The Space Lab

Spacelab is developed on a modular basis and can be varied to meet specific mission requirements. Its four principal components are the pressurized module, which contains a laboratory with a shirt-sleeve working environment; one or more open pallets that expose materials and equipment to space; a tunnel to gain access to the module; and an instrument pointing subsystem. Spacelab is not deployed free of the orbiter.

The space station is a working laboratory orbiting 240 miles above the Earth and is home to an international crew. The station has more than 15,000 cubic feet of habitable volume, which includes more room than a conventional three-bedroom house. The station provides a laboratory complex where gravity, a fundamental force on Earth, is virtually eliminated for extended periods. The ability to control the variable of gravity in experiments creates unimaginable research possibilities.

The station is vital to human exploration. It is where we are learning how to combat the physiological effects of being in space for long periods. The space station is our test bed for technologies and our decision-making processes when things go as planned and when they don't. It is important to learn and test these things 240 miles up rather than encountering them 240,000 miles away while on the way to Mars or beyond.

A Live view of earth from the Space Station.

Reference: NASA