[ESA] Europe's involvement Spacelab

[Orionid]

Europe's involvement Spacelab


Cut-out view of Spacelab in orbit. ESA developed Spacelab as a manned scientific laboratory to fly in the Space Shuttle's cargo bay.

Europe’s involvement in Space Shuttle activities dates back to 1969, when NASA invited ESRO, ESA’s predecessor organisation, to participate in its Post-Apollo Programme.

NASA had reached the Moon, with Apollo proving that the boldest goals could be achieved. However, to conduct post-Apollo programmes within reasonable budget limits, a new vehicle was needed to carry astronauts and cargo into space, without throwing away hundreds of million dollars per flight. This was the rationale to develop the first reusable launch system in 1972: the Space Transportation System (STS) – otherwise known as the ‘Space Shuttle’.

Europe, then represented by ELDO (European Launcher Development Organisation) and ESRO (European Space Research Organisation), the precursors of today’s ESA, was invited to take part in early studies in 1969. ELDO developed a concept for a reusable space tug to ferry cargo from low to geostationary orbits and beyond, but NASA eventually turned to US expendable ‘kick stages’ for this role.

Heading towards human spaceflight


Signature of the Spacelab Memorandum of Understanding between ESRO and NASA at the State Department, Washington DC, USA, on 24 September 1973. The Memorandum was signed by Alexander Hocker for ESRO and James Fletcher (NASA Administrator). Also present are Charles Hanin, chairman of ESC, Professor M. Levy, Chairman of ESRO Council and Roy Gibson.

ESRO focused its efforts on a ‘Sortie Module’ to be flown in the Shuttle’s cargo bay. The laboratory’s original ‘freeflying’ mode was later abandoned, and so it became ‘Spacelab’. In December 1972, Europe opted to develop 'Spacelab' as an integral element of the US Space Transportation System in which scientific missions of up to nine days could be conducted. The Spacelab programme was approved in July 1973, during the European Space Conference in Brussels.

At this important meeting, European ministers agreed on the Ariane programme and the inception of the European Space Agency (ESA). The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Europe and NASA for the implementation of Spacelab took place on 24 September 1973. Europe was heading towards human spaceflight.

Unlike Skylab, the first US space station, which had been built mostly from existing Apollo hardware, Spacelab was a new construction offering a much wider range of applications.

Building Spacelab


Preparing Spacelab 1 at the Kennedy Space Center for its flight aboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-9) in November 1983. ESA developed Spacelab as a manned scientific laboratory to fly on NASA's Space Shuttle. Ulf Merbold, who was part of the Spacelab 1 crew, became the first ESA astronaut in space.

In June 1974, ESA selected an industrial consortium led by MBB-Erno (now EADS Astrium) to develop the modular elements making up Spacelab: a pressurised laboratory, a gimballed instrument pointing system and cargo bay pallets.

At that time, the Shuttle was planned to fly up to once a week and about a hundred Spacelab missions were anticipated through the 1990s. This number significantly decreased as the Shuttle began flying. Spacelab pallets were flown as early as the second Shuttle mission, in November 1981. The first ESA-sponsored mission, Spacelab-1, followed two years later.


Spacelab-1 on orbit, the European purpose-built laboratory is shown inside the cargo bay of Space Shuttle Columbia. The Spacelab-1 mission was launched on 28 November 1983 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. On board was German astronaut Ulf Merbold, the first ESA astronaut in space.

Under a barter agreement, a first set of Spacelab modules was handed over to NASA, which also bought a second set later. In total, 22 Spacelab missions were flown by the time the programme ended in 1998, representing some 244 days on orbit. Most included a significant ESA science/payload contribution and two dedicated missions were sponsored by the German Aerospace Center, DLR.

The Spacelab laboratory module was even flown in 1995 on a milestone international mission: the first Shuttle docking with Russia’s Mir space station.

Source: https://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Space_Shuttle/Europe_s_involvement_Spacelab

[Orionid]

From Spacelab to Columbus


With the blackness of space and the Earth's horizon as a backdrop, NASA astronaut Ron Garan completes the third spacewalk of the STS-124 mission in June 2008. ESA's Columbus laboratory is seen in the foreground of the picture.

As a key partner to NASA, ESA was invited in 1984 to participate in another major venture: the Freedom space station. ESA’s contribution was the Columbus laboratory module, approved by ESA’s Ministerial Council in The Hague in November 1987.

The loss of Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to a series of restructurings of the Freedom programme, which turned into the more ambitious International Space Station (ISS), jointly assembled and operated by the US, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada.


A cutaway view of Columbus, the European laboratory module of the International Space Station.

Once the design phase was completed, the full development of the Columbus laboratory was approved by ESA’s Ministerial Council in October 1995 in Toulouse and an industrial contract was awarded in March 1996 to an industrial consortium led by DASA (now Astrium).

Delays in the orbital assembly of the Station and the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003 significantly postponed the launch of the Columbus laboratory. It was eventually attached to the ISS in February 2008, opening a new era for European human spaceflight with a permanent research laboratory in space.

Source: http://m.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2001/11/Cutaway_view_of_Columbus_laboratory

[Orionid]

Birth of an international spirit


Working inside Spacelab on STS-9 in 1983, astronauts Bob Parker, Byron Lictenberg, Owen Garriott and Ulf Merbold.
Ulf Merbold’s flight on STS-9 marked the beginning of an extensive ESA/NASA partnership that included dozens of flights of ESA astronauts in the following years.

Spacelab turned out to be one of the most important and most frequently flown Shuttle payload systems to date, with some missions funded and operated by other countries, such as Germany and Japan. When Spacelab flights stopped in 1998, full Spacelab modules had flown 16 times and Spacelab pallet-only missions had flown six times.

