Spacelab; Research in Earth Orbit

Format is approximately 7.75 inches by 10 inches. 192 pages. Includes statements on the impact of Spacelab by Erik Quistgaard, James Beggs, Sir Bernard Lovell, and Patrick Moore. Illustrations (many in color). Appendix. List of Acronyms. Index. Spacelab is Europe's first manned laboratory to orbit the Earth. Spacelab - Research in Earth Orbit presents a splendidly illustrated account of this most ambitious and exciting adventure. The authors chart the ten year programme of Spacelab's development from the spark of its conception to the blaze of its perfect launch on the Space Shuttle in November 1983. Experiments performed on board the reusable shuttle encompass a wide range of disciplines - from astronomy to zoology. The first results are discussed, and future space activities examined. The unique color photographs from the first Spacelab mission combine with the interesting and informative text to provide a definitive record of this major initiative in space. Lucid and readable, the book will appeal to every enquiring mind. Michael John Rycroft (born 15 July 1938) is an ionospheric physicist. He began his career at the University of Southampton (1966-1979) and then moved to the British Antarctic Survey (1979-1990),Subsequently at the International Space University where he remains emeritus professor. He is also a member of the Academia Europaea and was general secretary of the European Geophysical Society from 1996 to 2003 (part of the European Geosciences Union). He published around 170 papers in the refereed literature and co-authored books on space research. 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 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 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 other missions, with some of the Spacelab pallets being flown as late as 2008.…