Spacelab was a reusable laboratory used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory comprised multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay. The components were arranged in various configurations to meet the needs of each spaceflight.

Spacelab components flew on 22 Shuttle missions between November 1983 and April 1998. Spacelab allowed scientists to perform experiments in microgravity in Earth orbit.

The primary payload was the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1), making its first flight and using the pressurized Spacelab module. The International crew was divided into two teams for around-the-clock research on the human nervous system's adaptation to low gravity and the effects of microgravity on other life forms such as shrimp eggs, lentil seedlings, fruit fly eggs, and bacteria. Materials processing experiments were also conducted, including crystal growth from variety of substances such as enzymes, mercury iodide and a virus. On flight day six, mission managers concluded enough onboard consumables remained to extend the mission one day to continue science experiments.

Secondary payloads were: 12 Get Away Special (GAS) canisters attached to a GAS Bridge Assembln the cargo bay and containing a variety of U.S. and international experiments.

In middeck: Gelation of Sols: Applied Microgravity Research-1 (GOSAMR-1); IMAX camera; Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP); Radiation Monitoring Experiment III (RME III); and two Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) experiments.