europhysics BULLETIN OF THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY news J.A. Volume 11 Number 10 October 1980 First Spacelab Mission C. Nicollier, ESA/SPICE, Cologne (one of three European Payload Specialists from amongst whom one will be selected for flying on the Mission) From the year 1983, Spacelab will exist Spacelab is presently built in Europe, able to prove the suitability of this concept as a versatile tool available to scientists to under the control and management of the of an experimental platform for a range of perform space experiments from low earth European Space Agency (ESA), by a con­ disciplines. orbit in such disciplines as Life Sciences, sortium of European aerospace and elec­ The configuration chosen for the mission Materials Science, Atmospheric Physics, tronics firms led by ERNO Raumfahrt- will comprise the long module and one Space Plasma Physics, Astrophysics, Solar technik in Bremen, West Germany. The pallet. The module will be equipped with a Physics and Earth Observation. engineering model of Spacelab has already scientific airlock permitting temporary ex­ The laboratory, consisting of one or been completed and is presently undergo­ posure of instruments from the module in­ several pallets — experiment supporting ing acceptance testing at Bremen. The first terior to the space environment, and a high structures — and, normally, of a pressuriz­ flight unit will be delivered to ESA in the quality optical window that will be used for ed module, will be built into the cargo bay middle of next year. A second Spacelab Earth photography. of the Space Shuttle Orbiter and will be has recently been ordered by NASA. The launch of Spacelab 1 is presently carried into orbit for missions of seven to Figure 1 is an artist's impression of foreseen for May 1983 on the tenth Shuttle 30 days. During the whole mission, it will Spacelab in the Space Shuttle Orbiter. The flight. Originally scheduled for December remain attached to the Orbiter and will use configuration shown, one of many possi­ 1980, it has experienced successive slips a number of resources provided by the Or­ ble, consists of the long module and two due, mainly, to difficulties that were en­ biter, such as electrical power, heat pallets. The open cargo bay doors and part countered in the development, production disposal, attitude control and crew living of Spacelab and the Orbiter's fuselage quarters. panels have been omitted for clarity. Among the unique features of Spacelab Contents as a science and technology laboratory in First Spacelab Mission 1 space, is the possibility of human interven­ The Mission Optical Bistability, Towards the tion, the recoverability of samples and ex­ The main objective of Spacelab's first All-optical Computer 3 perimental hardware, relatively massive mission will be to test the laboratory itself. ASDEX, a Step Towards Impurity equipment and adequate power supplies, Consequently, a substantial fraction of the Control in Fusion Experiments 4 permitting a variety of inter-related or in­ time in orbit will be devoted to testing, in­ Europhysics Conferences dependent experiments to be performed cluding a study of the response of the 12th EGAS Conference 6 simultaneously. For these reasons, laboratory and its subsystems to various Computing in High Energy Spacelab offers a considerable attraction to thermal stresses, and the investigation of and Nuclear Physics 6 experimenters in various scientific environmental parameters. Although scien­ ESSDERC '80 7 disciplines, especially to those who have tific objectives will be given second priority ESCAMPIG 8 not yet been involved extensively in space for this mission, every effort will be made Laser Doppler Anemometry 9 experimentation such as the life and to maximize the scientific data output of A Breadth of Vision 11 materials scientists. the payload and we hope that we shall be Surfaces and Interfaces Section 12 Europhysics News is published monthly by the European Physical Society. © 1980. Reproduction rights reserved. ISSN 0531-7479 1 and testing of the first Orbiter “Columbia", They will allow a detailed study of the of the front section of the Orbiter (see essentially with the tiles used to provide plasma-physical processes operating in the Fig. 1). thermal protection and with the main ionosphere and magnetosphere by recor­ Two other crew members, the Mission engines. Launched from the Kennedy ding the effects (neutralisation, triggered Specialists, have already been chosen by Space Center in Florida, Spacelab 1 will be waves, instabilities and interactions with NASA for this mission. Owen Garriott and put into a circular orbit with an altitude of the local atmosphere) induced by 10 keV Robert Parker, also Astronauts from 250 km and an inclination of 57°. The mis­ ion and electron beams injected into space Johnson Space Center, will spend most of sion will last seven days. of maximum current 3 m A and 100 m A their time performing