The goal of IML-1 was to explore in depth the complex effects of weightlessness of living organisms and materials processing. Around-the-clock research was performed on the human nervous system's adaptation to low gravity and effects of microgravity on other life forms such as shrimp eggs, lentil seedlings, fruit fly eggs, and bacteria. Materials processing experiments were also conducted, including crystal growth from a variety of substances such as enzymes, mercury iodide, and a virus. The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Featured is the Critical Point Facility (CPE) group in the SL POCC during STS-42, IML-1 mission.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module is installed into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia in Orbiter Processing Facility 1. The Spacelab long crew transfer tunnel that leads from the orbiter's crew airlock to the module is also aboard, as well as the Hitchhiker Cryogenic Flexible Diode (CRYOFD) experiment payload, which is attached to the right side of Columbia's payload bay. During the scheduled 16-day STS-83 mission, the MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module is installed into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia in Orbiter Processing Facility 1. The Spacelab long crew transfer tunnel that leads from the orbiter's crew airlock to the module is also aboard, as well as the Hitchhiker Cryogenic Flexible Diode (CRYOFD) experiment payload, which is attached to the right side of Columbia's payload bay. During the scheduled 16-day STS-83 mission, the MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments.
STS040-612-005 (5-14 June 1991) --- This view showing the Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS-1) module in Columbia's cargo bay was taken through windows on the aft flight deck. Under some lighting conditions the multi-layered Shuttle windows have internal reflections that provide a kaleidoscopic effect. In this image the sunrays as seen on the clouds also appear to be present in space. Note how the white sunlight toward the Sun at the Earth's limb becomes separated into the colors of the visible spectrum towards that part of the limb further into darkness due to atmosphere acting as a natural prism.
STS078-396-015 (20 June - 7 July 1996) --- Payload specialist Jean-Jacques Favier, representing the French Space Agency (CNES), prepares a sample for the Advanced Gradient Heating Facility (AGHF) while wearing instruments that measure upper body movement. The Torso Rotation Experiment (TRE) complements other vestibular studies that measure differences in the way human beings react physically to their surroundings in microgravity. This is a typical Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS-1) mission scene, with several experiments being performed. Astronaut Susan J. Helms, payload commander, assists Favier in the AGHF preparations. Astronaut Richard M. Linnehan (bottom right), mission specialist, tests his muscle response with the Handgrip Dynamometer. Astronaut Thomas T. (Tom) Henricks (far background), mission commander, offers assistance.
This photograph shows the Spacelab 1 module and pallet ready to be installed in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia at the Kennedy Space Center. The overall goal of the first Spacelab mission was to verify its Space performance through a variety of scientific experiments. The investigation selected for this mission tested the Spacelab hardware, flight and ground systems, and crew to demonstrate their capabilities for advanced research in space. However, Spacelab 1 was not merely a checkout flight or a trial run. Important research problems that required a laboratory in space were scheduled for the mission. Spacelab 1 was a multidisciplinary mission; that is, investigations were performed in several different fields of scientific research. These fields were Astronomy and Solar Physics, Space Plasma Physics, Atmospheric Physics and Earth Observations, Life Sciences, and Materials Science. Spacelab 1 was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-9 mission) on November 28, 1983.
STS078-306-035 (20 June - 7 July 1996) --- Astronaut Susan J. Helms, payload commander, and payload specialist Jean-Jacques Favier, representing the French Space Agency (CNES), insert a test container into the Bubble Drop Particle Unit (BDPU) in the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS-1) Science Module aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. The fluid in the chamber is heated and the fluid processes are observed by use of three internal cameras mounted inside the BDPU. Investigations in this facility will help characterize interfacial processes involving either bubbles, drops, liquid columns or liquid layers.
S83-40845 (Dec 1983) --- Principal investigators and their ground support teams follow Spacelab 1 activities in the Science Monitoring Area of the Johnson Space Center's mission control center. NOTE: This area will be manned for the Spacelab Life Sciences-1 (SLS-1) mission, currently scheduled for May of 1991.