With their NASA crewmates, nine Europeans had worked inside Spacelab while in space.

Training for Spacelab


ESA's first three astronauts were selected in 1978. From left to right, Claude Nicollier (CH), Wubbo Ockels (NL) and Ulf Merbold (DE).
Ulf Merbold was the first to fly in 1983 with STS-9 and Wubbo Ockels flew two years later on STS-61A. Claude Nicollier, who had to wait 14 years to experience his first flight with STS-46 in 1992.

Merbold had been selected in 1978, along with Wubbo Ockels and Claude Nicollier, to train as payload specialists for the first Spacelab flights, but as he recalls, it wasn’t always easy.

“Being the first non-American in the US space programme was really something special. When we started training for Spacelab 1 in Huntsville, we received a warm welcome. During our two years in training, people were really eager and happy to see us. They made sure everything was more than perfect,” says Merbold.


Astronauts Owen Garriott and Ulf Merbold brief Vice President George Bush inside Spacelab at the Operations and Checkout Building, Kennedy Space Center, in 1982.

“But in Houston you could feel that not everyone was happy that Europe was involved. Some also resented the new concept of the payload specialist ‘astronaut scientist’, who was not under their control like the pilots. We were perceived to be intruders in an area that was reserved for ‘real’ astronauts.

"A couple of small things made us realise that Johnson Space Center management was suspicious. Now, of course, all this has changed. I think we broke the ice and all our colleagues who came after us had much easier lives.”

Mission specialists


During the second spacewalk of Servicing Mission 3A, ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier is installing the Fine Guidance Sensor on the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA astronaut Michael Foale, left, is assisting.

Merbold flew on the Spacelab-1 mission as a ‘Payload Specialist’, more like a passenger than a full member of the crew, as was Ockels on Spacelab-D1 two years later.

However, in 1980, under an agreement with ESA, NASA had accepted the inclusion of Nicollier into its own astronaut training class, where he graduated as a ‘Mission Specialist’, meaning a fully fledged member of the crew. His competence later led him to participate in four Shuttle missions, including some of the most ambitious flights ever made: the repair of the Hubble Space Telescope.


Prof. Ulrich Walter flew on STS-55 in 1993 on the Spacelab D2 mission for German space agency DLR.

German astronaut Ulrich Walter, who flew on Spacelab D2 in 1993, recalls Shuttle training only a few years after Merbold, “I remember it was very hard (we trained for five years including the basic training), but nevertheless it was worthwhile and I would do it again immediately! Yes, I would go again, and not only on a research mission but also any mission to the ISS or wherever.”

International partners


ESA astronaut André Kuipers during EVA training in NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Facility in Houston.

“I always appreciated the very good cooperation with the ground teams because they gave everything in order to have their ‘baby’ fly in good shape. The ground teams are always highly motivated people and it was really fun working with them,” remembers Walter.

Today’s astronauts have to train to work on the ISS, which involves modules and systems from each of five partner agencies from USA, Russia, Canada, Japan and ESA.

You are now more likely to find American astronauts training in Moscow, European astronauts training in Tsukuba, Japan, or Russian cosmonauts at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany.

Source: https://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Space_Shuttle/Birth_of_an_international_spirit

[Orionid]

A veritable work horse


Ground crews begin towing Space Shuttle Atlantis after landing at Edwards Air Force Base on 24 May 2099, concluding the STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space telescope.

For all its shortcomings, the Shuttle is still one of the most complex and yet capable space vehicles ever built. It remains the only vehicle in the world with the dual capability to deliver and return large payloads to and from orbit.

"The design, now more than three decades old, is still state-of-the-art in many respects: computerised flight controls, airframe design, electrical power systems, thermal protection system and main engines," says Roger Launius, former Chief Historian for NASA, now Senior Curator at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

"At the same time, it is extremely expensive to fly and has been unable to deliver its original promise of routine access to space."

Michel Tognini, Head of the European Astronaut Centre and Mission Specialist on STS-93, said, “The Space Shuttle is a wonderful ‘bird’, a remarkable flying machine with a diversity of uses. Soyuz is limited in the orbit inclinations it can fly, but the Shuttle could fly to any inclination needed, to deliver any type of payload and to do any type of repair, to grab satellites, for example the Hubble Space Telescope. It was a special vehicle capable of doing so many different things.”

Telescope repair missions


During the second spacewalk of Servicing Mission 3A, ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier is installing the Fine Guidance Sensor on the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA astronaut Michael Foale, left, is assisting.

Gerhard Thiele, Mission Specialist on STS-99, said: “I think the missions that stand out the most to me, as a physicist, are those to the Hubble Space Telescope. That doesn’t diminish the other missions, such as life sciences missions, or Earth observation missions such as the one that I had the privilege to fly on, but when people look back in many years I think the contributions to Hubble or Chandra will stand out.”

French astronaut Jean-François Clervoy has flown three times on the Shuttle. His third mission, STS-103, was to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

“On this flight we were carrying responsibility for the careers of hundreds of scientists whose entire working lives were devoted to analysing the data transmitted by this telescope, still unequalled for the quality of its visible light images of distant parts of the Universe. The discoveries from Hubble are seen as significant today as were the observations of Galileo in their day,” explained Clervoy.


A view of the Hubble Space Telescope from on board Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-82. The six-member crew completed servicing and upgrading of Hubble during four planned extravehicular activities (EVAs) and then performed a fifth unscheduled space walk to repair insulation on the telescope, 11-21 February 1997

“On our return, the Space Telescope Science Institute, which manages the use of the HST, presented us with the spectacular results of our rescue mission, making us feel that we had performed a really significant service to science. I shall be proud to tell my grandchildren, ‘I was there’, hoping to inspire in them a taste for adventure,” said Clervoy.

