This week in 1983, STS-9 launched aboard the space shuttle Columbia from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center carrying the first Spacelab mission. On board the shuttle were STS-9 Commander John W. Young, Pilot Brewster H. Shaw Jr., Mission Specialists Owen K. Garriott, Robert A. R. Parker and Payload Specialists Byron K. Lichtenberg and Ulf Merbold of the European Space Agency.
Spacelab-1 was a cooperative venture between NASA and the European Space Agency. Scientists from Canada, Japan, the United States and 11 different European countries provided instruments and experimental procedures for more than 70 different investigations in five research disciplines: astronomy and solar physics, space plasma physics, atmospheric physics and Earth observations, life sciences and materials science. Here, the Spacelab-1 module is visible in the orbiter’s cargo bay. Today, the Payload Operations Integration Center at Marshall serves as “science central” for the space station, working 24/7, 365 days a year in support of the orbiting laboratory’s scientific experiments.
The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.
Image Credit: (NASA)