The primary objective of the STS-35 mission was round the clock observation of the celestial sphere in ultraviolet and X-Ray astronomy with the Astro-1 observatory which consisted of four telescopes: the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT); the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE); the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT); and the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT). The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Teams of controllers and researchers directed on-orbit science operations, sent commands to the spacecraft, received data from experiments aboard the Space Shuttle, adjusted mission schedules to take advantage of unexpected science opportunities or unexpected results, and worked with crew members to resolve problems with their experiments. Due to loss of data used for pointing and operating the ultraviolet telescopes, MSFC ground teams were forced to aim the telescopes with fine tuning by the flight crew. This photo captures a press briefing at MSFC during STS-35, ASTRO-1 Mission.
STS-50, USML-1, Spacelab module in cargo bay with earth in background
S82-31408 (May 1983) --- The Spacelab 2 emblem is a symbolic representation of the scientific objectives of the mission. The emblem is in the shape of a triangular shield with convexly curved edges. Across the top of a black out border are the words ?SPACELAB 2?. Within the black border is a sky blue border carryhing the words: ?ASTRONOMY?, ON TOP? ?PHYSICS?, on the left; and ?BIOLOGY?, on the right. Within the blue border is a schematic view of the sun, the earth, and the orbiter with Spacelab 2. The sun appears in the upper right background as a white disc surrounded by six concentric rings ranging grom bright yellow near the disc through yellow-red to a dark red out ring. A sector of the earth with blue ocean and a black portion of North America is in the upper left corner. The black and white Orbiter is seen from directly overhead in the foreground, the right side illuminated by the sun, the left side in shadow. Although the payload bay doors are not open, the Spacelab 2 payload is seen as if the doors were open. In black on white are seen the three pallets, and the separately mounted cosmic ray experiment at the aft end of the bay.
The primary objective of the STS-35 mission was round the clock observation of the celestial sphere in ultraviolet and X-Ray astronomy with the Astro-1 observatory which consisted of four telescopes: the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT); the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE); the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT); and the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT). The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Teams of controllers and researchers directed on-orbit science operations, sent commands to the spacecraft, received data from experiments aboard the Space Shuttle, adjusted mission schedules to take advantage of unexpected science opportunities or unexpected results, and worked with crew members to resolve problems with their experiments. Due to loss of data used for pointing and operating the ultraviolet telescopes, MSFC ground teams were forced to aim the telescopes with fine tuning by the flight crew. This photo captures the activity of BBKRT data review in the Science Operations Area during the mission.
The primary objective of the STS-35 mission was round the clock observation of the celestial sphere in ultraviolet and X-Ray astronomy with the Astro-1 observatory which consisted of four telescopes: the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT); the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE); the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT); and the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT). The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Teams of controllers and researchers directed on-orbit science operations, sent commands to the spacecraft, received data from experiments aboard the Space Shuttle, adjusted mission schedules to take advantage of unexpected science opportunities or unexpected results, and worked with crew members to resolve problems with their experiments. Due to loss of data used for pointing and operating the ultraviolet telescopes, MSFC ground teams were forced to aim the telescopes with fine tuning by the flight crew. This photo captures the activity of viewing HUT data in the Mission Manager Actions Room during the mission.
The primary objective of the STS-35 mission was round the clock observation of the celestial sphere in ultraviolet and X-Ray astronomy with the Astro-1 observatory which consisted of four telescopes: the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT); the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE); the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT); and the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT). The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Teams of controllers and researchers directed on-orbit science operations, sent commands to the spacecraft, received data from experiments aboard the Space Shuttle, adjusted mission schedules to take advantage of unexpected science opportunities or unexpected results, and worked with crew members to resolve problems with their experiments. Due to loss of data used for pointing and operating the ultraviolet telescopes, MSFC ground teams were forced to aim the telescopes with fine tuning by the flight crew. This photo captures the activities at the Mission Manager Actions Room during the mission.
The primary objective of the STS-35 mission was round the clock observation of the celestial sphere in ultraviolet and X-Ray astronomy with the Astro-1 observatory which consisted of four telescopes: the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT); the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE); the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT); and the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT). The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Teams of controllers and researchers directed on-orbit science operations, sent commands to the spacecraft, received data from experiments aboard the Space Shuttle, adjusted mission schedules to take advantage of unexpected science opportunities or unexpected results, and worked with crew members to resolve problems with their experiments. Due to loss of data used for pointing and operating the ultraviolet telescopes, MSFC ground teams were forced to aim the telescopes with fine tuning by the flight crew. This photo captures the activity at the Operations Control Facility during the mission as Dr. Urban and Paul Whitehouse give a “thumbs up”.
