View source for Engineering:STS-9

{{Infobox spaceflight
| name               = STS-9
| names_list         = [[Astronomy:Space Transportation System|Space Transportation System]]-9<br/>[[Astronomy:Spacelab|Spacelab 1]]
| image              = STS-9 Spacelab 1.jpg
| image_caption      = View of ''Columbia''{{'}}s payload bay, showing [[Astronomy:Spacelab|Spacelab]].
| mission_type       = [[Physics:Micro-g environment|Microgravity research]]
| operator           = [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]
| mission_duration   = {{time interval|November 28, 1983, 11:00:00|December 8, 1983, 23:47:24|show=dhms|sep=,}}
| distance_travelled = {{cvt|6913504|km}}
| orbits_completed   = 167
| spacecraft         = {{OV|102}}
| launch_mass        = {{cvt|112918|kg}}
| landing_mass       = {{cvt|99800|kg}}
| payload_mass       = {{cvt|15068|kg}}
| launch_date        = {{Start date text|November 28, 1983, 16:00:00|timezone=yes}}{{nbsp}}[[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] (11:00{{nbsp}}am{{nbsp}}EST)
| launch_site        = Kennedy, [[Astronomy:Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A|LC-39A]]
| launch_contractor  = [[Company:Rockwell International|Rockwell International]]
| landing_date       = {{End date text|December 8, 1983, 23:47:24|timezone=yes}}{{nbsp}}UTC (3:47:24{{nbsp}}pm{{nbsp}}PST)
| landing_site       = [[Organization:Edwards Air Force Base|Edwards]], Runway{{nbsp}}17
| crew_size          = 6
| crew_members       = {{Unbulleted list|John Young|Brewster H. Shaw|Robert A. Parker|[[Biography:Owen Garriott|Owen Garriott]]|Byron K. Lichtenberg|Ulf Merbold}}
| orbit_reference    = [[Astronomy:Geocentric orbit|Geocentric orbit]]
| orbit_regime       = [[Astronomy:Low Earth orbit|Low Earth orbit]]
| orbit_periapsis    = {{cvt|240|km}}
| orbit_apoapsis     = {{cvt|253|km}}
| orbit_inclination  = 57.00°≠≈
| orbit_period       = 89.50 minutes
| apsis              = gee
| instruments        = 
| insignia           = Sts-9-patch.png
| insignia_caption   = STS-9 mission patch
| crew_photo         = Sts-9_crew.jpg
| crew_photo_caption = From left: [[Biography:Owen Garriott|Garriott]], Lichtenberg, Shaw, Young, Merbold and Parker
| programme          = [[Engineering:Space Shuttle program|Space Shuttle program]]
| previous_mission   = [[Engineering:STS-8|STS-8]]
| next_mission       = [[Engineering:STS-41-B|STS-41-B]] (10)
}}

'''STS-9''' (also referred to '''Spacelab 1''')<ref>[http://enterfiringroom.ksc.nasa.gov/funFactsSTSNumbers.htm "Fun facts about STS numbering"]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527232806/http://enterfiringroom.ksc.nasa.gov/funFactsSTSNumbers.htm|date=May 27, 2010}}. NASA/KSC October 29, 2004. Retrieved July 20, 2013. {{PD-notice}}</ref> was the ninth [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] [[Engineering:Space Shuttle|Space Shuttle]] mission and the sixth mission of the [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Columbia|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'']]. Launched on November 28, 1983, the ten-day mission carried the first [[Astronomy:Spacelab|Spacelab]] laboratory module into orbit.

STS-9 was also the last time the original STS numbering system was used until [[Engineering:STS-26|STS-26]], which was designated in the aftermath of the 1986 [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|''Challenger'' disaster]] of [[Engineering:STS-51-L|STS-51-L]]. Under the new system, STS-9 would have been designated as STS-41-A. STS-9's originally planned successor, [[Engineering:Canceled Space Shuttle missions|STS-10]], was canceled due to payload issues; it was instead followed by [[Engineering:STS-41-B|STS-41-B]]. After this mission, ''Columbia'' was taken out of service for renovations and did not fly again until [[Engineering:STS-61-C|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 [[Organization:European Space Agency|European Space Agency]] astronaut and first West German citizen to go into space.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Astronauts/Ulf_Merbold|title=Ulf Merbold |publisher=[[Organization:European Space Agency|European Space Agency]] |date=27 September 2004 |access-date=11 August 2025}}</ref>

