STS-9

STS-9
View of Columbia's payload bay, showing Spacelab.
NamesSpace Transportation System-9
Spacelab 1
Mission typeMicrogravity research
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1983-116A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.14523Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration10 days, 12 hours, 47 minutes, 24 seconds
Distance travelled6,913,504 km (4,295,852 mi)
Orbits completed167
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSpace Shuttle Columbia
Launch mass112,918 kg (248,942 lb)
Landing mass99,800 kg (220,000 lb)
Payload mass15,068 kg (33,219 lb)
Crew
Crew size6
Members
Start of mission
Launch dateNovember 28, 1983, 16:00:00 (November 28, 1983, 16:00:00) UTC (11:00 am EST)
Launch siteKennedy, LC-39A
ContractorRockwell International
End of mission
Landing dateDecember 8, 1983, 23:47:24 (December 8, 1983, 23:47:24) UTC (3:47:24 am PST)
Landing siteEdwards, Runway 17
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude240 km (150 mi)
Apogee altitude253 km (157 mi)
Inclination57.00°≠≈
Period89.50 minutes

STS-9 mission patch

From left: Garriott, Lichtenberg, Shaw, Young, Merbold and Parker
← STS-8
STS-41-B (10) →

STS-9 (also referred to Spacelab 1)[1] was the ninth NASA Space Shuttle mission 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.

STS-9 was also the last time the original STS numbering system was used until STS-26, which was designated in the aftermath of the 1986 Challenger disaster of STS-51-L. Under the new system, STS-9 would have been designated as STS-41-A. STS-9's originally planned successor, STS-10, was canceled due to payload issues; it was instead followed by STS-41-B. After this mission, Columbia was taken out of service for renovations and did not fly again until STS-61-C in early January 1986.

STS-9 sent the first non-U.S. citizen into space on the Shuttle, Ulf Merbold, becoming the first ESA and first West German citizen to go into space.[2]

  1. ^ "Fun facts about STS numbering". Archived May 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. NASA/KSC October 29, 2004. Retrieved July 20, 2013. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ "Ulf Merbold".