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| Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science |
| Acronym | ATLAS |
| Country | United States |
| Operator | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| Missions | STS-45, STS-46, STS-66 |
| Launch site | Kennedy Space Center |
| First flight | 1992 |
| Programs | Space Shuttle program, Earth Observing System |
Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS) was a series of spaceborne atmospheric research payloads flown on Space Shuttle Columbia and Space Shuttle Atlantis during the early 1990s as part of a coordinated effort to study Earth's atmosphere, solar radiation, and climate-related processes. Designed and managed through collaborations among National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Space Agency, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Agence spatiale canadienne, and scientific institutions such as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the ATLAS campaigns contributed to observational continuity between missions like Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite and programs like Earth Observing System. The flights occurred within the context of post‑Cold War international science cooperation exemplified by projects connected to International Geophysical Year legacies and preparatory efforts for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments.
ATLAS was conceived amid planning dialogues involving NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Langley Research Center, and university teams at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, University of Colorado Boulder, and Harvard University. The program built on heritage from earlier missions such as Nimbus program, Skylab, and Orbiting Carbon Observatory precursor studies, while aligning with objectives articulated by National Research Council committees and multinational forums including Committee on Earth Observation Satellites. ATLAS payloads rode in the Space Shuttle payload bay and integrated instruments from agencies including European Space Operations Centre partners and industrial contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Raytheon.
Primary objectives emphasized quantifying solar irradiance, measuring atmospheric composition, and characterizing radiative transfer to inform models used by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change authors and World Meteorological Organization assessments. ATLAS sought to intercompare sensors from projects such as Total Solar Irradiance Satellite Experiment, Solar Maximum Mission, and Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite to improve calibration chains exploited by NOAA-9, ERS-1, ERS-2, and later Terra platforms. Objectives included fostering cross‑calibration with instruments on International Space Station planners, contributing data archives for groups at National Center for Atmospheric Research, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, and supporting atmospheric chemistry work led by researchers affiliated with Columbia University and University of Oxford.
ATLAS hardware flew on multiple Shuttle missions: STS-45 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in 1992, STS-46 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in 1992, and STS-66 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia in 1994. Crews included astronauts drawn from Johnson Space Center assignments and flight engineers with training at Marshall Space Flight Center and European Astronaut Centre pipelines. Each flight coordinated with contemporaneous campaigns such as Mauna Loa Observatory ground networks, balloon campaigns from European Space Agency sites, and airborne platforms like NASA ER-2 and WB-57 aircraft. Mission operations were supported by Mission Control Center (Houston), Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39, and logistics managed with contractors including United Space Alliance.
ATLAS integrated a suite of spectrometers, radiometers, and in situ sensors drawn from international teams. Notable instruments included solar ultraviolet and visible spectrometers related to Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment, ozone spectrometers building on Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer heritage, and aerosol and trace gas sensors connected to developments by French National Centre for Scientific Research, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, and National Institute for Environmental Studies (Japan). Payloads interfaced with calibration references traceable to standards from National Institute of Standards and Technology and data distribution through archives at Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center and European Space Agency Centre for Earth Observation.
ATLAS provided precision measurements of solar spectral irradiance aiding revisions to models used by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change authors and climate modelers at Princeton University and University of Cambridge. Ozone and trace gas datasets contributed to understanding stratospheric chemistry mechanisms debated in literature involving Paul Crutzen and groups at Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Aerosol radiative forcing constraints influenced assessments conducted by Met Office, NOAA, and teams preparing instrumentation for Aqua and Aura. Cross‑calibration work improved continuity between instruments on Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, Nimbus-7, and later Suomi NPP and Sentinel series missions.
The ATLAS campaigns reinforced international instrument intercomparison practices adopted by bodies like Committee on Space Research and Global Climate Observing System. Data archives continue to support reanalysis projects at European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and climate studies at National Aeronautics and Space Administration centers. Technological and procedural lessons influenced payload integration approaches used in International Space Station experiments and successor Earth science missions developed by NASA Ames Research Center, NASA Langley Research Center, Centre National d'Études Spatiales, and industrial partners such as Northrop Grumman.
Program management involved coordination among NASA Headquarters, international agencies including European Space Agency, national laboratories like Los Alamos National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and university consortia funded through mechanisms linked to National Science Foundation grants and cooperative agreements with NOAA. Development cycles leveraged engineering expertise from Boeing, TRW Inc., Ball Aerospace, and calibration partnerships with National Institute of Standards and Technology. Oversight and review processes were guided by panels convened by National Research Council and involved peer review by researchers from University of Maryland, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and California Institute of Technology.
Category:NASA payloads Category:Space Shuttle experiments