== Crew ==
{{Spaceflight crew
| terminology = Astronaut

| position1   = Commander
| crew1_up    = {{Flagicon|USA}} John Young [[Image:Solid red.svg|8px|Member of Red Team]]
| flights1_up = Sixth and last

| position2   = Pilot
| crew2_up    = {{Flagicon|USA}} Brewster H. Shaw [[Image:Solid blue.svg|8px|Member of Blue Team]]
| flights2_up = First

| position3   = Mission Specialist 1
| crew3_up    = {{Flagicon|USA}} [[Biography:Owen Garriott|Owen Garriott]] [[Image:Solid blue.svg|8px|Member of Blue Team]]
| flights3_up = Second and last

| position4   = Mission Specialist 2<br>Flight Engineer
| crew4_up    = {{Flagicon|USA}} Robert A. Parker [[Image:Solid red.svg|8px|Member of Red Team]]
| flights4_up = First

| position5   = Payload Specialist 1
| crew5_up    = {{Flagicon|GER}} Ulf Merbold
| agency5_up  = [[Organization:European Space Agency|ESA]] [[Image:Solid red.svg|8px|Member of Red Team]]
| flights5_up = First

| position6   = Payload Specialist 2
| crew6_up    = {{Flagicon|USA}} Byron K. Lichtenberg [[Image:Solid blue.svg|8px|Member of Blue Team]]
| flights6_up = First
| notes       = [[Image:Solid blue.svg|8px|Member of Blue Team]] Member of Blue Team<br>[[Image:Solid red.svg|8px|Member of Red Team]] Member of Red Team
}}
{{Spaceflight crew
| terminology = Astronaut
| crew        = backup

| position1    = Payload Specialist 1
| crew1_up     = {{Flagicon|NLD}} Wubbo Ockels
| agency1_up   = [[Organization:European Space Agency|ESA]]

| position2    = Payload Specialist 2
| crew2_up     = {{Flagicon|USA}} Michael Lampton
}}

=== Support crew ===
* John E. Blaha (entry CAPCOM)
* [[Biography:Franklin Chang Díaz|Franklin R. Chang-Diaz]]
* Mary L. Cleave
* Anna L. Fisher
* William F. Fisher
* Guy S. Gardner (ascent CAPCOM)
* Charles Lewis ([[Organization:Marshall Space Flight Center|Marshall]] CAPCOM)
* William Bock ([[Organization:Marshall Space Flight Center|Marshall]] CAPCOM)
* Bryan D. O'Connor
* Wubbo Ockels

=== Crew seat assignments ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! Seat<ref>{{cite web|title=STS-9|url=http://spacefacts.de/mission/english/sts-9.htm|publisher=Spacefacts|access-date=February 26, 2014}}</ref>
! Launch
! Landing
|rowspan=8| 150px<br />Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck.<br />Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck.
|-
! 1
|colspan=2| Young
|-
! 2
|colspan=2| Shaw
|-
! 3
|colspan=2 style="background-color:lightgray"| ''Unused''
|-
! 4
|colspan=2| Parker
|-
! 5
|colspan=2| Garriott
|-
! 6
|colspan=2| Lichtenberg
|-
! 7
|colspan=2| Merbold
|}

== Mission background ==
STS-9's six-member crew, the largest of any human space mission at the time, included John W. Young, commander, on his second shuttle flight; Brewster H. Shaw, pilot; Owen K. Garriott and Robert A. Parker, both mission specialists; and Byron K. Lichtenberg and Ulf Merbold, payload specialists – the first two non-NASA [[Astronaut|astronaut]]s to fly on the Space Shuttle. Merbold, a citizen of West Germany, was the first foreign citizen to participate in a Space Shuttle flight. Lichtenberg was a researcher at the [[Organization:Massachusetts Institute of Technology|Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT). Prior to STS-9, the scientist-astronaut Garriott had spent 56 days in orbit in 1973 aboard [[Engineering:Skylab|Skylab]]. Commanding the mission was veteran astronaut John W. Young, making his sixth and final flight over an 18-year career that saw him fly twice each in [[Astronomy:Project Gemini|Project Gemini]], [[Engineering:Apollo (spacecraft)|Apollo]], and the Space Shuttle, which included two journeys to the [[Astronomy:Moon|Moon]] and making him the most experienced space traveler to date. Young, who also commanded ''Columbia'' on its maiden voyage [[Engineering:STS-1|STS-1]], was the first person to fly the same space vehicle into orbit more than once. STS-9 marked the only time that two pre-Shuttle era astronaut veterans (Garriott and Young) would fly on the same Space Shuttle mission. STS-9 was also the first Space Shuttle mission to have more than one veteran astronaut.

