88-548: Spacelab was a reusable laboratory developed by European Space Agency (ESA) and used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle . The laboratory comprised multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier, and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay. The components were arranged in various configurations to meet the needs of each spaceflight. Spacelab components flew on
176-553: A Ku-band antenna for use with the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS). The mission's original launch date of October 29, 1983, was scrubbed due to concerns with the exhaust nozzle on the right solid rocket booster (SRB). For the first time in the history of the shuttle program, the shuttle stack was rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where it was destacked and the orbiter returned to
264-473: A memorandum of understanding (MOU) to build a science laboratory for use on Space Shuttle flights. Construction of Spacelab was started in 1974 by Entwicklungsring Nord (ERNO), a subsidiary of VFW-Fokker GmbH , after merger with Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) named MBB/ERNO, and merged into EADS SPACE Transportation in 2003. The first lab module, LM1 , was donated to NASA in exchange for flight opportunities for European astronauts. A second module, LM2 ,
352-579: A consequence its citizens became eligible to apply to the 2022 ESA Astronaut group , applications for which were scheduled to close one week later. The deadline was therefore extended by three weeks to allow Lithuanians a fair chance to apply. Slovakia's Associate membership came into effect on 13 October 2022, for an initial duration of seven years. The Association Agreement supersedes the European Cooperating State (ECS) Agreement, which entered into force upon Slovakia's subscription to
440-530: A cylindrical environment in the rear of the Space Shuttle orbiter payload bay, connected to the orbiter crew compartment by a tunnel. The laboratory had an outer diameter of 4.12 m (13.5 ft), and each segment a length of 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in). The laboratory module consisted at minimum of a core segment, which could be used alone in a short module configuration. The long module configuration included an additional experiment segment. It
528-458: A full member of the ESA do so in 3 stages. First a Cooperation Agreement is signed between the country and ESA. In this stage, the country has very limited financial responsibilities. If a country wants to co-operate more fully with ESA, it signs a European Cooperating State (ECS) Agreement, albeit to be a candidate for said agreement, a country must be European. The ECS Agreement makes companies based in
616-603: A full member of the ESA on 1 January 2025, when the current Association Agreement expires. Latvia became the second current associated member on 30 June 2020, when the Association Agreement was signed by ESA Director Jan Wörner and the Minister of Education and Science of Latvia , Ilga Šuplinska in Riga . The Saeima ratified it on 27 July. In May 2021, Lithuania became the third current associated member. As
704-431: A higher quality of life, better security, more economic wealth, and also fulfill our citizens' dreams and thirst for knowledge, and attract the young generation. This is the reason space exploration is an integral part of overall space activities. It has always been so, and it will be even more important in the future. The ESA describes its work in two overlapping ways: These are either mandatory or optional. According to
792-413: A large field of view, such as telescopes. The pallet has several hard points for mounting heavy equipment. The pallet can be used in single configuration or stacked end to end in double or triple configurations. Up to five pallets can be configured in the Space Shuttle cargo bay by using a double pallet plus triple pallet configurations. The Spacelab Pallet used to transport both Canadarm2 and Dextre to
880-565: A launch system, ELDO (European Launcher Development Organisation), and the other the precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organisation). The latter was established on 20 March 1964 by an agreement signed on 14 June 1962. From 1968 to 1972, ESRO launched seven research satellites, but ELDO was not able to deliver a launch vehicle. Both agencies struggled with the underfunding and diverging interests of their participants. The ESA in its current form
968-476: A milestone in the search for exoplanets . On 21 January 2019, ArianeGroup and Arianespace announced a one-year contract with the ESA to study and prepare for a mission to mine the Moon for lunar regolith . In 2021 the ESA ministerial council agreed to the " Matosinhos manifesto" which set three priority areas (referred to as accelerators ) "space for a green future, a rapid and resilient crisis response, and
