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The payload bay comprised most of the orbiter vehicle's fuselage, and provided the cargo-carrying space for the Space Shuttle's payloads. It was 18 m (60 ft) long and 4.6 m (15 ft) wide, and could accommodate cylindrical payloads up to 4.6 m (15 ft) in diameter.
A Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) is a large pressurized container that was used on Space Shuttle missions to transfer cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS). Two MPLMs made a dozen trips in the Shuttle cargo bay and initially berthed to the Unity and later the Harmony module on the ISS. Once attached, supplies were ...
The primary intended use of the Phase A Space Shuttle was supporting the future space station, ferrying a minimum crew of four and about 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) of cargo, and being able to be rapidly turned around for future flights, with larger payloads like space station modules being lifted by the Saturn V. Two designs emerged as front-runners.
The most massive payload launched by the Space Shuttle was the Chandra X-ray Observatory in 1999 at 50,162 lb (22,753 kg), including its Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) and support equipment. [41] The Shuttle was capable of returning approximately 16,000 kg (35,000 lb) of cargo to Earth.
Space Shuttle 7.6 and 10.6 Fairing. DARPA studied modifying the current external tank design to be able to carry low-density payloads in a 25 or 35 ft (7.6 or 10.6 m) diameter fairing where the oxygen tank was currently. The Shuttle on average would only fly 66% of its payload capability but at nearly 100% of its payload volume.
Artist's impression of the Spacelab 2 mission, showing some of the various experiments in the payload bay. In August 1973, NASA and European Space Research Organisation (ESRO), now European Space Agency or ESA, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to build a science laboratory for use on Space Shuttle flights. [2]
Integrated cargo carrier structure ICC frame Astronauts and technicians give a sense of scale to the ICC. Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC) was a project, started in 1997 by the companies Spacehab and Airbus DS Space Systems (formerly Astrium North America), [1] to develop a family of flight proven and certified cross-the-bay cargo carriers designed to fly inside the Space Shuttle cargo bay ...
Its primary mission was to launch the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the heaviest payload ever carried by the Space Shuttle system, at 22,780 kilograms (50,222 lb). [ 4 ] [ 5 ] STS-93 would be Columbia's last mission until March 2002.