Architectural and Applications Concepts for a Space Island Group Lab-ET Space Station

Abstract

SPACEHAB, Inc. is the preeminent commercial developer/operator of manned space flight infrastructure utilized in the context of NASA's Space Shuttle and Space Station programs. SPACEHAB's Strategic Programs Group prepared these architectural concepts for commercial applications of the Lab-ET in areas of pharmacological and biological research and on-orbit production, with implications for other commercial applications. Space Island Group's (SIG) Lab-External Tank (ET) Space Station represents an order-of-magnitude increase in scale over prior space stations such as Russia's MIR and the International Space Station( ISS). SIG's commercial approach to Lab-ET utilization represent a significant departure from historically federalized programs. Launched as a preintegrated and on-orbit modifiable element of a Dual-ET vehicle, and targeting commercial applications, the Space Island Lab-ET represents a significantly different development and operations paradigm as compared to prior space stations. This paper provides an overview of innovative operational and design concepts providing a point of departure for more detailed future technical and business developments.