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#17327655235601056-484: A provision ensuring a fair industrial return to Canada. The most recent Cooperation Agreement was signed on 15 December 2010 with a term extending to 2020. For 2014, Canada's annual assessed contribution to the ESA general budget was €6,059,449 ( CAD$ 8,559,050). For 2017, Canada has increased its annual contribution to €21,600,000 ( CAD$ 30,000,000). The ESA is funded from annual contributions by national governments of members as well as from an annual contribution by
1144-476: A subset of just one part of the Spacelab 1 (STS-9) mission, no less than eight different imaging systems were flown into space. Including those experiments, there was a total of 73 separate experiments across different disciplines on the Spacelab 1 flight alone. Spacelab missions conducted experiments in materials, life, solar, astrophysics, atmospheric, and Earth science. Spacelab represents a major investment on
1232-552: A total of about 32 Shuttle missions, depending on how such hardware and missions are tabulated. Spacelab allowed scientists to perform experiments in microgravity in geocentric orbit . There was a variety of Spacelab-associated hardware, so a distinction can be made between the major Spacelab program missions with European scientists running missions in the Spacelab habitable module, missions running other Spacelab hardware experiments, and other Space Transportation System (STS) missions that used some component of Spacelab hardware. There
1320-472: A view to their being used for scientific purposes and for operational space applications systems… The ESA is responsible for setting a unified space and related industrial policy, recommending space objectives to the member states, and integrating national programs like satellite development, into the European program as much as possible. Jean-Jacques Dordain – ESA's Director General (2003–2015) – outlined
1408-715: A while already and which gives effect to these. Thanks Jan for your hand of friendship and making this possible." The ESA currently has two operational launch vehicles Vega-C and Ariane 6 . Rocket launches are carried out by Arianespace , which has 23 shareholders representing the industry that manufactures the Ariane 5 as well as CNES , at the ESA's Guiana Space Centre . Because many communication satellites have equatorial orbits, launches from French Guiana are able to take larger payloads into space than from spaceports at higher latitudes . In addition, equatorial launches give spacecraft an extra 'push' of nearly 500 m/s due to
1496-605: Is a 22-member intergovernmental body devoted to space exploration . With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, the ESA was founded in 1975. Its 2024 annual budget was €7.8 billion. The ESA's space flight programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station program); the launch and operation of crewless exploration missions to other planets (such as Mars ) and
1584-477: Is a widespread harassment between management and its employees, especially with its contractors. Since the ESA is an international organization, unaffiliated with any single nation, any form of legal action is difficult to raise against the organization. Member states participate to varying degrees with both mandatory space programs and those that are optional. As of 2008 , the mandatory programmes made up 25% of total expenditures while optional space programmes were
1672-597: Is already underway in two different areas of launcher activity that will bring benefits to both partners. Notable ESA programmes include SMART-1 , a probe testing cutting-edge space propulsion technology, the Mars Express and Venus Express missions, as well as the development of the Ariane 5 rocket and its role in the ISS partnership. The ESA maintains its scientific and research projects mainly for astronomy-space missions such as Corot , launched on 27 December 2006,
1760-524: Is at an advanced stage" with these nations and that "prospects for mutual benefits are existing". A separate space exploration strategy resolution calls for further co-operation with the United States, Russia and China on " LEO exploration, including a continuation of ISS cooperation and the development of a robust plan for the coordinated use of space transportation vehicles and systems for exploration purposes, participation in robotic missions for
1848-576: Is capable of carrying a payload with a mass of between 300 and 1500 kg to an altitude of 700 km, for low polar orbit . Its maiden launch from Kourou was on 13 February 2012. Vega began full commercial exploitation in December 2015. The rocket has three solid propulsion stages and a liquid propulsion upper stage (the AVUM ) for accurate orbital insertion and the ability to place multiple payloads into different orbits. A larger version of
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#17327655235601936-611: Is designed to better understand dark energy and dark matter by accurately measuring the accelerating expansion of the universe . The agency's facilities date back to ESRO and are deliberately distributed among various countries and areas. The most important are the following centres: The treaty establishing the European Space Agency reads: The purpose of the Agency shall be to provide for and to promote, for exclusively peaceful purposes, cooperation among European States in space research and technology and their space applications, with