Mir and other impressive missions


This is one of a series of 800 mm survey digital still photographs of the Space Shuttle Discovery taken during its full 360-degree 'backflip'. The series of photos were made by the Expedition 20 crew on the International Space Station as the two spacecraft drew near to each other on STS-128's third flight day. This view shows almost the entire 'top' portion of Discovery, including the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (Leonardo) in the cargo bay.

Looking back at the achievements of the Space Shuttle, there are so many that it is very hard to select just a few highlights. The construction flights to the ISS and the Hubble Servicing Missions have captured the public imagination, but there have been other less well-known but equally impressive missions.

For example, Jean-François Clervoy’s first mission, STS-66, studied the atmosphere and the Sun, with the results giving a better understanding of ozone depletion and atmospheric warming.

“During my work shift, I flew each day over the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the whole of Asia, in beautiful sunny conditions without any cloud interference. I brought back more than 8000 photographs, with the most wonderful views of Earth from space: the Great Barrier Reef, Kamchatka, New York, the Caribbean, the Alps, the Nile and the pyramids, Mount Everest and many other views that will stay in my memory for ever,” said Clervoy.

But his next mission, STS-84, was even more dramatic: carrying vital supplies to the aging Russian Mir space station.

The Shuttle took experiments and food for an American member of their crew, who was to spend four months in Mir, and then had to return to Earth with a crewmember who had finished his tour of duty.


Space Shuttle docked with Mir

“We had forged close links with the Mir crew during joint training in Russia, and felt responsible for their safety,” said Clervoy.

“The success of their mission depended on our arrival. We brought, among other equipment, a generator that produced oxygen from urine, so economising on the few remaining chemical cartridges that they had on board. We knew how they felt after already three months of isolation.

"Opening the hatchway after our two craft had docked was a truly emotional experience, as were the international meals that we enjoyed together on Mir and the moment when we separated from them again,” remembers Clervoy.

Source: https://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Space_Shuttle/A_veritable_work_horse

[Orionid]

After the Shuttle


Space Shuttle Endeavour approaches the ISS on 10 February 2010 on its mission to install its primary payloads, the Tranquility Node-3 module and Cupola, the European-built observatory module.

ESA astronaut Michel Tognini looks to the future, “Now that the Shuttle is ending, we have to think differently. Time has moved on, we can’t stay all our lives in low Earth orbit and we have to go further."

"Looking at the future exploration of the Moon and Mars, we won’t go there with Space Shuttles, but with capsules. However, reentry from space as a plane is still something magnificent which has to be studied, and the Space Shuttle gave us valuable ‘lessons learned’ on every flight.


Space Shuttle Endeavour makes its final landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, completing a 16-day STS-134 mission to the International Space Station. The crew of the Shuttle included ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori.

"I’m sure people would have loved to fly on the Shuttle, but maybe they will have the chance on a new Space Shuttle built with new technology, materials and computers, which might be ready within ten years.”

The last word should go to the last ESA astronaut and non-US citizen to fly on the Space Shuttle, Roberto Vittori. Flying on STS-134, the penultimate flight, he views the end of the Shuttle programme in a different way and agrees with Tognini about the possibilities for new winged vehicles.

“I’ve flown in space twice before on Soyuz, but its my first flight on the Shuttle, so that’s the way I look at it. I know Endeavour is scheduled for its last flight, and it seems strange to me because when you see the spacecraft close up, it looks brand new. I know it’s over 20 years old, but it seems still in perfect shape,” said Vittori.


Europe’s ambition for a spacecraft to return autonomously from low orbit is a cornerstone for a wide range of space applications, including space transportation, exploration and robotic servicing of space infrastructure.

Part of this goal will be achieved with IXV Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, planned for launch in 2014. Launched into a suborbital trajectory on ESA’s Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, IXV will return to Earth as if from a low-orbit mission, to test and qualify new European critical reentry technologies such as advanced ceramic and ablative thermal protection.

The 2 t lifting body will attain an altitude of around 450 km, allowing it to reach a velocity of 7.5 km/s on reentering the atmosphere. It will collect a large amount of data during its hypersonic and supersonic flight, while it is being controlled by thrusters and aerodynamic flaps.

The craft will then descend by parachute and land in the Pacific Ocean to await recovery and analysis.

“The Shuttles are just the first examples of future hypersonic machines so, although we expected to retire them, the question is not ‘if’, but ‘when’ there will be a new vehicle similar to the Shuttle. From a pilot’s standpoint, one of the most interesting areas for me is hypersonic flight and the Shuttle is the only vehicle capable of flying in this region.

"So I don’t think of the ‘last Shuttle flight’, I see the Shuttle as a prototype of transport for future generations. As a test pilot, it will be very exciting to be part of expanding this hypersonic experience.”

Source: https://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Space_Shuttle/After_the_Shuttle


Onnea Spacelab (ja kaikki, mitä siitä on tullut sitten 1970-luvun)!
30.11.2023 klo 23.17, kirjoittaja Jari Mäkinen

29. marraskuuta oli merkittävä päivämäärä eurooppalaisessa avaruushistoriassa, koska Spacelab 1 -sukkulalento nousi silloin avaruuteen.



Spacelabia kannattaa todellakin muistella, sillä se on eurooppalaista avaruustoimintaa tyypillisimmillään: varsin huomaamatonta, mutta hyvin merkittävää.

