IAE - Inflatable Antenna Experiment

STS077-705-012 (20 May 1996) --- Following its deployment from the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) portion of the Spartan 207 payload is backdropped over Earth as it continues its inflation process. The view was photographed with a handheld 70mm camera during the first full day of orbital operations by the six-member crew. Managed by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Spartan is designed to provide short-duration, free-flight opportunities for a variety of scientific studies. The Spartan configuration on this flight is unique in that the IAE is part of an additional separate unit which is ejected once the experiment is completed. The IAE experiment will lay the groundwork for future technology development in inflatable space structures, which will be launched and then inflated like a balloon on-orbit.