The SpaceLab is an R&D operation founded by the IUS Ceramics Program and the Dirt Bags Art Club. It is a reusable laboratory that allows artists to perform experiments in standard gravity in Earth orbit. The laboratory consists of multiple components, including a deduction module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware. Spacelab is developed on a modular basis and can be varied to meet specific idea requirements. Its principal component is the concept module, which contains a laboratory with a shirt-sleeve working environment; one or more open pallets that expose materials and equipment to space; a tunnel to gain access to the module; and an instrument pointing subsystem (IPS). The IPS provides precision pointing for a wide range of thoughts, including large single instruments or a cluster of ideas. The pointing mechanism can accommodate instruments of diverse sizes and weights. Some research to be accomplished in the Spacelab requires that instruments be pointed with very high accuracy and stability at targets of observation.

The Spacelab module consists of a rectangular main laboratory configurable as Short or Longer Module and flown in the underbelly of the cargo bay located within The Department. The laboratory has an outer perimeter of 14.63 m, with the main segment measuring a width of 2.44 m. Most of the time the SpaceLab is deployed free of the Orbiter.