# Did the Shuttle payload bay have illumination? Tags: space-shuttle - Score: 11 - Views: 1917 - Answers: 1 - Answered: yes - Asked by: DrSheldon (49636 rep) - Asked: 2019-06-30 - Site: space ## Question Were there lights inside the Shuttle cargo bay, either to provide illumination when the doors were closed or to better illuminate cargo when the doors were opened? Slightly related: Have optical zoom systems been used in space exploration? ## Answers ### Answer by Organic Marble (score: 16 [ACCEPTED]) There were metal halide floodlights in the payload bay floor and one on the forward bulkhead pointing towards the bay. Reference: http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/stsref-toc.html#sts-light-exterior There were generic flight rules about use of the lights and flight-specific rules if the lights were blocked by payloads in the bay. An example of flight-specific PLB light rules from the STS-88 Flight Requirements Document. b. Payload Bay Light Constraints For bay-to-earth (+ZLV), biased nose-to-sun (-XSI), and biased tail-to- earth (+XLV) attitudes, operation of the forward and mid payload bay floodlights (PBFL) is unconstrained (PBFL 1 through 4 may be