2024-848: Is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum behind the Space Shuttle Discovery . LM2 was on display in the Bremenhalle exhibition in the Bremen Airport of Bremen , Germany from 2000 to 2010. It resides in building 4c at the nearby Airbus Defence and Space plant since 2010 and can only be viewed during guided tours. The Spacelab Pallet is a U-shaped platform for mounting instrumentation, large instruments, experiments requiring exposure to space, and instruments requiring
2112-559: Is on display at the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in the US. The IPS was a gimbaled pointing device, capable of aiming telescopes, cameras, or other instruments. IPS was used on three different Space Shuttle missions between 1985 and 1995. IPS was manufactured by Dornier , and two units were made. The IPS was primarily constructed out of aluminum, steel, and multi-layer insulation . IPS would be mounted inside
2200-517: Is some variation in counts of Spacelab missions, in part because there were different types of Spacelab missions with a large range in the amount of Spacelab hardware flown and the nature of each mission. There were at least 22 major Spacelab missions between 1983 and 1998, and Spacelab hardware was used on a number of other missions, with some of the Spacelab pallets being flown as late as 2008. In August 1973, NASA and European Space Research Organisation (ESRO), now European Space Agency or ESA, signed
2288-462: The European Union (EU). The budget of the ESA was €5.250 billion in 2016. Every 3–4 years, ESA member states agree on a budget plan for several years at an ESA member states conference. This plan can be amended in future years, however provides the major guideline for the ESA for several years. The 2016 budget allocations for major areas of the ESA activity are shown in the chart on
2376-488: The Igloo carried the subsystems needed to operate the Spacelab equipment. The Igloo was 3 m (9.8 ft) tall, had a diameter of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in), and weighed 1,100 kg (2,400 lb). Two Igloo units were manufactured, both by Belgium company SABCA , and both were used on spaceflights. An Igloo component was flown on Spacelab 2 , ASTRO-1 , ATLAS-1, ATLAS-2, ATLAS-3, and ASTRO-2. A Spacelab Igloo
2464-591: The Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Texas . Funding for Spacelab 1 was provided by the ESA. After Columbia's return from STS-5 in November 1982, it received several modifications and changes in preparation for STS-9. Most of these changes were intended to support the Spacelab module and crew, such as the addition of a tunnel connecting the Spacelab to the orbiter's airlock, and additional provisions for
2552-504: The Moon and making him the most experienced space traveler to date. Young, who also commanded Columbia on its maiden voyage STS-1 , was the first person to fly the same space vehicle into orbit more than once. STS-9 marked the only time that two pre-Shuttle era astronaut veterans (Garriott and Young) would fly on the same Space Shuttle mission. STS-9 was also the first Space Shuttle mission to have more than one veteran astronaut. The mission
2640-608: The Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF), while the suspect booster underwent repairs. The shuttle was restacked and returned to the launch pad on November 8, 1983. The mission's main payload, Spacelab 1, is depicted in the payload bay of the Columbia . The nine stars and the path of the orbiter indicate the flight's numerical designation, STS-9. STS-9 launched successfully from Kennedy Space Center at 11:00:00 a.m. EST on November 28, 1983. The shuttle's crew
2728-551: The Orion spacecraft service module that flies on the Space Launch System . After World War II , many European scientists left Western Europe in order to work with the United States. Although the 1950s boom made it possible for Western European countries to invest in research and specifically in space-related activities, Western European scientists realised solely national projects would not be able to compete with
Spacelab - Misplaced Pages Continue
2816-674: The SpaceHab modules. Spacelab components flew on 22 Space Shuttle missions from November 1983 to April 1998. The Spacelab components were decommissioned in 1998, except the Pallets. Science work was moved to the International Space Station (ISS) and Spacehab module, a pressurized carrier similar to the Spacelab Module. A Spacelab Pallet was recommissioned in 2000 for flight on STS-99 . The "Spacelab Pallet – Deployable 1 (SLP-D1) with Canadian Dextre (Purpose Dexterous Manipulator)"
2904-533: The Titan landing module Huygens . As the successor of ELDO , the ESA has also constructed rockets for scientific and commercial payloads. Ariane 1 , launched in 1979, carried mostly commercial payloads into orbit from 1984 onward. The next two versions of the Ariane rocket were intermediate stages in the development of a more advanced launch system, the Ariane 4 , which operated between 1988 and 2003 and established
