Payload/Experiment

Mission objective was to deploy the TDRS-B communication satellite, cancelled due to IUS failure. Most of the crew would be reassigned to STS-51-D which flew in April 1985 (except for Patrick Baudry, who was re-assigned to STS-51-G which flew in June 1985).

This version of the TDRS-B patch is not a silk patch but was woven. Acquired from the estate of a TRW employee. 

TDRS-6, known before launch as TDRS-F, is an American communications satellite which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. It was constructed by TRW, and is based on a custom satellite bus which was used for all seven first generation TDRS satellites.

A Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) is a type of communications satellite that forms part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) used by NASA and other United States government agencies for communications to and from independent "User Platforms" such as satellites, balloons, aircraft, and the International Space Station. This system was designed to replace a pre-existing worldwide network of ground stations that had supported all of NASA's manned flight missions and unmanned satellites in low-Earth orbits. The primary system design goal was to increase the amount of time that these spacecraft were in communication with the ground and improve the amount of data that could be transferred. These TDRSS satellites are all designed and built to be launched to and function in geosynchronous orbit, 35,786 kilometres (22,236 mi) above the surface of the Earth.
The first seven TDRSS satellites were built by the TRW corporation. 

This version, acquired from the estate of a TRW employee, varies slightly from the more common TDRS-C patch. The "Flight" is in a sans font and there are multiple differences in the details and colors. 

The Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST) platform is carrying experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an earth orbiting environment. There are four experiments on the HOST platform. The NICMOS Cooling System will allow zero-g verification of a Reverse Turbo Brayton Cycle Cooler which should allow longer life operation than the current dewar system. (2) The HST 486 Computer will allow the identification of any radiation susceptible parts in the DF-224 replacement and demonstrate hardware and software responses to Single Event Upsets (SEU's). (3) Solid State Recorder will compare on-orbit operation of the flight spare solid state recorder with the current HST unit. (4) Fiber Optic Line Test will use the same 4 kbps data stream that is sent to the orbiter's Payload Data Interrogator (PDI) and will be routed to a laptop computer for post-flight comparison.

The STS-85 crew suppoeted the Manipulator Flight Demonstration (MFD) experiment being sponsored by NASDA, the Japanese Space Agency. MFD consists of three separate experiments located on a support truss in the payload bay. The primary objective is to demonstrate the newly designed dexterous robot arm in the space environment, before installing on the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) of the International Space Station.

The primary payload on STS-83 was the Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL). MSL was a collection of microgravity experiments housed inside a European Spacelab Long Module (LM).
MSL featured 19 materials science investigations in four major facilities. These facilities were the Large Isothermal Furnace, the EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to the Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack, the Electromagnetic Containerless Processing Facility (TEMPUS) and the Coarsening in Solid–Liquid Mixtures (CSLM) facility, the Droplet Combustion Experiment (DCE) and the Combustion Module-1 Facility. Additional technology experiments were to be performed in the Middeck Glovebox (MGBX) developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and the High-Packed Digital Television (HI-PAC DTV) system was used to provide multi-channel real-time analog science video.

The Large Isothermal Furnace was developed by the Japanese Space Agency (NASDA) for the STS-47 Spacelab-J mission and was also flown on STS-65 IML-2 mission. It housed the measurement of diffusion coefficient by shear cell method experiment, the diffusion of liquid metals and alloys experiment, the diffusion in liquid led-tin-telluride experiment, the impurity diffusion in ionic melts experiment, the liquid phase sintering II experiment (LIF), and the diffusion processes in molten semiconductors experiment (DPIMS).

This version has some variations from another STS-83 MSL patch. 

The STS-82 mission was the second in a series of planned servicing missions to the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope ("HST"), which had been placed in orbit on 24 April 1990 by Discovery during STS-31. The first servicing mission was done by Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-61. Work performed by Discovery's crew significantly upgraded the scientific capabilities of the HST and helped to keep the telescope functioning smoothly until the next scheduled servicing missions, which were STS-103 in 1999 and STS-109 in 2002.
 

The STS-82 mission was the second in a series of planned servicing missions to the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope ("HST"), which had been placed in orbit on 24 April 1990 by Discovery during STS-31. The first servicing mission was done by Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-61. Work performed by Discovery's crew significantly upgraded the scientific capabilities of the HST and helped to keep the telescope functioning smoothly until the next scheduled servicing missions, which were STS-103 in 1999 and STS-109 in 2002.
 

Astro-2 is the second dedicated Spacelab mission to conduct astronomical observations in the ultraviolet spectral regions. It consists of three unique instruments - the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT), the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) and the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE). These experiments will select targets from a list of over 600 and observe objects ranging from some inside the solar system to individual stars, nebulae, supernova remnants, galaxies and active extragalactic objects. This data will supplement data collected on the Astro-1 mission flown on STS-35 in December 1990 aboard Columbia.

