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.

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.