2992-550: The United States military ) led to decisions to rely more on itself and on co-operation with Russia. A 2011 press issue thus stated: Russia is ESA's first partner in its efforts to ensure long-term access to space. There is a framework agreement between ESA and the government of the Russian Federation on cooperation and partnership in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, and cooperation
3080-518: The Ariane 6 to launch in June or July 2024. The beginning of the new millennium saw the ESA become, along with agencies like NASA, JAXA , ISRO , the CSA and Roscosmos , one of the major participants in scientific space research . Although the ESA had relied on co-operation with NASA in previous decades, especially the 1990s, changed circumstances (such as tough legal restrictions on information sharing by
3168-567: The BFS could also be affected by the same failure due to the soldering defect. If such a failure occurred, switching the vehicle back to normal flight control software on multiple GPCs from a single GPC running BFS takes a lot longer, in essence leaving the vehicle without any control at all during the change. Columbia landed on Runway 17 at Edwards Air Force Base on December 8, 1983, at 03:47:24 p.m. PST , having completed 167 orbits and travelled 4.3 million miles (6.9 million kilometres) over
3256-689: The Backup Flight Software, loss of vehicle and crew would have resulted". Post-flight analysis revealed the GPCs (General Purpose Computers) failed when the RCS thruster motion knocked a piece of solder loose and shorted out the CPU board. A GPC running BFS may or may not have the same soldering defect as the rest of the GPCs. Switching the vehicle to the BFS from normal flight control can happen relatively instantaneously, and that particular GPC running
3344-511: The ESA as full members. Since October 2022 there have been five associate members: Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Canada. The four European members have shown interest in full membership and may eventually apply within the next years. Since 2016, Slovenia has been an associated member of the ESA. In November 2023 Slovenia formally applied for full membership. In June 2024 Prime Minister Robert Golob and Director General Josef Aschbacher have signed an agreement that will see Slovenia become
3432-439: The ESA as the world leader in commercial space launches in the 1990s. Although the succeeding Ariane 5 experienced a failure on its first flight, it has since firmly established itself within the heavily competitive commercial space launch market with 112 successful launches until 2021. The successor launch vehicle, the Ariane 6 , is under development and had a successful long-firing engine test in November 2023. The ESA plans for
3520-541: The ESA began Giotto , its first deep-space mission, to study the comets Halley and Grigg–Skjellerup . Hipparcos , a star-mapping mission, was launched in 1989 and in the 1990s SOHO , Ulysses and the Hubble Space Telescope were all jointly carried out with NASA. Later scientific missions in cooperation with NASA include the Cassini–Huygens space probe, to which the ESA contributed by building
3608-554: The ESA is not the only European governmental space organisation (for example European Union Satellite Centre and the European Union Space Programme Agency ). After the decision of the ESA Council of 21/22 March 2001, the procedure for accession of the European states was detailed as described the document titled "The Plan for European Co-operating States (PECS)". Nations that want to become
Spacelab - Misplaced Pages Continue
3696-479: The ESA website, the activities are: Every member country (known as 'Member States') must contribute to these programmes: The European Space Agency Science Programme is a long-term programme of space science missions. Depending on their individual choices the countries can contribute to the following programmes, becoming 'Participating States', listed according to: As of 2023, Many other facilities are operated by national space agencies in close collaboration with
3784-572: The ESA. The ESA employs around 2,547 people, and thousands of contractors. Initially, new employees are contracted for an expandable four-year term, which is until the organization's retirement age of 63. According to the ESA's documents, the staff can receive myriad of perks, such as financial childcare support, retirement plans, and financial help when migrating. The ESA also prevents employees from disclosing any private documents or correspondences to outside parties. Ars Technica ' s 2023 report, which contained testimonies of 18 people, suggested that there
3872-444: The European Space Agency's mission in a 2003 interview: Today space activities have pursued the benefit of citizens, and citizens are asking for a better quality of life on Earth. They want greater security and economic wealth, but they also want to pursue their dreams, to increase their knowledge, and they want younger people to be attracted to the pursuit of science and technology. I think that space can do all of this: it can produce
