Early Spacelab missions

Abstract

NASA has issued payload flight assignments for the first three Spacelab missions. The first two of these missions will have dual objectives, that of verifying Spacelab system performance and accomplishing meaningful space research. The first of these missions will be a joint NASA and ESA mission with a multidisciplinary payload. The second mission will verify a different Spacelab configuration while addressing the scientific disciplines of astrophysics. The third assigned mission will concentrate on utilizing the capabilities of Spacelab to perform meaningful experiments in space applications, primarily space processing. The paper describes these missions with their objectives, planned configuration and accommodation.