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The Spacehab Space Research Laboratory provides the shuttle with extra "shirt sleeve" space for crew-tended experiments. During Shuttle-Mir, Spacehab single- and double-modules were also used to carry supplies and equipment up to Mir.
Spacehab is located in the forward end of a shuttle orbiter's cargo bay and is accessed from the orbiter's middeck through a tunnel adapter connected to the airlock. The single module weighs 10,584 pounds, is 9.2 feet long, 11.2 feet high and 13.5 feet in diameter. It increases pressurized experiment space in the Shuttle orbiter by 1100 cubic feet, quadrupling the working and storage volume available. A single-module laboratory has a total payload capacity of 3,000 pounds.
Spacehab also provides experiments with standard services, such as power, temperature control and command/data functions. Environmental control of the laboratory's interior maintains ambient temperatures between 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spacehab was used on seven Shuttle-Mir missions. The first flight of the SPACEHAB Space Research Laboratory was on STS-57, June 21-27, 1993. The modules are leased to NASA by SPACEHAB, Inc., of Arlington, Virginia. Links: Spacecraft Supplies To and From Mir
Space Shuttle Orbiter
Supplies to and from Mir
Space Shuttle Orbiter | Mir Space Station
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Responsible NASA Official: John Ira Petty