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The Goddard Space Flight Center, Special Payloads Division (sounding rockets) experience in applying rocket mechanical experience and technology to the Shuttle is presented. While the mechanical design loads are similar, new considerations for thermal extremes, material control and attachment structures must be included. These additional requirements have been successfully introduced in the free flyer class of payloads, Shuttle Pointed Automonous Research Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN), and a motorized door for the Get Away Special (GAS) payloads.

The sounding rocket experiment, Electron Echo V, was designed to carry three devices to study the neutralization effects of the rocket upon electron beams emitted into the earth's magnetosphere. One was a 500 square foot current collector screen built on a framework of inflated 'mylar' tubes. The other two were 30 foot long Langmuir probes consisting of inflated tubes with sensor pads at various intervals. These devices were designed to be deployed at an altitude of 92-118 mi (148-190 km) by compressed gas carried in the payload. The development of these large (by sounding rocket standards) inflatables and the methods of packaging and deployment are described.