Spacelab oli avaruussukkulan rahtiruumaan sovitettu laboratorio, ja paitsi että se aloitti eurooppalaisten astronauttien lennot avaruuteen Nasan kanssa, niin myös sen vaikutus näkyy nyt avaruusasemassa ja sen jälkeläiset suuntaavat pian kohti Kuuta.



Lähtökohtana tässä tarinassa on se, että 1970-luvun alussa Nasa oli alkanut jo suunnittelemaan avaruussukkulaa.

Silloin mukana kaavailuissa oli kaksi ideaa, jotka käyttäisivät hyväkseen sukkulan suurta rahtiruumaa. Oli avaruusteleskooppi, josta tuli sittemmin Hubblen avaruusteleskooppi, eli isohko kaukoputki, joka mahtuisi juuri ja juuri rahtiruuman sisälle. Se voitaisiin viedä sukkulalla avaruuteen ja sitä voitaisiin käydä huoltamassa ja parantelemalla sukkulalennoilla.

Ja näin tapahtuikin. Hubble on edelleen avaruudessa ja toimii.

Toinen idea oli tehdä avaruuslaboratorio, joka mahtuisi sekin nipin napin rahtiruuman sisälle. Se olisi vähän kuin avaruusasema, joka lentäisi sukkulan mukana ja tulisi lennon jälkeen sukkulan kyydissä takaisin. Näin matkan aikana saadut näytteet voidaan viedä pikimmiten tutkijoiden käsiin, ja lisäksi asema voitaisiin varustaa erilaisilla tutkimuslaitteilla eri lentoja varten.

Eli laboratoriota muokattaisiin aina sen mukaan mitä tutkitaan; toisinaan biologiaa, toisinaan materiaalitutkimusta ja toisinaan jotain muuta. Kätevää!


Spacelab Columbia-sukkulan rahtiruumassa. Astronautit siirtyivät sen sisälle sukkulasta edessä olevaa putkea pitkin.

Koska Nasalla oli teknisiä ongelmia sukkulan tekemisen kanssa ja taloushuolia liian pienten budjettien kanssa, se pyysi Eurooppaa tulemaan mukaan teleskoopin ja avaruuslaboratorion tekemiseen.

Euroopan avaruusjärjestöä ei ollut tuolloin vielä olemassa, joten Nasa keskusteli sen toisen edeltäjän, ESROn kanssa. ESRO, eli Euroopan avaruustutkimusjärjestö, eli European Space Research Organisation, yhdistyi vasta vuonna 1974 Euroopan rakettikehitysjärjestön ELDOn kanssa, jolloin syntyi ESA, Euroopan avaruusjärjestö.

ESA otti nämä kaksi hanketta, Hubblen ja Spacelabin, ensimmäisiksi isoiksi projekteikseen. Virallisesti yhteistyö alkoi elokuussa 1973, kun Nasa ja ESRO sopivat Spacelabin tekemisestä.

Spacelab oli palapeli, sillä se koostui eri kokoisista paineistetuista säiliöistä ja paleteiksi kutsutuista laveteista. Paineistetut osat olivat putkella kiinni avaruussukkulan ilmalukossa, joten astronautit pääsivät sen kautta sukkulasta laboratorion sisään. Säiliön sisällä oli tutkimuslaitteita ja koejärjestelyjä.

Säiliö oli periaatteessa yksinkertainen paineistettu sylinteri, joka oli 4,12 metriä halkaisijaltaan. Sylinterin osat olivat 2,7 metriä pitkiä, ja niitä voitiin laittaa kaksikin peräkkäin. Tämä paineistettu – eli sen sisällä saattoi olla paitahihasillaan – osa saattoi olla liki kuusi metriä pitkä. Tai vajaat kolme, jos käytössä oli vain yksi palanen. Koko määritettiin tarvittavien koeasemien määrän mukaan.


Avoin Spacelab-lavetti.

Lisäksi oli myös avoimia lavetteja – tai paletteja, kuten niitä kutsuttiin. Ne kiinnitettiin rahtiruumaan ja niiden päälle voitiin kiinnittää tutkimuslaitteita. Paletit saattoivat toimia myös ilman paineistettua laboratoriota, jos tarkoitus oli tehdä vain esimerkiksi kokeita, joiden täytyi olla suorassa kosketuksessa tyhjän avaruuden kanssa, katsoa ylös avaruuteen tai tarkkailla maapalloa alapuolella.

Kun paineistettua osaa ei ollut mukana, oli kyydissä myös niin sanottu iglu, missä oli palettien ja niiden tutkimuslaitteiden käyttämiseen tarvittu tekniikka.

Näistä voitiin tehdä useita erilaisia kombinaatioita, mutta vain kahdeksalle erilaiselle haettiin kelpuutukset, eli niitä hiottiin ja testattiin sellaisiksi, että ne voitiin hyväksyttää käytettäväksi.

Ja kyllä niitä sitten käytettiinkin!

Spacelab-osia oli mukana kaikkiaan 32 sukkulalennolla, ja näistä ensimmäinen kerta oli heti toinen sukkulalento STS-2 marraskuussa 1981. Silloin käytettiin ”vain” palettia, jonka päällä oli tavaraa.

Ensimmäinen paineistettua moduulia käyttänyt lento oli ESAn kanssa tehty Spacelab-1 -lento 40 vuotta sitten. Spacelabin historia alkoi kunnolla tästä, virallisemmin nimellä STS-9 tunnetusta lennosta.

Kyseessä oli yhdeksäs sukkulalento. Sen teki sukkula Columbia, ja sen kyydissä oli pitkä paineistettu moduuli. Lennon miehistössä oli mukana saksalainen Ulf Merbold, joka oli yksi neljästä uudesta ESA-astronautista, jotka valittiin juuri näitä Spacelab-lentoja varten.

