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From: ks@astrovax.UUCP (Karl Stapelfeldt)
Newsgroups: net.columbia
Subject: Re: Spacelab Turned On
Message-ID: <153@astrovax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 29-Nov-83 22:45:58 EST
Article-I.D.: astrovax.153
Posted: Tue Nov 29 22:45:58 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 1-Dec-83 04:59:39 EST
References: <2319@alice.UUCP> <1653@ihuxf.UUCP>
Organization: Princeton Univ. Astrophysics
Lines: 13


     There are no plans to allow the Spacelab to free-fly out of the
shuttle cargo bay.  It is dependent on the shuttle for transportation,
attitude control, electrical power, and crew quarters.  It is intended to
be re-flown many times, however.
     Skylab was indeed much larger than the Spacelab is.  The pressurized
module for Spacelab is a mere 23 feet long, and the instrument pallet adds
only a dozen or so more.  Skylab was fabricated from surplus Saturn V third
stages (the astronauts essentially lived inside a fuel tank), and as such
was on the order of 80 feet long.  The Skylab orbital workshop was also
much more massive than the Spacelab, with a 120,000 lb vs 30,000 lb weight
comparison.  I don't claim that these numbers are exact, but they're pretty
close.  A good reference to check is Kenneth Gatland's (ed.) "Illustrated
Encyclopedia of Space Technology."