3960-792: The International Space Station is currently at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum , on loan from NASA through the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). A Spacelab Pallet was transferred to the Swiss Museum of Transport for permanent display on 5 March 2010. The Pallet, nicknamed Elvis , was used during the eight-day STS-46 mission, 31 July – 8 August 1992, when ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier was on board Space Shuttle Atlantis to deploy ESA's European Retrievable Carrier (Eureca) scientific mission and
4048-488: The Moon; Earth observation, science and telecommunication; designing launch vehicles ; and maintaining a major spaceport , the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou ( French Guiana ), France. The main European launch vehicle Ariane 6 will be operated through Arianespace with the ESA sharing in the costs of launching and further developing this launch vehicle. The agency is also working with NASA to manufacture
4136-572: The Plan for European Cooperating States Charter on 4 February 2016, a scheme introduced at ESA in 2001. The ECS Agreement was subsequently extended until 3 August 2022. Since 1 January 1979, Canada has had the special status of a Cooperating State within the ESA. By virtue of this accord, the Canadian Space Agency takes part in the ESA's deliberative bodies and decision-making and also in the ESA's programmes and activities. Canadian firms can bid for and receive contracts to work on programmes. The accord has
4224-557: The Space Shuttle orbiter crew area. Spacelab missions typically supported multiple experiments, and the Spacelab 1 mission had experiments in the fields of space plasma physics, solar physics , atmospheric physics , astronomy , and Earth observation . The selection of appropriate modules was part of mission planning for Spacelab Shuttle missions, and for example, a mission might need less habitable space and more pallets, or vice versa. The habitable Spacelab laboratory module comprised
4312-755: The Vega launcher, Vega-C had its first flight in July 2022. The new evolution of the rocket incorporates a larger first stage booster, the P120C replacing the P80 , an upgraded Zefiro (rocket stage) second stage, and the AVUM+ upper stage. This new variant enables larger single payloads, dual payloads, return missions, and orbital transfer capabilities. Historically, the Ariane family rockets have been funded primarily "with money contributed by ESA governments seeking to participate in
4400-562: The agency functioned in a de facto fashion. The ESA launched its first major scientific mission in 1975, Cos-B , a space probe monitoring gamma-ray emissions in the universe, which was first worked on by ESRO. The ESA collaborated with NASA on the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), the world's first high-orbit telescope, which was launched in 1978 and operated successfully for 18 years. A number of successful Earth-orbit projects followed, and in 1986
4488-401: The complete set also included five external pallets for experiments in vacuum built by British Aerospace (BAe) and a pressurized "Igloo" containing the subsystems needed for the pallet-only flight configuration operation. Eight flight configurations were qualified, though more could be assembled if needed. The system had some unique features including an intended two-week turn-around time (for
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#17327655235604576-490: The cooperation were laid out in a framework agreement signed by the two entities. On 17 November 2020, ESA signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the South African National Space Agency (SANSA). SANSA CEO Dr. Valanathan Munsami tweeted: "Today saw another landmark event for SANSA with the signing of an MoU with the ESA. This builds on initiatives that we have been discussing for
4664-573: The country eligible for participation in ESA procurements. The country can also participate in all ESA programmes, except for the Basic Technology Research Programme. While the financial contribution of the country concerned increases, it is still much lower than that of a full member state. The agreement is normally followed by a Plan For European Cooperating State (or PECS Charter). This is a 5-year programme of basic research and development activities aimed at improving
4752-425: The course of its mission. Right before landing, two of the orbiter's three auxiliary power units (APUs) caught fire due to a hydrazine leak, but the orbiter nonetheless landed successfully. Columbia was ferried back to KSC on December 15, 1983. The leak was later discovered after it had burned itself out and caused major damage to the compartment. By this time, Discovery had been delivered just three weeks before