The primary objective of the STS-35 mission was round the clock observation of the celestial sphere in ultraviolet and X-Ray astronomy with the Astro-1 observatory which consisted of four telescopes: the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT); the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE); the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT); and the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT). The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Teams of controllers and researchers directed on-orbit science operations, sent commands to the spacecraft, received data from experiments aboard the Space Shuttle, adjusted mission schedules to take advantage of unexpected science opportunities or unexpected results, and worked with crew members to resolve problems with their experiments. Due to loss of data used for pointing and operating the ultraviolet telescopes, MSFC ground teams were forced to aim the telescopes with fine tuning by the flight crew. This photo is an overview of the MSFC Payload Control Room (PCR).
The primary objective of the STS-35 mission was round the clock observation of the celestial sphere in ultraviolet and X-Ray astronomy with the Astro-1 observatory which consisted of four telescopes: the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT); the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE); the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT); and the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT). The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Teams of controllers and researchers directed on-orbit science operations, sent commands to the spacecraft, received data from experiments aboard the Space Shuttle, adjusted mission schedules to take advantage of unexpected science opportunities or unexpected results, and worked with crew members to resolve problems with their experiments. Due to loss of data used for pointing and operating the ultraviolet telescopes, MSFC ground teams were forced to aim the telescopes with fine tuning by the flight crew. This photo captures the activity of WUPPE data review at the Science Operations Area during the mission.
Vapor Crystal Growth System (VCGS), Flown on IML-1, Spacelab 3, Principal Investigator: Lodewijk van den Berg
S84-47033 (nov 1984) --- Astronaut Reinhard Furrer, payload specialist D-1 German Spacelab mission.
S84-47034 (Nov 1984) --- Astronaut Ernst Messerschmid, payload specialist, D-1 German Spacelab mission.
S93-26894 (March 1993) --- Spacelab Life Sciences 2, scheduled to fly as the major payload on the STS-58 mission, is represented with this logo. As in the case of SLS-1, which flew in space in June of 1991, this Spacelab mission will be devoted to life sciences and will carry a crew of experts in the associated disciplines.
STS009-04-116 (28 Nov 1983) --- Payload Specialist Ulf Merbold shown working in the Spacelab 1 module onboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.
Spacelab was a versatile laboratory carried in the Space Shuttle's cargo bay for special research flights. Its various elements could be combined to accommodate the many types of scientific research that could best be performed in space. Spacelab consisted of an enclosed, pressurized laboratory module and open U-shaped pallets located at the rear of the laboratory module. The laboratory module contained utilities, computers, work benches, and instrument racks to conduct scientific experiments in astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and engineering. Equipment, such as telescopes, anternas, and sensors, was mounted on pallets for direct exposure to space. A 1-meter (3.3-ft.) diameter aluminum tunnel, resembling a z-shaped tube, connected the crew compartment (mid deck) to the module. The reusable Spacelab allowed scientists to bring experiment samples back to Earth for post-flight analysis. Spacelab was a cooperative venture of the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. ESA was responsible for funding, developing, and building of Spacelab, while NASA was responsible for the launch and operational use of Spacelab. Spacelab missions were cooperative efforts between scientists and engineers from around the world. Teams from NASA centers, universities, private industry, government agencies and international space organizations designed the experiments. The Marshall Space Flight Center was NASA's lead center for monitoring the development of Spacelab and managing the program.
Spacelab was a versatile laboratory carried in the Space Shuttle's cargo bay for special research flights. Its various elements could be combined to accommodate the many types of scientific research that could best be performed in space. Spacelab consisted of an enclosed, pressurized laboratory module and open U-shaped pallets located at the rear of the laboratory module. The laboratory module contained utilities, computers, work benches, and instrument racks to conduct scientific experiments in astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and engineering. Equipment, such as telescopes, anternas, and sensors, was mounted on pallets for direct exposure to space. A 1-meter (3.3-ft.) diameter aluminum tunnel, resembling a z-shaped tube, connected the crew compartment (mid deck) to the module. The reusable Spacelab allowed scientists to bring experiment samples back to Earth for post-flight analysis. Spacelab was a cooperative venture of the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. ESA was responsible for funding, developing, and building of Spacelab, while NASA was responsible for the launch and operational use of Spacelab. Spacelab missions were cooperative efforts between scientists and engineers from around the world. Teams from NASA centers, universities, private industry, government agencies and international space organizations designed the experiments. The Marshall Space Flight Center was NASA's lead center for monitoring the development of Spacelab and managing the program.
Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on June 5, 1991 at 9:24; am (EDT), the STS-40 mission was the fifth dedicated Spacelab Mission, Spacelab Life Sciences-1 (SLS-1), and the first mission dedicated solely to life sciences. The STS-40 crew included 7 astronauts: Bryan D. O’Connor, commander; Sidney M. Gutierrez, pilot; F. Drew Gaffney, payload specialist 1; Milli-Hughes Fulford, payload specialist 2; James P. Bagian, mission specialist 1; Tamara E. Jernigan, mission specialist 2; and M. Rhea Seddon, mission specialist 3.
Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on June 5, 1991 at 9:24; am (EDT), the STS-40 mission was the fifth dedicated Spacelab Mission, Spacelab Life Sciences-1 (SLS-1), and the first mission dedicated solely to life sciences. The STS-40 crew included 7 astronauts: Bryan D. O’Connor, commander; Sidney M. Gutierrez, pilot; F. Drew Gaffney, payload specialist 1; Milli-Hughes Fulford, payload specialist 2; James P. Bagian, mission specialist 1; Tamara E. Jernigan, mission specialist 2; and M. Rhea Seddon, mission specialist 3.
S87-28936 (March 1987) --- The Spacelab Life Sciences-1 (SLS-1) echocardiograph, installed in a science module rack, displays the image of a human heart. One of the objectives on SLS-1 is the investigation of the effects of microgravity on heart size and function.
Ampoule view of the Vapor Crystal Growth System (VCGS) Furnace. Used on IML-1 International Microgravity Laboratory Spacelab 3. Prinicipal Investigator and Payload Specialist was Lodewijk van den Berg.
STS100-388-010 (19 April-1 May 2001) --- In the grasp of the shuttle's remote manipulator system (RMS) robot arm, the Spacelab pallet is installed on the Lab Cradle Assembly (LCA) on the International Space Station (ISS).
Overall view of the Vapor Crystal Growth System (VCGS) Furnace. Used on IML-1 International Microgravity Laboratory Spacelab 3. Principal Investigator and Payload Specialist was Lodewijk van den Berg.
This photograph was taken during the integration of the Astro-1 mission payloads at the Kennedy Space Center on March 20, 1990, showing the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT) at the left, as three telescopes for the Astro-1 Observatory are settled into the Orbiter Columbia payload bay. Above Earth's atmospheric interference, Astro-1 would make precise measurements of objects such as planets, stars, and galaxies in relatively small fields of view and would observe and measure ultraviolet radiation from celestial objects. The Astro-1 used a Spacelab pallet system with an instrument pointing system and a cruciform structure for bearing the three ultraviolet instruments mounted in a parallel configuration. The three instruments were: The Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT), which was designed to obtain far-ultraviolet spectroscopic data from white dwarfs, emission nebulae, active galaxies, and quasars; the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE) which was to study polarized ultraviolet light from magnetic white dwarfs, binary stars, reflection nebulae, and active galaxies; and the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT), which was to record photographic images in ultraviolet light of galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae. The star trackers that supported the instrument pointing system, were also mounted on the cruciform. Also in the payload bay was the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT), which was designed to obtain high-resolution x-ray spectra from stellar corona, x-ray binary stars, active galactic nuclei, and galaxy clusters. Managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, the Astro-1 observatory was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (STS-35) on December 2, 1990.
