<-- back to flight 8, Mission 2r (8)   next to flight 10, Mission 5A1 -->
5a

Flight 9 - 5A

Launch Date:
7. Feb. 2001
Launch Vehicle:
US Space Shuttle: STS-98
Elements:
US Laboratory Module
  • Provides initial US user capability.
  • Launched with 5 system racks already installed inside of the module.
  • Control Moment Gyroscopes are activated with delivery of electronics in lab, providing electrically powered attitude control.
The laboratory module is the centerpiece of the International Space Station, where unprecedented science experiments will be performed in the near zero gravity of space.

The aluminum module is 28 feet long and 14 feet in diameter. The lab consists of three cylindrical sections and two endcones with hatches that will be mated to other station components. A 20-inch diameter window is located on one side of the center module segment. This pressurized module is designed to accommodate pressurized payloads. It has a capacity of 24 rack locations. Payload racks will occupy 13 locations especially designed to support experiments.

US-Lab
The laboratory module will be shipped to the Kennedy Space Center in October 1998 to begin final preparations for its launch, scheduled for October 1999 aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-98, station assly flight 5A.

Physical Description:
28 feet long, 14 feet in diameter.
Fabricated of aluminum.

An exterior waffle pattern strengthens the hull of the lab. The exterior is covered by a debris shield blanket made of a material similar to that used in bullet-proof vests on Earth. A thin aluminum debris shield is then be placed over the blanket for additional protection.