The mission was devoted entirely to [[Astronomy:Spacelab|Spacelab]] 1, a joint NASA/[[Organization:European Space Agency|European Space Agency]] (ESA) program designed to demonstrate the ability to conduct advanced scientific research in space. Both the mission specialists and payload specialists worked in the Spacelab module and coordinated their efforts with scientists at the [[Organization:Marshall Space Flight Center|Marshall Space Flight Center]] (MSFC) Payload Operations Control Center (POCC), which was then located at the [[Organization:Johnson Space Center|Johnson Space Center]] (JSC) in Texas. Funding for Spacelab 1 was provided by the ESA.

== Shuttle processing ==
After ''Columbia's'' return from [[Engineering:STS-5|STS-5]] in November 1982, it received several modifications and changes in preparation for STS-9. Most of these changes were intended to support the Spacelab module and crew, such as the addition of a tunnel connecting the Spacelab to the orbiter's airlock, and additional provisions for the mission's six crew members, such as a galley and sleeping bunks. ''Columbia'' also received the more powerful [[Engineering:RS-25|Space Shuttle Main Engine]]s introduced with ''[[Engineering:Space Shuttle Challenger|Challenger]]'', which were rated for 104% maximum thrust; its original main engines were later refurbished for use with ''[[Engineering:Space Shuttle Atlantis|Atlantis]]'', which was still under construction at the time. Also added to the shuttle were higher capacity fuel cells and a [[Astronomy:Ku band|Ku-band]] antenna for use with the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS).<ref name="presskit">{{cite web|title=STS-9 Press Kit|url=https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sts-009-press-kit.pdf|publisher=NASA|access-date=April 26, 2013|date=November 1983}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

The mission's original launch date of October 29, 1983, was scrubbed due to concerns with the exhaust nozzle on the right [[Engineering:Solid rocket booster|solid rocket booster]] (SRB). For the first time in the history of the shuttle program, the shuttle stack was rolled back to the [[Astronomy:Vehicle Assembly Building|Vehicle Assembly Building]] (VAB), where it was destacked and the orbiter returned to the [[Organization:Orbiter Processing Facility|Orbiter Processing Facility]] (OPF), while the suspect booster underwent repairs. The shuttle was restacked and returned to the launch pad on November 8, 1983.<ref name="presskit"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=Richard|title=The voyages of Columbia: the first true spaceship |year=1984|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-05924-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/voyagesofcolumbi00lewi/page/204 204]|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/voyagesofcolumbi00lewi/page/204}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Shuttle Rollbacks|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news/rollbacks.html|publisher=NASA|access-date=April 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324161815/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news/rollbacks.html|archive-date=March 24, 2023|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

== Launch attempts ==
{{LaunchAttempt
| date1           = October 29, 1983, 12:00:00 p.m.
| result1         = Scrubbed
| reason1         = Technical
| decision_date1  = October 19, 1983
| decision_clock1 = −43:00:00
| weathergo1      = 
| notes1          = SRB nozzle issues. Launch and decision point times are approximate, dates are accurate.
| date2           = November 28, 1983, 11:00:00 a.m.
| result2         = Success
}}

== Mission insignia ==
The mission's main payload, Spacelab 1, is depicted in the payload bay of the ''Columbia''. The nine stars and the path of the orbiter indicate the flight's numerical designation, STS-9.

== Mission summary ==
[[File:Sts-9lift.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left|STS-9 launches from Kennedy Space Center, on November 28, 1983.]]

STS-9 launched successfully from Kennedy Space Center at 11:00:00 a.m. EST on November 28, 1983. The shuttle's crew was divided into two teams, each working 12-hour shifts for the duration of the mission. Young, Parker and Merbold formed the Red Team, while Shaw, Garriott and Lichtenberg made up the Blue Team. Usually, Young and Shaw were assigned to the flight deck, while the mission and payload specialists worked inside the Spacelab.