The first United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-1) provided scientific research in materials science, fluid dynamics, biotechnology, and combustion science in a weightless environment inside the Spacelab module. This photograph is a close-up view of the Glovebox in operation during the mission. The Spacelab Glovebox, provided by the European Space Agency, offers experimenters new capabilities to test and develop science procedures and technologies in microgravity. It enables crewmembers to handle, transfer, and otherwise manipulate materials in ways that are impractical in the open Spacelab. The facility is equipped with three doors: a central port through which experiments are placed in the Glovebox and two glovedoors on both sides with an attachment for gloves or adjustable cuffs and adapters for cameras. The Glovebox has an enclosed compartment that offers a clean working space and minimizes the contamination risks to both Spacelab and experiment samples. Although fluid containment and ease of cleanup are major benefits provided by the facility, it can also contain powders and bioparticles; toxic, irritating, or potentially infectious materials; and other debris produced during experiment operations. The facility is equipped with photographic/video capabilities and permits mounting a microscope. For the USML-1 mission, the Glovebox experiments fell into four basic categories: fluid dynamics, combustion science, crystal growth, and technology demonstration. The USML-1 flew aboard the STS-50 mission in June 1992.
Onboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-78) Mission Specialist Richard M. Lirnehan works out in the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS-1) Science Module. With an almost 17-day mission away from Earth's gravity, crew members maintained an exercise regimen above and beyond their assigned LMS-1 duty assignments.
Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-45) onboard photo of Mission Specialist Kathryn Sullivan working in the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (Atlas-1) module. Atlas-1 flew in a series of Spacelab flights that measured long term variability in the total energy radiated by the Sun and determined the variability in the solar spectrum.
Combustion Module-1 was one of the most complex and technologically sophisticated pieces of hardware ever to be included as a part of a Spacelab mission. Shown here are the two racks which comprised CM-1, the rack on the right shows the combustion chamber with the Structure Of Flame Balls at Low Lewis-numbers (SOFBALL) experiment inside.
S85-43139 (20 Sept 1985) --- Four members of the STS 61-A/Spacelab D-1 crew and two technicians are shown with a vestibular sled experiment for they will use for extensive research and testing late October and early November are (background, left to right), Astronaut Bonnie J. Dunbar, Reinhard Furrer, Ernst Messerschmid and Guion S. Bluford Jr. The seat shown can be moved back and forth with precisley adjusted accelerations along the fixed rails on the floor of the Spacelab aisle.
S84-43683 (26 Nov 1984) --- This vertically positioned rectangular piece of hardware, scheduled to fly on the science module of Spacelab Life Sciences-1, is important to the immunology investigation on the mission. Called Lymphocyte Proliferation in Weightlessness (Experiment 240), the test was developed by Dr. Augosto Cogoli of the Institute of Biotechnology, Gruppe Weltraum Biologie, in Zurich, Switzerland. It represents a continuation of previous Spacelab experiments by examining the effects of weightlessness on lymphocyte activation. Cultures will be grown in the microgravity incubators on the pictured hardware.
Typical metal sample that was processed by TEMPUS (Tiegelfreies Elektromagnetisches Prozessieren Unter Schwerelosigkeit), an electromagnetic levitation facility developed by German researchers and flown on the IML-2 and MSL-1 and 1R Spacelab missions. Electromagnetic levitation is used commonly in ground-based experiments to melt and then cool metallic melts below their freezing points without solidification occurring. Sample size is limited in ground-based experiments. Research with TEMPUS aboard Spacelab allowed scientists to study the viscosity, surface tension, and other properties of several metals and alloys while undercooled (i.e., cooled below their normal solidification points). The sample is about 1 cm (2/5 inch) in diameter.
The Spacelab long transfer tunnel that leads from the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia’s crew airlock to the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module in the spaceplane’s payload bay is removed in Orbiter Processing Facility 1. The tunnel was taken out to allow better access to the MSL-1 module during reservicing operations to prepare it for its reflight as MSL-1R. That mission is now scheduled to lift off July 1. This was the first time that this type of payload was reserviced without removing it from the payload bay. This new procedure pioneers processing efforts for quick relaunch turnaround times for future payloads. The Spacelab module was scheduled to fly again with the full complement of STS-83 experiments after that mission was cut short due to a faulty fuel cell. During the scheduled 16-day reflight, the experiments will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments
The STS-40 crew portrait includes 7 astronauts. Pictured on the front row from left to right are F. Drew Gaffney, payload specialist 1; Milli-Hughes Fulford, payload specialist 2; M. Rhea Seddon, mission specialist 3; and James P. Bagian, mission specialist 1. Standing in the rear, left to right, are Bryan D. O’Connor, commander; Tamara E. Jernigan, mission specialist 2; and Sidney M. Gutierrez, pilot. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on June 5, 1991 at 9:24; am (EDT), the STS-40 mission was the fifth dedicated Spacelab Mission, Spacelab Life Sciences-1 (SLS-1), and the first mission dedicated solely to life sciences.
