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The Payload Assist Module (PAM) is a modular upper stage designed and built by McDonnell Douglas (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.cite-ref-1[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)cite-ref-0-2-0[2]

• PAM-DII (Delta class), uses a Star-63 rocket motor, designed for satellites up to 4,150 lb (1,880 kg)cite-ref-0-2-1[2]

• PAM-S (Special), uses a Star-48B as a kick motor for the space probe Ulyssescite-ref-0-2-2[2]

The PAM-D module was used as an optional third stage of the classic Delta rocket. The PAM-D was discontinued after the Challenger accident. A simplified 3rd stage using the STAR-48 motor was employed on Delta II.

• 2001 re-entry incident

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On January 12, 2001, a PAM-D module re-entered the atmosphere after a "catastrophic orbital decay".cite-ref-orb-debris-3-0[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.cite-ref-orb-debris-3-1[3]

cite-note-11. ↑ "Payload Assist Module (PAM)". Global Security. Retrieved June 8, 2012.

cite-note-0-22. ↑ citerefkrebsKrebs, Gunter D. "PAM-D, PAM-D2, PAM-S". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-01-05.

cite-note-orb-debris-33. ↑ "PAM-D Debris Falls in Saudi Arabia" (PDF). The Orbital Debris Quarterly News. 6 (2). NASA Johnson Space Center: 1. April 2001.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to

Payload Assist Module

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• Payload Assist Module Archived 2016-12-21 at the Wayback Machine at the NASA Shuttle Reference Manual

• Payload Assist Module at GlobalSecurity.org