SPAS - Engineering structure and objectives

The 'Shuttle Pallet Satellite' (SPAS) is the first satellite which has been designed by a private firm for multiple use in connection with Space Shuttle missions. The SPAS-01 is the result of a new entrepreneurial concept which has been implemented as a pilot project by a German aerospace company in cooperation with NASA. The origin of this concept goes back to the 1970s, when NASA asked industry to provide proposals for the utilization of the Space Shuttle. The SPAS structure developed is entirely concerned with commercial viewpoints, giving particular attention to the client with small-scale projects. Thus, SPAS represents a return to objectives originally envisaged for the Space Shuttle. According to these objectives, the Space Shuttle was to provide a space vehicle in which an experimenter could load his research equipment without prolonged preparations, taking into account also a personal presence during the flight. Attention is given to the overall configuration of the SPAS-01 A and the experiments conducted.