KSC payload processing employees in Orbiter Processing Facility 1 prepare the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia’s crew airlock and payload bay for the reinstallation of the Spacelab long transfer tunnel that leads from the airlock to the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module. The tunnel was taken out after the STS-83 mission to allow better access to the MSL-1 module during reservicing operations to prepare it for for the STS-94 mission. That space flight is now scheduled to lift off in early July. This was the first time that this type of payload was reserviced without removing it from the payload bay. This new procedure pioneers processing efforts for quick relaunch turnaround times for future payloads. The Spacelab module was scheduled to fly again with the full complement of STS-83 experiments after that mission was cut short due to a faulty fuel cell. During the scheduled 16-day STS-94 mission, the experiments will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments
The Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module is moved to be installed into a payload canister in the Operations and Checkout Building. Once in the canister, the MSL-1 will be transported to Orbiter Processing Bay 1 where it will be integrated into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia. During the scheduled 16-day STS-83 mission, the MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments
The Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module is moved to be installed into a payload canister in the Operations and Checkout Building. Once in the canister, the MSL-1 will be transported to Orbiter Processing Bay 1 where it will be integrated into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia. During the scheduled 16-day STS-83 mission, the MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments
The Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module is moved to be installed into a payload canister in the Operations and Checkout Building. Once in the canister, the MSL-1 will be transported to Orbiter Processing Bay 1 where it will be integrated into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia. During the scheduled 16-day STS-83 mission, the MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments
The Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module is lowered into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia in Orbiter Processing Facility 1. During the scheduled 16-day STS-83 mission, the MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments
The Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module is lowered into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia in Orbiter Processing Facility 1. During the scheduled 16-day STS-83 mission, the MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- KSC payloads processing employees work to reservice the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module in the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia’s payload bay for the STS-94 mission in Orbiter Processing Facility 1. That mission is now scheduled to lift off in early July. This was the first time that this type of payload was reserviced without removing it from the payload bay. This new procedure pioneers processing efforts for quick relaunch turnaround times for future payloads. The Spacelab module was scheduled to fly again with the full complement of STS-83 experiments after that mission was cut short due to a faulty fuel cell. During the scheduled 16-day STS-94 mission, the experiments will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- KSC payloads processing employees work to reservice the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module in the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia’s payload bay for the STS-94 mission in Orbiter Processing Facility 1. That mission is now scheduled to lift off in early July. This was the first time that this type of payload was reserviced without removing it from the payload bay. This new procedure pioneers processing efforts for quick relaunch turnaround times for future payloads. The Spacelab module was scheduled to fly again with the full complement of STS-83 experiments after that mission was cut short due to a faulty fuel cell. During the scheduled 16-day STS-94 mission, the experiments will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments
KSC payloads processing employees work to reservice the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module in the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia’s payload bay for the STS-94 mission in Orbiter Processing Facility 1. That mission is now scheduled to lift off in early July. This was the first time that this type of payload was reserviced without removing it from the payload bay. This new procedure pioneers processing efforts for quick relaunch turnaround times for future payloads. The Spacelab module was scheduled to fly again with the full complement of STS-83 experiments after that mission was cut short due to a faulty fuel cell. During the scheduled 16-day STS-94 mission, the experiments will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments
STS100-342-024 (19 April-1 May 2001) --- In the grasp of the newly installed Canadarm2, also known by its technical name, the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), the Spacelab pallet is carefully moved by crewmembers inside the International Space Station (ISS). Sunglint on the station's solar arrays can be seen in the background.
S94-E-5046 (July 1997) --- Astronaut Donald Thomas, mission specialist, sets up an experiment in the glovebox onboard the Spacelab science module. Thomas joins four other NASA astronauts and two payload specialists who are supporting the Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL-1) mission aboard the Space Shuttle Columiba.
STS100-385-009 (19 April-1 May 2001) --- Extended by a crewmember on the International Space Station (ISS), the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) is backdropped by the blackness of space and the Earth's horizon while handling the Spacelab pallet.
