Spacelab 1 was the ninth NASA Space Shuttle mission (STS-9) and the sixth mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Launched on November 28, 1983, the ten-day mission carried the first Spacelab laboratory module into orbit. And this patch was made special for this mission.
NASA Space Shuttle Columbia STS-9 '1st Spacelab' Mission
Mission: Orbital Laboratory and Observations Platform/First Spacelab Mission
First Rollback/First 6 Crew Member Flight Space Shuttle: Columbia Launch Pad: 39A Launch Weight: 247,619 pounds Launched: November 28, 1983 at 11:00:00 a.m. EST Landing Site: Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Landing: December 8, 1983 at 3:47:24 a.m. PST Landing Weight: 220,027 pounds Runway: 17 Rollout Distance: 8,456 feet Rollout Time: 53 seconds Revolution: 167 Mission Duration: 10 days, 7 hours, 47 minutes and 24 seconds Returned to KSC: December 15, 1983 Orbit Altitude: 155 nautical miles Orbit Inclination: 57 degrees Miles Travelled: 4.3 million
STS-61 - A D-1 Spacelab mission (first German-dedicated Spacelab) 10/30/1985 11/06/1985. The mission was dedicated to the (West) German Spacelab D-1 laboratory, which included 75 numbered experiments. Experiments centered around basic and applied microgravity research in materials science, life science and technology, communications and navigation. 22nd Space Shuttle Mission 9th Flight of Challenger Crew: Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., Commander Steven R. Nagel, Pilot James F. Buchli, Mission Specialist Guion S. Bluford, Jr., Mission Specialist Bonnie J. Dunbar, Mission Specialist Reinhard Furrer, Payload Specialist Ernst Messerschmid, Payload Specialist Wubbo J. Ockels, Payload Specialist
In August 1973, NASA and ESRO (now European Space Agency or ESA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build a science laboratory for use on Space Shuttle flights. Construction of Spacelab was started in 1974 by the ERNO (subsidiary of VFW-Fokker GmbH, after merger with MBB named MBB/ERNO, and part of EADS SPACE Transportation since 2003). The first lab module, LM1, was donated to NASA in exchange for flight opportunities for European astronauts. A second module, LM2, was bought by NASA for its own use from ERNO.