4840-582: The exploration of the Moon, the robotic exploration of Mars, leading to a broad Mars Sample Return mission in which Europe should be involved as a full partner, and human missions beyond LEO in the longer term." In August 2019, the ESA and the Australian Space Agency signed a joint statement of intent "to explore deeper cooperation and identify projects in a range of areas including deep space, communications, navigation, remote asset management, data analytics and mission support." Details of
4928-416: The fields of atmospheric and plasma physics , astronomy , solar physics , material sciences , technology , astrobiology and Earth observations . The Spacelab effort went so well that the mission was extended an additional day to 10 days, making it the longest-duration shuttle flight at that time. In addition, Garriott made the first ham radio transmissions by an amateur radio operator in space during
5016-475: The first and only non-U.S. and non-European human space missions with complete German and Japanese control. The first West German mission Deutschland 1 (Spacelab-D1, DLR-1, NASA designation STS-61-A ) took place in 1985. A second similar mission, Deutschland 2 (Spacelab-D2, DLR-2, NASA designation STS-55 ), was first planned for 1988, but due to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster ,
5104-454: The flight. This led to many further space flights incorporating amateur radio as an educational and back-up communications tool. The Spacelab 1 mission was highly successful, proving the feasibility of the concept of carrying out complex experiments in space using non-NASA persons trained as payload specialists in collaboration with a POCC. Moreover, the TDRS-1 satellite, now fully operational,
5192-509: The free world with a really versatile laboratory system several years before it would have been possible if the United States had had to fund it on its own. And finally, it provided Europe with the systems development and management experience they needed to move into the exclusive manned space flight arena. In the early 1970s NASA shifted its focus from the Lunar missions to the Space Shuttle, and also space research. The Administrator of NASA at
5280-491: The higher rotational velocity of the Earth at the equator compared to near the Earth's poles where rotational velocity approaches zero. Ariane 6 is a heavy lift expendable launch vehicle developed by Arianespace . The Ariane 6 entered into its inaugural flight campaign on 26 April 2024 with the flight conducted on 9 July 2024. Vega is the ESA's carrier for small satellites. Developed by seven ESA members led by Italy . It
5368-466: The joint NASA/ASI ( Italian Space Agency ) Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1). The Pallet carried TSS-1 in the Shuttle's cargo bay. Another Spacelab Pallet is on display at the U.S. National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. There was a total of ten space-flown Spacelab pallets. On spaceflights where a habitable module was not flown, but pallets were flown, a pressurized cylinder known as
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#17327655235605456-455: The mission's six crew members, such as a galley and sleeping bunks. Columbia also received the more powerful Space Shuttle Main Engines introduced with Challenger , which were rated for 104% maximum thrust; its original main engines were later refurbished for use with Atlantis , which was still under construction at the time. Also added to the shuttle were higher capacity fuel cells and
5544-682: The nation's space industry capacity. At the end of the 5-year period, the country can either begin negotiations to become a full member state or an associated state or sign a new PECS Charter. Many countries, most of which joined the EU in both 2004 and 2007, have started to co-operate with the ESA on various levels: During the Ministerial Meeting in December 2014, ESA ministers approved a resolution calling for discussions to begin with Israel, Australia and South Africa on future association agreements. The ministers noted that "concrete cooperation
5632-428: The order of one billion dollars from our European friends. But its completion marks something equally important: The commitment of a dogged, dedicated, and talented team drawn from ESA Governments, universities, and industries who stuck with it for a decade and saw the project through. We are proud of your perseverance and congratulate you on your success. European Space Agency The European Space Agency ( ESA )
5720-412: The original Space Shuttle launch turn-around time) and the roll-on-roll-off for loading in aircraft (Earth-transportation). Spacelab consisted of a variety of interchangeable components, with the major one being a crewed laboratory that could be flown in the Space Shuttle orbiter's bay and returned to Earth. However, the habitable module did not have to be flown to conduct a Spacelab-type mission and there