S94-E-5045 (July 1997) --- Astronaut James D. Halsell Jr., mission commander, video tapes an experiment onboard the Spacelab science module in support of the Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL-1) mission of Columbia and STS-94.
STS058-03-020 (18 Oct.-1 Nov. 1993) --- In the Spacelab onboard the space shuttle Columbia, STS-58 Commander John Blaha is positioned at the Rotating Dome vestibular experiment as Payload Commander Rhea Seddon sets up the experiment. Photo credit: NASA
S85-43138 (20 Sept 1985) --- Spacelab D-1, the first payload dedicated to a German mission, is installed into the Space Shuttle Challenger in the orbiter processing facility (OPF) at the Kennedy Space Center. Launch for the 61-A eight crewmembers and their extensive scientific experiments is scheduled for no earlier than Oct. 30.
STS040-04-036 (5-14 June 1991) --- Closeup view of urine monitoring system and test samples, part of the busy schedule of life sciences testing on the nine-day STS-40/Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS-1) mission aboard the earth-orbiting Columbia.
Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-42) lifted off from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) with International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-1) aboard the orbiter's cargo bay. IML missions were devoted to material and life sciences studies using the Spacelab Long Module.
Former Spacelab 1 Mission scientist Rick Chappell views the August 21, 2017 solar eclipse with his wife. Chappell, a former associate director for science at Marshall and now a physics professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, joined a throng of Marshall personnel to marvel at the eclipse.
Former Spacelab 1 mission scientist Rick Chappell addresses Marshall team members during the Aug. 21 eclipse-watching event in Activities Building 4316. Chappell, a former associate director for science at Marshall and now a physics professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, joined a throng of Marshall personnel to marvel at the eclipse.
STS040-212-006 (5-14 June 1991) --- Payload specialist Millie Hughes-Fulford floats through the Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS-1) module aboard the Earth-orbiting Columbia. Astronaut James P. Bagian, mission specialist, is at the blood draw station in the background. The scene was photographed with a 35mm camera.
S94-E-5019 (6 July 1997) --- Roger K. Crouch, payload specialist for the Microgravity Sciences Laboratory (MSL-1) mission, is seen at the experiment racks during Flight Day 6 aboard Spacelab. The photo was recorded with an Electronic Still Camera (ESC) and later downlinked to ground controllers in Houston, Texas.
STS040-224-005 (5-14 June 1991) --- Astronaut Tamara E. Jernigan, STS-40 mission specialist, conducts an evaluation of the General Purpose Work Station (GPWS) in the Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS-1) module onboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. The photograph was taken with a 35mm camera.
S85-26569 (Feb 1985) --- Two prime crew payload specialists (PS) for NASA's Space Life Sciences-1 (STS-40) mission and a backup PS rehearse medical experiments in a JSC trainer. Left to right are Millie Hughes-Fulford, Robert Phillips and Drew Gaffney. Hughes-Fulford and Gaffney are scheduled to join five NASA astronauts for a Space Shuttle mission devoted to the study of life sciences.
The crew assigned to the STS-61A mission included (front row left to right) Reinhard Furrer, German payload specialist; Bonnie J. Dunbar, mission specialist; and Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr. commander. On the back row, left to right, are Steven R. Nagel, pilot; Guion S. Bluford, mission specialist; Ernst Messerscmid, German payload specialist; and Wubbo J. Ockels, Dutch payload specialist. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on October 30, 1985 at 12:00:00 noon (EST), the STS-61A mission’s primary payload was the Spacelab D-1 (German Spacelab mission).
The image shows a test cell of Crystal Growth experiment inside the Vapor Crystal Growth System (VCGS) furnace aboard the STS-42, International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1), mission. The goal of IML-1, a pressurized marned Spacelab module, was to explore in depth the complex effects of weightlessness of living organisms and materials processing. More than 200 scientists from 16 countires participated in the investigations.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia begins its rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for the STS-83 mission. The Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module is the primary payload on this 16-day spaceflight. The MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station, while the seven-member flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments
This is a photograph of the Spacelab module for the first United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-1) mission, showing logos of the Spacelab mission on the left and the USML-1 mission on the right. The USML-1 was one part of a science and technology program that opened NASA's next great era of discovery and established the United States' leadership in space. From investigations designed to gather fundamental knowledge in a variety of areas to demonstrations of new equipment, USML-1 forged the way for future USML missions and helped prepare for advanced microgravity research and processing aboard the Space Station. Thirty-one investigations comprised the payload of the first USML-1 mission. The experiments aboard USML-1 covered five basic areas: fluid dynamics, the study of how liquids and gases respond to the application or absence of differing forces; crystal growth, the production of inorganic and organic crystals; combustion science, the study of the processes and phenomena of burning; biological science, the study of plant and animal life; and technology demonstrations. The USML-1 was managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center and launched aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (STS-50) on June 25, 1992.