Muut olivat hollantilainen Wubbo Ockels, italialainen Franco Malerba ja sveitsiläinen Claude Nicollier. Nicollier on tähtiharrastajille kenties mielenkiintoisin, koska hän on koulutukseltaan tähtitieteilijä.


Vasemmalta: Nicollier, Merbold, Ockels ja Malerba.

Spacelab-lentojen suunnitelmat tosin menivät sekaisin sen jälkeen, kun sukkula Challenger räjähti vuonna 1986. Sukkulalentoja vähennettiin ja strategisesti tärkeitä lentoja painotettiin. Spacelabit eivät olleet prioriteettilistalla ensimmäisinä.

Spacelab-osia kuitenkin käytettiin, ja Nasa teki sittemmin Saksan kanssa erityissopimuksella kaksi Spacelab D -lentoa, joilla oli mukana saksalaisastronautteja. Kaikki ESAn astronautit myös pääsivät lentoon.

Saksan osuus Spacelabin tekemisessä oli suuri ja siksi saksalaiset olivat siitä kovasti kiinnostuneita sen käyttämisestä. Spacelabien loppukokoonpano ja projektihallinta oli Bremenissä, missä sijaitsi tuolloin 70-luvulla ERNO, Entwicklungsring Nord -yhtiö. Se yhdistyi pian Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm -yhtiön kanssa MBB-ERNOksi, ja monen vaiheen jälkeen nyt rakennusten seinässä komeilee teksti Airbus.

Liikennelentokoneistaan tutun yhtiön avaruusliiketoimintayksikkö tekee Bremenissä muun muassa Orion-kuualuksen huoltomoduuleita.

Saksassa tehtiin tuolloin 1970-luvulla kaksi Spacelab-laboratoriota, joista toinen vaihdettiin Nasan kanssa eurooppalaisastronauttien lentopaikkoihin, ja toisen Nasa osti suoraan ERNOlta.

Ensimmäinen näistä osista on nykyisin näytteillä Yhdysvalloissa pääkaupunki Washingtonin luona olevassa Kansallisen ilmailu- ja avaruusmuseon (Smithsonian National air and space museum) sivupisteessä, missä on paljon lentokoneita ja avaruuslaitteita – pääpaikkaan Washingtonin keskustassa kun ei mahdu paljoakaan.


Spacelab LM1 on siellä esillä sukkula Discoveryn vieressä.

Tämä ensimmäinen Spacelab-moduuli ei koskaan lentänyt Discoveryn ruumassa, vaan ainoastaan sukkula Columbia sai kunnian olla sen kyydittäjänä.

Discovery lennätti kylläkin kakkosmoduulia kerran, vuonna 1992 STS-42 -lennolla. Miehistöön kuului yllättäen – taas Ulf Merbold, jolle tuo oli toinen avaruuslento. Sen jälkeen hän lensi vielä kolmannenkin kerran, nyt Mir-avaruusasemalle pitemmäksi ajaksi.


Merbold Spacelabin sisällä STS-42 -lennolla.

Viimeinen paineistetun moduulin lento oli huhtikuussa 1998 tehty Neurolab-niminen lento. Sen jälkeen Nasa siirtyi käyttämään uudempaa omaa Spacehab-nimistä moduuliaan.

Paletit sen sijaan lensivät vielä vuosikymmenen, viimeinen lento oli toukokuussa 2009 ollut STS-125. Sukkula Atlantis kävi silloin tekemässä viidennen ja viimeisen Hubblen huoltolennon, eli nuo kaksi sukkula-ajan alun yhteishanketta, Hubble ja Spacelab olivat tuolloin nätisti yhdessä. Tätä tuskin oli kyllä suunniteltu, vaan Spacelab-paletit vain olivat niin käteviä. Sen jälkeenhän sukkulat tekivät enää kymmenen lentoa, joiden kuormana oli avaruusaseman moduuleita.


Työntekoa Spacelabin sisällä.

Avaruusasemasta Kuun kiertoradalle

Noin 40 prosenttia Kansainvälisen avaruusaseman paineistetusta tilavuudesta on tehty Euroopassa, ja Spacelab näiden osien suora edeltäjä. Spacelabin rakentamisessa saatu kokemus tuli käyttöön.

Vaikka Spacelabin loppukokoonpanija ja projektin vetäjä oli ERNO (ja erinimiset yhtiöt sen jälkeen samalla paikalla) Bremenissä, tehtiin varsinainen paineistettu sylinteri Italiassa Torinon luona. Sielläkin yhtiön nimi on muuttunut vuosikymmenien varrella: alkuperäinen Aeritalia on muuttunut välivaiheiden kautta Leonardoksi.

Tällä Spacelabista tutulla kaavalla – siis sylinteri italiasta ja kokonaisuus Saksasta – tehtiin myös avaruusasemalla oleva eurooppalainen Columbus-moduuli.


Avaruusaseman maisemaikkuna, kupoli, on italialaista tekoa, ja se on kiinnitettynä italialaisvalmisteiseen liitososa 3:een.

Sen lisäksi italialaiset ovat tehneet suoraan Nasalle monia muitakin paineistettuja sylintereitä heidän osiensa perusrungoksi. Avaruusaseman liitososien 2 ja 3, nimiltään Harmony ja Tranquility -moduulien perusrakenne on italialaista tekoa. Lisäksi siellä on tehty avaruussukkulan ruumassa ylösalas matkanneet rahtisäiliöt, joiden sisällä kuljetettiin tavaraa asemalle ja asemalta.