payload operations, respectively. Detectors include receivers but will also be responsible for the manage­ (up to 100 MHz), an RF plasma probe, an ment of the Orbiter resources for Spacelab, Selected Experiments electron temperature probe and two parti­ and for the operation of the Spacelab sub­ Proposals for experiments in various cle energy analysers. systems supporting the payload. scientific and technical fields were invited The first Spacelab mission is not ideally Finally, two out of five Payload Specia­ for this flight, and from the replies a total of suited to studies in Astrophysics because lists will fly on this mission, one of the two 76 were chosen by ESA and NASA in the of the relatively short flight duration and Americans, Mike Lampton and Byron beginning of 1977. They cover all the the lack of accurate pointing capability of Lichtenberg, and one of the three Euro­ disciplines mentioned earlier, and they the Orbiter in the absence of the "Instru­ peans Ulf Merbold (German Fed. Rep.), share about equally the Orbiter and crew ment Pointing System" that will be avai­ Wubbo Ockels (The Netherlands) and the resources for the ESA and the NASA parts. lable only on later flights. Nevertheless, author (Switzerland). The responsibility of In the field of Life Sciences, several ex­ two wide-field UV instruments have been the Payload Specialists on board will be en­ periments will permit the gravitational in­ selected, the Far Ultraviolet Space Tele­ tirely in the area of payload operations. fluence on biological systems to be studied scope (FAUST), and the Very Wide Field They will also, like the Mission Specialists and, in particular, the adaptability of these Camera, for which the 0.1° pointing stabili­ and occasionally the flight crew members systems to the zero-g environment. A ty of the Orbiter will be sufficient. The very (Commander and Pilot), serve as subjects number will focus on man's vestibular and Wide Field Camera is a particularly remar­ for a number of biomedical experiments. cardiovascular systems. The effect of kable instrument with its field of 60° The choice of the "flight” Payload weightlessness on the human immune which will allow a determination of the Specialists (as opposed to the "ground" response will also be observed. On the distribution of the diffuse UV emitted light Payload Specialists, who will not fly) will pallet, a biostack will allow investigations in our galaxy as well as of other large scale be made only a few months before the mis­ of the influence of hard particle radiation radiation sources. sion. on biological samples, sandwiched bet­ There will also be one X-ray spec­ The Mission and Payload Specialists on ween track detectors, and another experi­ troscopy instrument on board, as well as a board will form the "Center of Control" for ment will observe the effect of vacuum and cosmic ray particle detector, the "Isotopic the execution of the Payload Flight solar UV radiation on micro-organisms and Stack". prepared prior to the mission, although biomolecules. Three instruments will, for part of the possible modifications may be dermanded Most of the proposed Materials Science mission, be looking at the Sun as a set of from the ground during flight. A large experiments will be performed in the Solar Physics experiments. Two absolute number of experiments will be controlled facilities mounted in the "Material Science solar radiometers will measure the total ra­ from one of the two terminals of the on­ Double Rack". These facilities will include diant energy from the Sun from the far UV board Experiment Computer, comprising a a Fluid Physics Module and various fur­ to the far IR, with an accuracy of 0.1%, CRT data display unit and a keyboard. By naces, plus some special purpose ins­ and another instrument will simultaneously means of experiment dedicated displays, a truments. The Fluid Physics Module is record the solar spectrum from 1900 A to 4 crew member will be able to monitor the designed to investigate some properties of pm for identification of the spectral status of a substantial fraction of the rotating and non-rotating fluid zones bet­ elements responsible for any change in the payload and will also get, from some ex­ ween two plates, as well as capillary forces solar constant determined from the periments, scientific data to which he will and the dynamics of the spreading of a li­ measurements with the radiometers. hopefully be able to react in real time. The quid on a solid surface. The results will be Finally, two instruments will be Earth- keyboard will provide the means for the recorded on film for later evaluation on the oriented. As part of the Earth Observation crew to change experimental parameters, ground. The furnaces will be used to study programme, a Metric Camera will take high as well as perform a number of other crystallization and metallurgical processes, resolution pictures of the Earth for mapp­ payload related commands.