Editing Spacelab (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:German Spacelab 03.JPG|thumb|upright=1.0|right|Spacelab LM2 in Speyer, Germany (2008)]]
[[File:D1 ex ei hires.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|A golden-colored egg floating weightless on the Spacelab D1 mission, due to the continuous free-fall of being in orbit creating a [[micro-g environment|microgravity environment]] on the spacecraft, 1985]]

The legacy of Spacelab lives on in the form of the [[Multi-Purpose Logistics Module|MPLMs]] and the systems derived from it. These systems include the [[Automated Transfer Vehicle|ATV]] and [[Cygnus spacecraft]] used to transfer payloads to the [[International Space Station]], and the [[Columbus (ISS module)|Columbus]], [[Harmony (ISS module)|Harmony]] and [[Tranquility (ISS module)|Tranquility]] modules of the [[International Space Station]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/columbus/newspaper/ESA_ColumbusLab_newspaper_ENG.pdf |title=A new European science laboratory in Earth orbit}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/03-Walz_Cygnus_Beyond_Low-Earth_Orbit.pdf |title=Cygnus Beyond Low-Earth Orbit – Logistics and Habitation in Cis-Lunar Space}}</ref>

The Spacelab 2 mission surveyed 60% of the galactic plane in infrared in 1985.<ref name="ipac.caltech.edu"/>

Spacelab was an extremely large program, and this was enhanced by different experiments and multiple payloads and configurations over two decades. For example, in a subset of just one part of the Spacelab 1 (STS-9) mission, no less than eight different imaging systems were flown into space. Including those experiments, there was a total of 73 separate experiments across different disciplines on the Spacelab 1 flight alone. Spacelab missions conducted experiments in materials, life, solar, astrophysics, atmospheric, and Earth science.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/s/spacelab |title=Spacelab - eoPortal Directory - Satellite Missions}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|Spacelab represents a major investment on the order of one billion dollars from our European friends. But its completion marks something equally important: The commitment of a dogged, dedicated, and talented team drawn from ESA Governments, universities, and industries who stuck with it for a decade and saw the project through. We are proud of your perseverance and congratulate you on your success.|NASA Administrator, 1982<ref>{{cite web |url=https://history.nasa.gov/EP-165/ch1.htm |title=chapter 1}}</ref>}}