Yksi näistä jätettiin kiinni asemaan, kun sukkuloiden käyttö loppui. Se toimii nyt aseman varastona.

Sen jälkeen Italiassa on tehty Cygnus-rahtialusten paineistetut osat, kuten myös samankaltaisten, eurooppalaisten ATV-alusten paineistetut osat olivat myös sieltä. ATV:t lensivät vuosina 2008 – 2015.


Kuuta kiertävään Gateway-asemaan tulee kaksi eurooppalaista osaa: i-Hab -asuinmoduuli ja ESPRIT, jonka tehtävänä on tankata vierailevia avaruusaluksia ja hoitaa tietoliikennettä.

Nyt Torinossa on tekeillä osia Kuuta kiertämään rakennettavaan Gateway-asemaan. Lisäksi siellä haaveillaan moduulista, joka vietäisiin aikanaan Kuun pinnalle.

Ja pohjana näissä kaikissa on elokuussa 1974 tehty sopimus Nasan ja ESAn edeltäjän välillä, sekä tasan 40 vuotta sitten avaruudessa lentänyt ensimmäinen Spacelab-lento.

Onnea Spacelab!



https://www.ursa.fi/blogi/terveisia-kiertoradalta/onnea-spacelab-ja-kaikki-mita-siita-on-tullut-sitten-1970-luvun/

[Orionid]

W listopadzie minie 40 lat od pierwszego lotu Spacelaba

COLUMBIA GOING BACK INTO SPACE IN NEXT MISSION WITH A CREW OF 6
AP Sept. 6, 1983



The first space shuttle, the Columbia, is scheduled to return to service for the next flight in the American series, and the Challenger is getting a breather after three flights in five months.

The Columbia, which has been idle for a year of modifications after making the first five flights, is scheduled to lift off again Oct. 28, carrying the European Spacelab, a research craft. A crew of six, the shuttle's largest yet, will be aboard, including two scientists who are not astronauts, one from West Germany and the other from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

After that ninth flight in the program, the Columbia will again be taken out of service for several months for completion of its modifications. Because it was the first spaceship in the series, it was not as sophisticated as its successors.

Busy Schedule for 1984

Flight 10, in January, will be the Challenger's, and it will mark the beginning of a busy year in which 11 missions are scheduled. The craft was originally planned to carry a secret military satellite into space, but that mission has been delayed until later in the year because of problems with the rocket motor that is to lift the satellite to an orbit 22,300 above the earth.

Instead, the Challenger will place two communications satellites into orbit, and a member of the crew, Bruce McCandless, will don a rocket- powered backpack and maneuver up to 300 feet away from the shuttle. He will be the first space-walking astronaut not attached by a tether to his spacecraft.

That will be an important rehearsal for Flight 11 in March, when a Challenger crew attempts the first satellite rescue mission, in an effort to repair a solar-study payload that failed in orbit three years ago.

George Nelson, an astronaut, will don the rocket pack in an attempt to move over to the satellite, secure it to the shuttle's robot arm and to bring it into the cargo bay for repair. The satellite would then be returned to orbit. This flight will also deploy a 10- ton scientific satellite, which is to be left in orbit and retrieved later in the year by another shuttle crew.

Debut of Third Shuttle

Flight 12, in April, will be the first outing for the third shuttle, Discovery. The crew, including America's second woman in space, Judith Resnik, will release NASA's second Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, to be used in communications with all shuttle journeys.

Eight other flights, mostly commercial satellite-carrying and scientific missions, are planned next year.

The number of flights will increase to 16 in 1985, which will also see the debut of the shuttle Atlantis. NASA is working up to a launching rate of 24 shuttles a year by 1987.
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/06/science/columbia-going-back-into-space-in-next-mission-with-a-crew-of-6.html

SHUTTLE'S MISSION SEEN HERALDING NEW U.S.-EUROPEAN COOPERATION
By John Noble Wilford, Special To the New York Times Nov. 28, 1983



American and European space officials said today that the partnership that produced the Spacelab, scheduled to fly aboard the space shuttle Columbia Monday, is likely to be extended to other cooperative space ventures.

This would probably include major European participation in any American effort to develop a large space station, they said.

Preparations continued to run smoothly toward a planned liftoff at 11 A.M. for the ninth space shuttle mission, the first to carry a large pressurized laboratory in which astronauts and scientists can conduct experiments and scientific observations.

Only the weather gave launching officials at the Kennedy Space Center cause for concern. A cold front moving here from the west threatened to bring rain and possibly thunderstorms by liftoff time.

But at a preflight news conference, the storm clouds were of only passing interest compared with the more clement weather for American-European cooperation in space flight that officials said lay just over the horizon.

James M. Beggs, head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said the flight of the European- built Spacelab on the Columbia was a ''very, very important mission'' because it should ''open the door to further cooperation with the Europeans.''

Eric Quistgaard, director-general of the 11-nation European Space Agency, said the European governments had expressed ''great interest in continuing to cooperate with the United States in major manned space systems.'' He said Europe ''will be prepared to participate in one way or another'' in the space station project, which NASA hopes to get under way next year.

A decision is expected to be made soon, perhaps this week, on whether the Reagan Administration will approve the inauguration of the project to develop, at a cost of $9 billion, such a large orbiting research and observation station to be operated continuously in the 1990's by astronauts and visiting scientists. Mr. Beggs is scheduled to meet with Mr. Reagan Thursday to discuss the space station project.

The flight at hand, planned to last nine days, is expected to give scientists and engineers a foretaste of the opportunities and possible problems associated with a large research facility in space.

Samuel W. Keller, NASA's deputy associate administrator for science and applications, said the Spacelab- laden Columbia should ''demonstrate what we can do with a complete laboratory in space.''

