This week in 1983, space shuttle Columbia, mission STS-9, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center carrying Spacelab-1. Here, the Spacelab-1 module and access tunnel are being installed in the cargo bay of Columbia. The orbiting laboratory, built by the European Space Agency, was capable of supporting many types of scientific research best performed in space. The overall goal of the mission was to verify Spacelab performance through scientific experiments focused on astronomy and solar physics, Earth observations, space plasma physics, materials sciences, atmospheric physics and life sciences. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for managing the Spacelab missions. 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. (NASA)