Original Computer from Spacelab, the first European Space Station: Spacelab was designed by the European Space Agency to fit in the US space shuttle payload bay and allow extended experiments to be conducted by astronauts in orbit.  It is a 10 ton reusable space station that flew on 22 Shuttle missions from 1983 to 1998 with astronauts like Owen Garriott and Cady Coleman. 
<p>This is an original CIMSA computer for the Spacelab Command and Data Management System (CDMS). This is a high-reliability core-memory computer built by MATRA in France. The CDMS performed processing, transmission, and data acquisition from onboard experiments.
</p><p>Spacelab carried three identical MATRA 125/MS computers have a main memory capacity of 64K 16-bit words (or 128MB, the same as the first Macintosh in 1984).  They were removed to upgrade to IBM AP-101SL orbiter computers.  The operating system and program load comes from a main memory tape drive. The heatsink / chassis was manufactured from a single billet of aerospace aluminum and nickel plated for durability and corrosion resistance.  11.25″ x 7.75″ x 21″
</p><p>NASA Summary: "Spacelab consisted of an enclosed, pressurized laboratory module and open, U-shaped pallets that could be placed behind the module or flown alone. Equipment -- including telescopes, antennas and sensors -- was mounted on the pallets for direct exposure to space.
</p><p>In the 17 years of Spacelab, with 36 missions flown and about 800 investigations completed, this program taught scientists how to operate experiments in the microgravity environment of low-Earth orbit.
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An artifact in the Future Ventures’ 🚀 Space Collection.
Steve Jurvetson
CC BY 2.0
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