Inertial Measurement Unit, Space Shuttle

Display Status:

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.

Collection Item Summary:

This Inertial Measurement Unit, manufactured by Singer, uses a set of gyroscopes and accelerometers to provide the Space Shuttle with velocity and attitude data. This information is fed into the Space Shuttle on-board computers, which generate appropriate signals to control the vehicle in flight.

This unit was flown on eight Shuttle missions between 12 April 1981 and 8 March 1989, including six times on OV-102 Columbia and two times on OV-104 Atlantis.

NASA transferred this object to the Museum in 2006.