Nearly 30 experiments in materials processing were conducted with nine different types of science facilities. DARA provided the TEMPUS, flying for first time on IML-2, designed to allow study of solidification of materials from liquid state in a containerless environment. Solidification phenomena are of great interest to science and also used in many industrial processes. Science teams detected for first time a phase in a nickel-niobium sample that is masked by other forces on Earth.

STS-69

Get Away Special 

Determine the arcing and current collection behavior of different types, sizes and shapes of solar cells, solar modules and spacecraft materials. The Solar Array Module Plasma Interaction Experiment (SAMPIE) investigated the plasma interactions of high voltage space power systems with the space plasma in low Earth orbit (LEO).

 The Consortium for Materials Development in Space (CMDS) based at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), has developed the Organic Separation (ORSEP) payload for flight on STS-57.  The UAH CMDS is a NASA CCDS.

ORSEP offers the commercial and scientific communities the opportunity to separate cells and particles by a mechanistic technique unavailable on Earth.  The potential commercial value of separations includes the opportunity to culture cell subpopulations on return to Earth, the revelation that subpopulations exist and as is the case for protein crystal growth in space, in scientific study of the purified samples.

The California Student Get Away Special Payload GAS-450, recently went into orbit on the STS-57
Mission, Space Shuttle Endeavour, 21 June 1993, 6:14 Ah4 and landed on the 29 June 1993 at Kennedy
Space Center (KSC). Fifty students (Figure 1, Ages 7 to 18) from 13 California Central Coast Schools
and one in San Francisco designed and built 13 active experiments (6 modules) for this mission.
Preliminary analysis of our completely reusable payload bus system indicated that the structure, power
system, microprocessor and sensor systems in each experiment module worked flawlessly. The
experiments themselves performed exceptionally well with a 60 5% success ratio. The students are
thoroughly documenting their own experiments and results via a standard research paper guideline
generated by the GAS450 technical staff. If you would like to review any one or all of these papers (13)
please write to the SIL address above. Lessons learned (program management and technical) a=
documented at the end of the paper. If any other organization needs payload/experiment development or
NASA documentation assistance, then please contact us. We can help make your idea a space tested
reality. 

The payload structure mounted four Nikon F3 cameras (see below) each equipped with an 85mm lens. Two cameras were loaded with color film, one with positive (slide)film and one with negative (print) film. The other two cameras were loaded with high resolution black & white film and infrared black & white film . The exact combinations of film, filter and aperture were based on extensive testing done by the Can Do Technical team with the advice and consultation of the expert staff at the National Geographic Society in Washington DC.

STS-57

The Atomic Oxygen Exposure Tray (AOET) was a self-standing facility located on the Spacelab D-2 support structure and performed experiments in materials science. The AOET used the Shuttle orbiter as an exposure laboratory to obtain inside reaction rate measurements of various materials interacting with atomic oxygen in the low-Earth orbital environment. The AOET consisted of a sample array containing 124 sample plates.

STS-55

Discovery's primary cargo consisted of three commercial communications satellites: SBS-D for Satellite Business Systems, Telstar 3C for Telesat of Canada, and Syncom IV-2, or Leasat-2, a Hughes-built satellite leased to the US Navy. Leasat-2 was the first large communications satellite designed specifically to be deployed from the Space Shuttle. All three satellites were deployed successfully and became operational.

STS-41D

STS-51B was the second flight of the European Space Agency's Spacelab, and the first with the Spacelab module in a fully operational configuration. Spacelab's capabilities for multi-disciplinary research in microgravity were successfully demonstrated. The gravity gradient attitude of the orbiter proved quite stable, allowing the delicate experiments in materials processing and fluid mechanics to proceed normally. The crew operated around the clock in two 12-hour shifts. Two squirrel monkeys and 24 rats were flown in special cages,[2] the second time American astronauts flew live non-human mammals aboard the shuttle. The crew members in orbit were supported 24 hours a day by a temporary Payload Operations Control Center, located at the Johnson Space Center.

Launched from STS-51
The Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS), a significant activity of the NASA Space Communications Program, provided for the development and flight test of high-risk, advanced communications satellite technology. Using multiple spot beam antennas and advanced on-board switching and processing systems, ACTS pioneered new initiatives in communications satellite technology. NASA Glenn Research Center was responsible for the development, management, and operation of ACTS as part of a long legacy of experimental communications satellites.

Launched from STS-51
The Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS), a significant activity of the NASA Space Communications Program, provided for the development and flight test of high-risk, advanced communications satellite technology. Using multiple spot beam antennas and advanced on-board switching and processing systems, ACTS pioneered new initiatives in communications satellite technology. NASA Glenn Research Center was responsible for the development, management, and operation of ACTS as part of a long legacy of experimental communications satellites.