The laboratory, which is 13 feet wide and 23 feet long, contains the instruments and data-processing facilities for conducting more than 70 experiments in astronomy, solar and atmospheric physics, life sciences, materials processing and earth observations. Scientists from 14 nations, including the United States, Canada, Japan and the European countries, are in charge of the experiments.

The six-man crew for the mission is the largest ever to occupy a single spaceship. They were reported to be ''rested and ready'' for the launching. The commander of the mission is John W. Young, NASA's most experienced astronaut. The 53-year-old Mr. Young has flown two Gemini and two Apollo missions and will be making his second flight on the shuttle. He commanded the Columbia's maiden flight in April 1981. Mr. Young has hinted that this may be his last spaceflight.

The other pilot will be Maj. Brewster A. Shaw Jr. of the Air Force, who will be making his first trip into orbit. He is a 38-year-old test pilot. Scientists in Crew

The two astronauts who specialize in science are Dr. Owen K. Garriott and Dr. Robert A. R. Parker. Dr. Garriott, 53, has a doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University and was a member of the second Skylab crew, which occupied the experimental space station for 59 days in 1973. Dr. Parker, 46, was born in New York City and reared in Massachusetts. He earned a doctorate in astronomy at the California Institute of Technology.

A new category of shuttle passengers, payload specialists, will be represented this time. They are scientists who are not astronauts but are selected and trained specifically to operate the experiments of a particular mission.

The two payload specialists are Dr. Byron K. Lichtenberg, a 35-year-old biomedical researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Dr. Ulf Merbold, a 42-year-old solid- state physicist at the Max Planck Institute in Stuttgart, West Germany. He is the first non-American to fly aboard an American spacecraft.

To get ready to carry its heavy load on a longer mission the Columbia has undergone extensive modifications since its last flight a year ago. Its three main rocket engines were replaced with more powerful ones. More seats were installed to accommodate the larger crew and a galley, three bunk beds, three hammock-type sleeping bags and a shower were included on the deck below the cockpit. An airlock was added at the rear of the shuttle's crew compartment. This connects to a tunnel leading from the compartment to the Spacelab.

Through that tunnel the astronauts and payload specialists will pass frequently as they work round the clock in the mission. Two scientists and a pilot will be on duty at all times.
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/28/us/shuttle-s-mission-seen-heralding-new-us-european-cooperation.html

COMPUTER AND NAVIGATION SYSTEM TROUBLE DELAYS SPACE SHUTTLE RETURN BY 8 HOURS
By John Noble Wilford, Special To the New York Times Dec. 9, 1983



The space shuttle Columbia landed safely today, but almost eight hours late, after a cascade of malfunctions struck and spread concern for the spaceship's critical navigation system.

The six-man crew rode the winged spaceship carrying the Spacelab to a landing here at 6:47 P.M., Eastern standard time. This brought to a successful conclusion the longest shuttle mission, a 10-day flight, and the first test of the European-built Spacelab as an orbital research facility.

At the moment of touchdown, Mission Control told the crew: ''Columbia, welcome home. Beautiful landing!''

For a time, however, there was doubt as to when the Columbia would be coming home, today or possibly a day later. The suspense built in the morning, the result of a mysterious sequence of failures. A thruster firing jolted the spaceship. A computer failed and then another computer failed. These were computers handling guidance and navigation functions. Finally, a navigation measuring system also shut down. Lieut. Gen. James A. Abrahamson of the Air Force, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's shuttle chief, said there was concern that ''this was a kind of problem that would ripple through all'' the computers and other systems. After hours of trouble-shooting, Mission Control in Houston decided it was safe to attempt the landing, even though engineers still did not understand the source of the malfunctions. At a news conference here, General Abrahamson said tests showing that one of the key computers used in navigation had survived without flaw gave flight controllers the confidence to proceed with the landing plans. This suggested that the problems were not necessarily widespread. General Abrahamson emphasized that at no time did Mission Control feel that the situation bordered on ''a potential disaster.'' Nonetheless, he said, ''We were going to be very careful, and we were.''

The two pilots and four scientists aboard the Columbia remained cool through the day. The crew members were John W. Young, Maj. Brewster H. Shaw Jr. of the Air Force, Dr. Owen K. Garriott, Dr. Robert A. R. Parker, Dr. Byron K. Lichtenberg and Dr. Ulf Merbold of West Germany. This is the largest crew to fly in a spacecraft.

The descent from orbit apparently went without flaw, despite the earlier equipment problems. But just as Mr. Young brought the nose wheels of the Columbia to the ground, one of the suspect computers failed again.

When the Columbia came to a stop, John Blaha, the spacecraft communicator at Mission Control, said to the crew: ''We've got some good news and bad news. The good news is we've got lots of beer waiting for you. The bad news is we drank it eight hours ago.''

The spaceship was originally scheduled to land at 10:58 A.M. This was a one-day extension of the mission decided on because of the Columbia's smooth performance, until the final hours, and because the spacecraft had ample reserves of fuel and oxygen.

This was the first time in nine flights that a space shuttle had failed to land on time because of mechanical problems. The third flight, in 1982, and the seventh flight, last June, had to stay aloft longer than planned because of weather conditions at their landing sites.

The flight of the Columbia had been remarkably free of trouble until the multitude of malfunctions struck this morning. It was 5:13 A.M., Eastern standard time. The Columbia was 155 miles up in orbit when an automatic firing of jet thrusters in the nose rocked the spaceship. Nothing quite so jarring had ever occurred on a shuttle. Mr. Young, the commander, estimated that the force was 19 or 20 times greater than the normal force of the earth's gravity. 'It Was Really an Impact'

''It really hit the vehicle hard,'' Mr. Young reported to Mission Control. ''It was really an impact. It was probably as high a magnitude type thing as we have seen.''