5808-873: The other 75%. The ESA has traditionally implemented a policy of "georeturn", where funds that ESA member states provide to the ESA "are returned in the form of contracts to companies in those countries." By 2015, the ESA was an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states. The 2008 ESA budget amounted to €3.0 billion whilst the 2009 budget amounted to €3.6 billion. The total budget amounted to about €3.7 billion in 2010, €3.99 billion in 2011, €4.02 billion in 2012, €4.28 billion in 2013, €4.10 billion in 2014, €4.43 billion in 2015, €5.25 billion in 2016, €5.75 billion in 2017, €5.60 billion in 2018, €5.72 billion in 2019, €6,68 billion in 2020, €6.49 billion in 2021, €7.15 billion in 2022, €7.46 billion in 2023 and €7.79 billion in 2024. English and French are
5896-548: The payload bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter, and could provide gimbaled 3-axis pointing. It was designed for a pointing accuracy of less than 1 arcsecond (a unit of degree), and three pointing modes including Earth, Sun, and Stellar focused modes. The IPS was mounted on a pallet exposed to outer space in the payload bay. IPS missions: The Spacelab 2 mission flew the Infrared Telescope (IRT), which
5984-402: The program rather than through competitive industry bids. This [has meant that] governments commit multiyear funding to the development with the expectation of a roughly 90% return on investment in the form of industrial workshare." ESA is proposing changes to this scheme by moving to competitive bids for the development of the Ariane 6 . STS-9 STS-9 (also referred to Spacelab 1 )
6072-538: The protection of space assets", and two further high visibility projects (referred to as inspirators ) an icy moon sample return mission; and human space exploration. In the same year the recruitment process began for the 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group . 1 July 2023 saw the launch of the Euclid spacecraft , developed jointly with the Euclid Consortium, after 10 years of planning and building it
6160-479: The right. Countries typically have their own space programmes that differ in how they operate organisationally and financially with the ESA. For example, the French space agency CNES has a total budget of €2,015 million, of which €755 million is paid as direct financial contribution to the ESA. Several space-related projects are joint projects between national space agencies and the ESA (e.g. COROT ). Also,
6248-591: The systems derived from it. These systems include the ATV and Cygnus spacecraft used to transfer payloads to the International Space Station , and the Columbus , Harmony and Tranquility modules of the International Space Station . The Spacelab 2 mission surveyed 60% of the galactic plane in infrared in 1985. Spacelab was an extremely large program, and this was enhanced by different experiments and multiple payloads and configurations over two decades. For example, in
6336-401: The time moved the focus from a new space station to a space laboratory for the planned Space Shuttle. This would allow technologies for future space stations to be researched and harness the capabilities of the Space Shuttle for research. Spacelab was produced by European Space Research Organisation (ESRO), a consortium of ten European countries including: In addition to the laboratory module,
6424-415: The time, included John W. Young, commander, on his second shuttle flight; Brewster H. Shaw, pilot; Owen K. Garriott and Robert A. Parker, both mission specialists; and Byron K. Lichtenberg and Ulf Merbold, payload specialists – the first two non-NASA astronauts to fly on the Space Shuttle. Merbold, a citizen of West Germany , was the first foreign citizen to participate in a Space Shuttle flight. Lichtenberg
6512-557: The two main superpowers. In 1958, only months after the Sputnik shock , Edoardo Amaldi (Italy) and Pierre Auger (France), two prominent members of the Western European scientific community, met to discuss the foundation of a common Western European space agency. The meeting was attended by scientific representatives from eight countries. The Western European nations decided to have two agencies: one concerned with developing
6600-624: The two official languages of the ESA. Additionally, official documents are also provided in German and documents regarding the Spacelab have been also provided in Italian. If found appropriate, the agency may conduct its correspondence in any language of a member state. The following table lists all the member states and adjunct members, their ESA convention ratification dates, and their contributions as of 2024: Previously associated members were Austria, Norway and Finland, all of which later joined
6688-413: Was a 15.2 cm (6.0 in) aperture helium-cooled infrared telescope, observing light between wavelengths of 1.7 to 118 μm. IRT collected infrared data on 60% of the galactic plane. Examples of Spacelab components or hardware: The Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) assembly was not Spacelab hardware, strictly speaking. However, it was used most often on Spacelab flights. Also, NASA later used it with
6776-539: Was a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Prior to STS-9, the scientist-astronaut Garriott had spent 56 days in orbit in 1973 aboard Skylab . Commanding the mission was veteran astronaut John W. Young, making his sixth and final flight over an 18-year career that saw him fly twice each in Project Gemini , Apollo , and the Space Shuttle, which included two journeys to