STS083-464-005 (4-8 April 1997) --- This view, photographed not long after orbital insertion, shows Spacelab Module in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Columbia, backdropped against the darkness of space and the Bahama Islands area of the Caribbean Sea. The logo on the left pays tribute to the various nations participating in the mission. The decal on the right is the pentagonal logo for the Microgravity Science Laboratory 1 (MSL-1) mission.
STS083-308-025 (4-8 April 1997) --- Payload specialist Roger K. Crouch, talks to ground controllers while working at Combustion Module-1 in the Spacelab Science Module. Crouch, along with five other NASA astronauts and a second payload specialist supporting the Microgravity Sciences Laboratory (MSL-1) mission were less than a fourth of the way through a scheduled 16-day flight when a power problem cut short their planned stay.
STS040-206-002 (5-14 June 1991) --- Held in place by the Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS-1) Medical Restraint System (MRS), astronaut Sidney M. Gutierrez, pilot, gets his ears checked by astronaut Tamara E. Jernigan, mission specialist. The two are in the SLS-1 module, onboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. The scene was photographed with a 35mm camera.
STS-55 crewmembers pose with United States and German flags inside the Spacelab Deutsche 2 (SL-D2) science module located in the payload bay (PLB) of Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102. Wearing communications kit assembly headsets (HDSTs) are (left to right) Mission Specialist 1 (MS1) and Payload Commander (PLC) Jerry L. Ross, MS3 Bernard A. Harris, Jr, German Payload Specialist 1 Ulrich Walter, and Payload Specialist 2 Hans Schlegel.
STS078-305-022 (20 June-7 July 1996) --- Astronaut Richard M. Linnehan, mission specialist, works out in the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS-1) Science Module aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. With an almost 17-day mission away from Earth?s gravity, crew members maintained an exercise regimen above and beyond their assigned LMS-1 duty assignments.
STS083-303-002 (4-8 April 1997) --- Astronaut Susan L. Still, pilot, floats into the Spacelab Module in the early phases of its activation. Still, a member of the 1995 astronaut class, joined four other NASA astronauts and two scientist payload specialists for the Microgravity Science Laboratory 1 (MSL-1) mission aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia.
STS-40 Payload Specialist Millie Hughes-Fulford conducts Spacelab Life Sciences 1 (SLS-1) Experiment No. 198, Pulmonary Function During Weightlessness, in JSC's Life Sciences Project Division (LSPD) SLS mockup located in the Bioengineering and Test Support Facility Bldg 36. Hughes-Fulford sets switches on Rack 8. Behind her in the center aisle are the stowed bicycle ergometer (foreground) and the body restraint system.
The laboratory module in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia was photographed during the Spacelab Life Science-1 (SLS-1) mission. SLS-1 was the first Spacelab mission dedicated solely to life sciences. The main purpose of the SLS-1 mission was to study the mechanisms, magnitudes, and time courses of certain physiological changes that occur during space flight, to investigate the consequences of the body's adaptation to microgravity and readjustment to Earth's gravity, and to bring the benefits back home to Earth. The mission was designed to explore the responses of the heart, lungs, blood vessels, kidneys, and hormone-secreting glands to microgravity and related body fluid shifts; examine the causes of space motion sickness; and study changes in the muscles, bones and cells. The five body systems being studied were: The Cardiovascular/Cardiopulmonary System (heart, lungs, and blood vessels), the Renal/Endocrine System (kidney and hormone-secreting organs), the Immune System (white blood cells), the Musculoskeletal System (muscles and bones), and the Neurovestibular System (brain and nerves, eyes, and irner ear). The SLS-1 was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (STS-40) on June 5, 1995.