STS-50 payload

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) was a NASA-operated orbital observatory whose mission was to study the Earth’s atmosphere, particularly the protective ozone layer. The 5,900-kilogram (13,000 lb) satellite was deployed from Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-48 mission on 15 September 1991. It entered Earth's orbit at an operational altitude of 600 kilometres (370 mi), with an orbital inclination of 57 degrees.
The original mission duration was to be only three years, but was extended several times. When the mission finally ended in June 2005 due to funding cuts, 14 years after the satellite's launch, six of its ten instruments were still operational.A final orbit-lowering burn was performed in early December 2005 to prepare the satellite for deorbit. On 26 October 2010, the International Space Station performed a debris-avoidance maneuver in response to a conjunction with UARS.

The decommissioned satellite re-entered Earth's atmosphere on 24 September 2011. Considerable media attention surrounded the event, largely due to NASA's predictions that substantial parts of the satellite might reach the ground, potentially endangering inhabited areas. However, the satellite ultimately impacted in a remote area of the Pacific Ocean. STS-48

The objective of the ALAE experiment is to measure atomic hydrogen and deuterium in the terrestrial atmosphere. The instrument consists of a spectrophotometer with an atomic hydrogen absorption cell and an atomic deuterium absorption cell. Various combinations of switching the cells on and off allow observations of the atmospheric deuterium layer, the atomic geocorona, and the Lyman-alpha interplanetary medium. STS-45

The Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM) I instrument was the first to clearly demonstrate that the total radiant energy from the sun was not a constant. However, the solar variability was so slight (0.1% of full scale) that continuous monitoring by state-of-the-art instrumentation was necessary. It is theorized that as much as 25% of the anticipated global warming of the earth may be solar in origin. In addition, seemingly small (0.5%) changes in the TSI output of the sun over a century or more may cause significant climatological changes on earth.

STS-41C 

The primary mission of STS-43 was to deploy a fourth TDRS satellite (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite). The shuttle was launched at 11:02 AM EST on Friday August 2, 1991, and landed at about 8:30 AM EST on Sunday August 11, 1991.

The shuttle carried a Macintosh Portable (nonbacklite) system on board. It was used for four primary purposes:

1) Testing four cursor control devices:
a) the Portable's built-in trackball
b) a modified aircraft control stick fitted with a thumb ball at top
c) a 2-inch trackball
d) an optical mouse

Some bushings were placed under the trackball for experiment 1a to take up the small amount of slack. Experiments 1b-d were performed with third party products.

2) Connecting to AppleLink and sending mail and disk files. The very first electronic mail message from space was sent by the crew of the space shuttle mission on Friday, August 9, 1991. You may be interested in that message:

"Hello Earth ! Greetings from the STS-43 Crew. This is the first AppleLink from space. Having a __GREAT__ time, wish you were here,... send cry, and CS! Have a nice day...... Haste la vista, baby,... we'll be back!"

Explanation here.

The patch in the photo has a green stain. 

First direct ascent trajectory for Space Shuttle. Using manned maneuvering unit, astronauts replaced altitude control system and coronagraph/polarimeter electronics box in the Solar Max satellite while it remained in orbit. STS-41C
This patch was likely produced prior to the mission when it was still numbered STS-13.

The Spacelab Imaging Spectrometric Observatory (ISO) comprises an array of five spectrometers designed to make full use of the Space Shuttle as an observing platform for atmosphere remote sensing, and covers the 300-12,000-A wavelength range with a 2-7 A resolution. Area array detectors can scan the entire wavelength range in less than 20 sec and, being two-dimensional, permit spectral imaging in one direction and spatial imaging on the other.

Two communications satellites – Anik C2 for Telesat of Canada, and Palapa B1 for Indonesia – were successfully deployed during the first two days of the mission.

This is a modern reproduction of the original Hughes patch. Possibly by Cape Kennedy Medals.

Two communications satellites – Anik C2 for Telesat of Canada, and Palapa B1 for Indonesia – were successfully deployed during the first two days of the mission.

TDRS-1, known before launch as TDRS-A, is an American communications satellite which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. It was constructed by TRW and launched by Space Shuttle Challenger on its maiden flight, STS-6.

This patch is a modern reproduction of the original STS-6 TDRS-1 patch.

Columbia launched on schedule from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at 7:19 am EST, November 11, 1982. The shuttle carried a crew of four – the largest spacecraft crew up to that time – and the first two commercial communications satellites to be flown aboard a shuttle.

The commercial satellites were deployed successfully and subsequently propelled into their operational geosynchronous orbits by booster rockets. The two satellites were SBS 3, owned by Satellite Business Systems, and Anik C3, owned by Telesat Canada; both were Hughes-built HS-376-series satellites. 

The Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS), also known as Canadarm (Canadarm 1), is a series of robotic arms that were used on the Space Shuttle orbiters to deploy, maneuver and capture payloads. After the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the Canadarm was always paired with the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), which was used to inspect the exterior of the Shuttle for damage to the thermal protection system.