6864-401: Was a variety of pallets and other hardware supporting space research. The habitable module expanded the volume for astronauts to work in a shirt-sleeve environment and had space for equipment racks and related support equipment. When the habitable module was not used, some of the support equipment for the pallets could instead be housed in the smaller Igloo , a pressurized cylinder connected to
6952-567: Was able to relay significant amounts of data through its ground terminal to the POCC. During orbiter orientation, four hours before re-entry, one of the flight control computers crashed when the Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters were fired. A few minutes later, a second crashed in a similar fashion, but was successfully rebooted. Young delayed the landing, letting the orbiter drift. He later testified: "Had we then activated
7040-488: Was also possible to operate Spacelab experiments from the orbiter's aft flight deck. The pressurized tunnel had its connection point at the orbiter's mid-deck. There were two different length tunnels depending on the location of the habitable module in the payload bay. When the laboratory module was not used, but additional space was needed for support equipment, another structure called the Igloo could be used. Two laboratory modules were built, identified as LM1 and LM2. LM1
7128-471: Was bought by NASA for its own use from ERNO. Construction on the Spacelab modules began in 1974 by what was then the company ERNO-VFW-Fokker. Spacelab is important to all of us for at least four good reasons. It expanded the Shuttle's ability to conduct science on-orbit manyfold. It provided a marvelous opportunity and example of a large international joint venture involving government, industry, and science with our European allies. The European effort provided
7216-433: Was canceled due to payload issues; it was instead followed by STS-41-B . After this mission, Columbia was taken out of service for renovations and did not fly again until STS-61-C in early January 1986. STS-9 sent the first non-U.S. citizen into space on the Shuttle, Ulf Merbold , becoming the first ESA and first West German citizen to go into space. STS-9's six-member crew, the largest of any human space mission at
7304-513: Was delayed until 1993. It became the first German human space mission after German reunification . The only Japan mission, Spacelab-J (NASA designation STS-47 ), took place in 1992. Spacelab-4, Spacelab-5, and other planned Spacelab missions were cancelled due to the late development of the Shuttle and the Challenger disaster. The legacy of Spacelab lives on in the form of the MPLMs and
7392-498: Was devoted entirely to Spacelab 1, a joint NASA/ European Space Agency (ESA) program designed to demonstrate the ability to conduct advanced scientific research in space. Both the mission specialists and payload specialists worked in the Spacelab module and coordinated their efforts with scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Payload Operations Control Center (POCC), which was then located at
7480-523: Was divided into two teams, each working 12-hour shifts for the duration of the mission. Young, Parker and Merbold formed the Red Team, while Shaw, Garriott and Lichtenberg made up the Blue Team. Usually, Young and Shaw were assigned to the flight deck, while the mission and payload specialists worked inside the Spacelab. Over the course of the mission, 72 scientific experiments were carried out, spanning
7568-593: Was founded with the ESA Convention in 1975, when ESRO was merged with ELDO. The ESA had ten founding member states: Belgium , Denmark , France , West Germany , Italy , the Netherlands , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , and the United Kingdom . These signed the ESA Convention in 1975 and deposited the instruments of ratification by 1980, when the convention came into force. During this interval
7656-499: Was launched on STS-123 . The Spacelab components were used on 41 Shuttle missions in total. The habitable modules were flown on 16 Space Shuttle missions in the 1980s and 1990s. Spacelab Pallet missions were flown 6 times and Spacelab Pallets were flown on other missions 19 times. Mission name acronyms: Besides contributing to ESA missions, Germany and Japan each funded their own Space Shuttle and Spacelab missions. Although superficially similar to other flights, they were actually
7744-580: Was the ninth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the sixth mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia . Launched on November 28, 1983, the ten-day mission carried the first Spacelab laboratory module into orbit. STS-9 was also the last time the original STS numbering system was used until STS-26 , which was designated in the aftermath of the 1986 Challenger disaster of STS-51-L . Under the new system, STS-9 would have been designated as STS-41-A. STS-9's originally planned successor, STS-10 ,
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