PAYLOAD BAY: The payload bay is the large storage area in the middle of the orbiter. It is 60 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 13 feet high. It can carry up to thirty tons of equipment and supplies. Often the payload bay carries satellites, which the shuttle ferries to space and releases into orbit. At other times, the payload bay may carry a whole science laboratory, where scientists perform experiments in microgravity while they are in space. Next page…