|
The Payload Assist Module (PAM) is a modular upper stage designed and built by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing), using Thiokol Star-series solid propellant rocket engines. 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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=Global Security )〕 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 * PAM-D (Delta class), uses a Star-48B rocket motor * PAM-DII (Delta class), uses a Star-63 rocket motor * PAM-S (Special) as a kick motor for the space probe ''Ulysses'' The PAM-D module, used as the third stage of the Delta II rocket, is the only version in use today. ==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 a GPS satellite in 1993, crashed in the sparsely populated Saudi Arabian desert, where it was positively identified.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Payload Assist Module」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|