National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Spacelab Gallery

General Spacelab images

Cutaway illustration of the shuttle with a typical Spacelab cargo

One of the core units of a Spacelab module. It is shown here being moved within the ERNO's Integration Hall.

Diagram of the shuttle with a typical Spacelab cargo

Diagram of a typical Spacelab configuration

Diagram of the a typical Spacelab pallet section

Engineers working on the Instrument Pointing System (IPS). The IPS is used for heavier instruments (e.g., the solar telescopes carried on Spacelab 2) which require more precise pointing than the shuttle alone can provide (aproximately 0.1 degree accuracy).

Spacelab 1

Spacelab 1 pallet instruments being unpacked after arrival at Kennedy Space Center

Spacelab 1 being moved into the Orbiter Processing Facility

Spacelab 1 in the cargo bay of the space shuttle Columbia at the Orbiter Processing Facility

Closeup of the manned module in Spacelab 1. All exposed surfaces are covered in a white blanket for thermal insulation.

Spacelab 1 in Columbia's cargo bay during the flight (STS 9).

The X-ray spectrometer flown on Spacelab 1

Diagram of the Spacelab 1 pallet instrument package

Spacelab 2

Diagram of the Spacelab 2 payload

The X-ray telescope flown on Spacelab 2 prior to intregration

The Spacelab 2 X-ray Telescope seen during the shuttle flight (STS 51F)

The Spacelab 2 package during the shuttle flight. The instruments in the front dominating the pictures are the solar telescopes mounted on the IPS.