posted 08-20-2021 04:53 AM               

Spacelab was a reusable laboratory facility that was flown on the space shuttle from 1983 to 1998. Completing 22 major missions and contributing to many other NASA goals, Spacelab stands as one of the shuttle program's most resounding successes.

The system comprised multiple components, including a pressurized laboratory module, unpressurized carrier pallets and other related hardware, all housed in the shuttle's payload bay and crew compartment. But how did all those varied components actually come together?

The answer is the little-known "Level-IV," a team of managers and engineers who molded separate elements of hardware into cohesive and safe payloads. Without the dedication and drive of the Level-IV team, the huge successes of the Spacelab missions would not have been achieved. This is their story.

You will learn herein how Level-IV was formed, who was involved, and the accomplishments, setbacks and problems faced along the way, in a story that blends both the professional and personal sides of Level-IV operations and its legacy. Upon reading this book, you will gain a new appreciation for this crucial team and understand what is meant when you hear the term "Level-IV."

• Softcover
  
• Springer (January 16, 2022)
  
• ISBN 978-3-030-86774-4

posted 08-26-2021 02:44 PM               

When Mikey Haddad and I corresponded on his idea of a book covering the processing of Spacelab hardware for flight, from the point of view of the team at KSC he worked with, I jumped at the change of cooperating.

Spacelab has always attracted me, probably due to the European connection but also the opportunities and resources it offered for flying great science on short Shuttle missions. I lamented the demise of the series in the 1990s, but hoped for someone to tell the full story beyond Spacelab 1. This is but one side of that fascinating story.

The operational side of each flight interest me greatly, but also the huge logistics and infrastructure required to support each Shuttle mission on the ground between every flight.

Mikey's suggestion of looking in depth at the ground processing of the Spacelab hardware for flight was attractive not only for understanding how all the elements came together, but also in the very personal stories from those who worked on the programme, 'up close and personal' in what became known as 'Level IV'

This is their story. As members of mission control have begun to tell their accounts of the space programme, to supplement those of the astronauts, here the employees of just one area of the Kennedy Space Center reveal the highs and lows of preparing hardware to fly, and the challenges that entailed.

As I cooperated in putting Mikey's story to print, I learned a lot about what goes on behind the scenes in preparing a Spacelab mission for flight.

Hopefully other stories and accounts of the huge team effort at the Cape will be forthcoming in time. Stories which reveal the huge effort in processing each Shuttle mission from wheel stop to clearing the tower.