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Payload Assist Module

Single-stage solid-fueled booster stage

Summary

Single-stage solid-fueled booster stage

The Payload Assist Module (PAM) is a modular upper stage designed and built by McDonnell Douglas (Boeing), using Thiokol Star-series solid propellant rocket motors. The PAM was used with the Space Shuttle, Delta, and Titan launchers and carried satellites from low Earth orbit to a geostationary transfer orbit or an interplanetary course. The payload was spin stabilized by being mounted on a rotating plate. Originally developed for the Space Shuttle, different versions of the PAM were developed:

PAM-A (Atlas class), development terminated; originally to be used on both the Atlas and Space Shuttle, designed for satellites up to 4400 lb
PAM-D (Delta class), uses a Star-48B rocket motor, designed for satellites up to 2750 lb
PAM-DII (Delta class), uses a Star-63 rocket motor, designed for satellites up to 4150 lb
PAM-S (Special), uses a Star-48B as a kick motor for the space probe Ulysses

The PAM-D module was used as an optional third stage of the classic Delta rocket. The PAM-D was discontinued after the Challenger accident. A simplified 3rd stage using the STAR-48 motor was employed on Delta II.

2001 re-entry incident

On January 12, 2001, a PAM-D module re-entered the atmosphere after a "catastrophic orbital decay". The PAM-D stage, which had been used to launch the GPS satellite 2A-11 in 1993, crashed in the sparsely populated Saudi Arabian desert, where it was positively identified.

Gallery

File:PAM-D rocket stage.jpg|PAM-D stage in assembly File:SBS-3 with PAM-D stage.jpg|SBS-3 satellite with PAM-D stage being launched from File:PAM-D module crash in Saudi Arabian desert.png|Saudi officials inspect a PAM-D module that re-entered the atmosphere in 2001 File:STS-61-B SATCOM Ku-2 deployment.jpg|SATCOM KU-2 attached to a PAM-DII is being released from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis during STS-61B File:Ulysses is mated with the PAM-S.jpg|Ulysses is mated with the PAM-S

References

"Payload Assist Module (PAM)". Global Security.
Krebs, Gunter D.. "PAM-D, PAM-D2, PAM-S".
(April 2001). "PAM-D Debris Falls in Saudi Arabia". NASA [[Johnson Space Center]].

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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