Over the course of the mission, 72 scientific experiments were carried out, spanning the fields of atmospheric and [[Physics:Plasma physics|plasma physics]], [[Astronomy:Astronomy|astronomy]], [[Physics:Solar physics|solar physics]], material sciences, [[Engineering:Technology|technology]], [[Astronomy:Astrobiology|astrobiology]] and [[Earth:Earth observation|Earth observation]]s. The Spacelab effort went so well that the mission was extended an additional day to 10 days, making it the longest-duration shuttle flight at that time. In addition, Garriott made the first ham radio transmissions by an amateur radio operator in space during the flight. This led to many further space flights incorporating amateur radio as an educational and back-up communications tool.

The Spacelab 1 mission was highly successful, proving the feasibility of the concept of carrying out complex experiments in space using non-NASA persons trained as payload specialists in collaboration with a POCC. Moreover, the [[Engineering:TDRS-1|TDRS-1]] satellite, now fully operational, was able to relay significant amounts of data through its ground terminal to the POCC.

During orbiter orientation, four hours before re-entry, one of the [[Fly-by-wire|flight control]] computers crashed when the Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters were fired. A few minutes later, a second crashed in a similar fashion, but was successfully rebooted. Young delayed the landing, letting the orbiter drift. He later testified: "Had we then activated the Backup Flight Software, loss of vehicle and crew would have resulted". Post-flight analysis revealed the GPCs ''(General Purpose Computers)''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spaceshuttleguide.com/system/data_processing_system.htm|title=Space Shuttle DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM Manual; Interior of the Flight Deck of the Space Shuttles}}</ref> failed when the RCS thruster motion knocked a piece of [[Chemistry:Solder|solder]] loose and shorted out the CPU board. A GPC running BFS may or may not have the same soldering defect as the rest of the GPCs. Switching the vehicle to the BFS from normal flight control can happen relatively instantaneously, and that particular GPC running the BFS could also be affected by the same failure due to the soldering defect. If such a failure occurred, switching the vehicle back to normal flight control software on multiple GPCs from a single GPC running BFS takes a lot longer, in essence leaving the vehicle without any control at all during the change.

''Columbia'' landed on Runway 17 at [[Organization:Edwards Air Force Base|Edwards Air Force Base]] on December 8, 1983, at 03:47:24 p.m. [[Pacific Time Zone|PST]], having completed 167 orbits and travelled {{convert|6.9|e6km|e6mi|order=flip|abbr=off}} over the course of its mission. Right before landing, two of the orbiter's three [[Engineering:Auxiliary power unit|auxiliary power unit]]s (APUs) caught fire due to a [[Chemistry:Hydrazine|hydrazine]] leak, but the orbiter nonetheless landed successfully. ''Columbia'' was ferried back to KSC on December 15, 1983. The leak was later discovered after it had burned itself out and caused major damage to the compartment. By this time, ''Discovery'' had been delivered just three weeks before the launch of STS-9. This allowed NASA to take ''Columbia'' out of service for an extensive renovation and upgrade program to bring it up to date with ''Challenger'' as well as ''Discovery'' and later on ''Atlantis'', which would be delivered in 1985. As a result, ''Columbia'' would not fly at all during 1984–1985.

== See also ==
* [[Astronomy:List of human spaceflights|List of human spaceflights]]
* [[Engineering:List of Space Shuttle missions|List of Space Shuttle missions]]
* [[Astronomy:List of spaceflight-related accidents and incidents#Non-fatal incidents during spaceflight|List of spaceflight-related accidents and incidents]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite magazine|title=Spacelab 1|magazine=National Geographic (magazine)|first=Michael E.|last=Long|pages=301–307|volume=164|issue=3|date=September 1983|issn=0027-9358|oclc=643483454}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-9.html STS-9 mission summary] NASA
* [http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle09.htm STS-9 video highlights] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717201813/http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle09.htm |date=July 17, 2012 }} NSS
* {{cite journal|url=http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/8.13.html#subj3|title=Space shuttle computer problems, 1981–1985|journal=The Risks Digest|date=January 20, 1989|volume=8|issue=13|access-date=July 20, 2013|last1=Neumann|first1=Peter G.}}

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{{Sourceattribution|STS-9}}