At precisely the same time, the computer handling the spaceship's guidance and navigation systems shut down. This was the No. 1 general purpose computer, one of four identical computers on board that bear the burden of controlling the craft's complex systems. Any one of the four is capable of taking over for the others. In addition, a fifth, independent computer is available as a backup system.

The No. 2 computer immediately took over from the troubled No. 1 computer. Five minutes later, in another thruster firing, the No. 2 computer also shut down, apparently because it became overloaded. For about one minute, the Columbia had no computer-operated guidance and navigation capability.

Mission control then commanded the No. 3 computer to the rescue. It had been turned off during the problem; the No. 4 computer was handling the spaceship's environmental control systems and other tasks.

Flight controllers were mystified. They ordered the No. 2 computer back on, and it worked. They tried to re-start No. 1, but it did not work. It was presumed dead. The No. 2 computer resumed its guidance and navigation duties, as the No. 3 computer was switched off; it held the vital re-entry programs and had to be kept available for any updating of those instructions. Officials Are Baffled

Still, no one understood the cause and nature of the malfunctions, or whether they were linked or independent problems. Mission Control decided to postpone the landing. Theoretically, it would be possible to land the shuttle without the computers but it is believed that, in practice, a human pilot could not execute commands fast enough to make the maneuvers necessary for re- entry into the earth's atmosphere.

''We need time to better understand the problem before we commit to re- entry,'' Mission Control told the crew.

Two more landing opportunities were available in the evening, at 5:17 or an orbit later at 6:47. Mr. Blaha, the spacecraft communicator at Mission Control, asked Mr. Young if he had any preference.

''I have no druthers,'' Mr. Young replied, though he noted that the later landing would give him a chance to take a nap. He had been up all night at the controls.

Mr. Young had one suggestion, though. ''I recommend we close the forward R.C.S.,'' he said, referring to the reaction control system thrusters, ''and not run any more of those rascals.''

While hundreds of engineers at Houston analyzed data from the Columbia's computers, searching for clues to the malfunctions, another gremlin struck. This time it was one of the three inertial measuring units that failed. This system senses the spaceship's acceleration, position and angle of attack to provide reference data needed by the computers in issuing commands to the propulsion system.

Major Shaw, who had taken over the controls while Mr. Young slept, reported at about 9 A.M. ''fault signals'' from the inertial unit. Attempts to re- start the system were futile.

Soon afterward, Mission Control elected to wait and attempt the landing on the final opportunity of the day. Even though the cause of the problems ''is not obvious with analysis,'' Mr. Blaha told the crew, it was decided to go ahead with ''de-orbit preps.''

Flight engineers readjusted the computers so that if the No. 2 machine failed again, the No. 5 computer would take over immediately and guide the ship home. The interconnections between the various machines were also adjusted to ''minimize the impact'' on them if No. 2 should fail.

At 5:14 Mission Control announced the decision to return to the earth as planned. Gary Coen, the flight director, was chain-smoking.

The Columbia was out of radio contact when it began its descent. At 5:52, while over the Indian Ocean. It would be almost 45 anxious minutes before Mission Control would know if the computers were working and navigating the Columbia through the many thruster firings and body-flap settings necessary to keep it on course. It was out of range of any tracking stations.

By the time word came, the Columbia was off the west coast of the United States. Mission Control began receiving tracking data at 6:31. All was well.
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/09/us/computer-and-navigation-system-trouble-delays-space-shuttle-return-by-8-hours.html

[Orionid]

Spacelab: Shuttle flew up Europe's first space module 30 years ago
Dec. 3, 2013, 12:16 AM GMT+1 By Robert Z. Pearlman

(...) "The knowledge Spacelab will bring back from its many missions will belong to all mankind," then-Vice President George H.W. Bush declared at a 1982 ceremony marking the delivery of the Spacelab to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (...)

Dwarfed today by the engineering accomplishment that is the International Space Station, Spacelab was at the time of its first launch "the culmination of history's largest and most comprehensive multinational space project," Walter Froehlich wrote in the NASA publication "Spacelab" prior to the STS-9 mission.

Ten years in the making, Spacelab was the product of 10 countries — Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, (West) Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, all members of the European Space Agency (ESA). Together, the countries were responsible for funding, designing and building Spacelab, as well as delivering an engineering model, the first flight module and ground support equipment. In return, NASA invited ESA to join in flying on Columbia's mission. (...)

Spacelab's legacy

Today, the Spacelab module that first flew on Columbia in 1983 is displayed by the Smithsonian at the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center located outside Washington, D.C. The second module is located at Bremen Airport in Germany.

Spacelab's legacy however, is represented by more than just museum exhibits.

In addition to making possible the first dedicated German and Japanese missions (D1, D2 and Spacelab-J shuttle flights in 1985, 1993 and 1992, respectively), the concept of a pressurized module in the payload bay gave rise to the commercial SPACEHAB, which flew on the shuttle as well.

Further, Spacelab's pressure shell design was reused for the "Harmony" and "Tranquility" nodes on the International Space Station, and supply spacecraft, including Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATV) and Orbital Sciences' commercial Cygnus, have adapted the Spacelab's exterior structure, according to the European Space Agency.

ESA's Columbus laboratory, Europe's primary contribution to the space station, also evolved from Spacelab as were the module's standardized science racks, which now line all of the station's lab modules.
https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/spacelab-shuttle-flew-europes-first-space-module-30-years-ago-2d11674298