Payload Assist Module

Short description: Single-stage solid-fueled booster stage

File:PAM-D 1920x1080.ogv

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 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.^[1] 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 4,400 lb (2,000 kg)
PAM-D (Delta class), uses a Star-48B rocket motor, designed for satellites up to 2,750 lb (1,250 kg)^[2]
PAM-DII (Delta class), uses a Star-63 rocket motor, designed for satellites up to 4,150 lb (1,880 kg)^[2]
PAM-S (Special) as a kick motor for the space probe Ulysses^[2]

The PAM-D module, used as the third stage of the Delta II rocket, was the last version in use. As of 2018, no PAM is in active use on any rockets.

2001 re-entry incident

On January 12, 2001, a PAM-D module re-entered the atmosphere after a "catastrophic orbital decay".^[3] 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.^[3]

Gallery

PAM-D stage in assembly
SBS-3 satellite with PAM-D stage being launched from Space Shuttle Columbia
Saudi officials inspect a PAM-D module that re-entered the atmosphere in 2001
SATCOM KU-2 attached to a PAM-DII is being released from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis during STS-61B
Ulysses is mated with the PAM-S

References

↑ "Payload Assist Module (PAM)". Global Security. http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/pam.htm.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Krebs, Gunter D.. "PAM-D, PAM-D2, PAM-S". https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_stage/pam-d.htm.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 "PAM-D Debris Falls in Saudi Arabia". The Orbital Debris Quarterly News (NASA Johnson Space Center) 6 (2): 1. April 2001. https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/quarterly-news/pdfs/odqnv6i2.pdf.

External links

Payload Assist Module at the NASA Shuttle Reference Manual
Payload Assist Module at GlobalSecurity.org

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payload Assist Module. Read more

[1] "Payload Assist Module (PAM)". Global Security. http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/pam.htm.

[:0-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Krebs, Gunter D.. "PAM-D, PAM-D2, PAM-S". https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_stage/pam-d.htm.

[orb_debris-3] 3.0 ^3.1 "PAM-D Debris Falls in Saudi Arabia". The Orbital Debris Quarterly News (NASA Johnson Space Center) 6 (2): 1. April 2001. https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/quarterly-news/pdfs/odqnv6i2.pdf.

v t e 1962–present United States Air Force space vehicle designations
SLV series	SLV-1 SLV-2 SLV-3 SLV-4 SLV-5
SB series	SB-1 SB-2 SB-3 SB-4 SB-5 SB-6 SSB-7 SSB-8 SSB-9 SSB-10 ASB-11
Satellites	WS-1 WS-2 LS-3 ES-4 ES-5 LS-6 NS-7 ES-8 LS-9 LS-10 (I) XSS-10 (II) XSS-11² XSS-12 S-13¹ ES-14 LS-15³ LS-16³ ES-17 DOD-1³
¹ Not assigned ² Unofficial designation ³ Designation believed to be this type but unconfirmed

v t e Upper stages
Active	AVUM Briz Castor 30 Centaur CTS / SMA DCSS DM-03 Fregat Star 27 / 37 / 48 Volga Yuanzheng
Planned	Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage Exploration Upper Stage KVTK
Retired	Agena Able Altair Astris Blok 2BL Blok D Burner Delta-D Delta-K Delta-P EPKM FG-02 Ikar Inertial Upper Stage KVD-1 Payload Assist Module Saturn IV Saturn IVB Transfer Orbit Stage Transtage

v t e Space Shuttle program
Space Shuttle List of missions List of crews
Components	Space Shuttle orbiter Solid Rocket Booster External Tank Main Engine Orbital Maneuvering System Reaction control system Thermal protection system Booster separation motor
Orbiters	Enterprise Columbia Challenger Discovery Atlantis Endeavour
Add-ons	Spacelab (ESA) Canadarm (CSA) Extended Duration Orbiter Remote Controlled Orbiter Spacehab Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
Sites	Kennedy Space Center LC-39 Vandenberg SLC-6 Landing sites Shuttle Landing Facility Abort Landing Sites
Operations and training	Missions (canceled) Crews Mission timeline Rollbacks Countdown Abort modes Rendezvous pitch maneuver Shuttle Mission Simulator Shuttle Training Aircraft
Testing	Inspiration (design) Pathfinder (simulator) MPTA (engine mounts) MPTA-ET (external tank) Approach and Landing Tests
Disasters	Challenger disaster (report) Columbia disaster (report)
Support	Crawler-transporter Mate-Demate Device Mobile Launcher Platform NASA recovery ship Orbiter Processing Facility Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) Shuttle Carrier Aircraft flights Shuttle Training Aircraft STS-3xx
Special	Deutschland-1 Getaway Special Teacher in Space Project Shuttle-Mir Hitchhiker
Space suits	Extravehicular Mobility Unit Shuttle Ejection Escape Suit Launch Entry Suit Advanced Crew Escape Suit
Experiments	Freestar experiments Inflatable Antenna Experiment Spartan Packet Radio Experiment Shuttle pallet satellite Wake Shield Facility
Derivatives	Saturn-Shuttle (canceled) Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle Jupiter Shuttle-C Ares Space Launch System
Replicas	Independence
Related	Space Shuttle design process Inertial Upper Stage Payload Assist Module International Space Station Criticism Retirement Conroy Virtus The Dream Is Alive (1985 documentary) Space Shuttle America Rendezvous Space Shuttle Project Shuttle Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Mission 2007 Orbiter simulator