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Bolden, Administrator Blog Speeches & Testimony Lori B. Garver, Deputy Administrator Facebook | Twitter Speeches & Testimony NASA Org Structure | Leadership GalleryNASA LOCATIONS Find a Center or Facility Visiting NASA NASA Home > Missions > Space Shuttle > Shuttle Missions > Archives SendPrintFollow this link to Share This PageShare MissionsMissions HighlightsCurrent MissionsCurrent Missions Space Shuttle Shuttle Missions Archives Behind the Scenes Launch & Landing Multimedia News & Media Resources Vehicle Structure Past MissionsFuture MissionsLaunch ScheduleMission Calendar People Who Read This Also Read...People Who Read This Also Read... STS-51L mission summary, mission, summary, challenger, › full details 1979 people looked at this STS-1 mission summary, mission, summary, › full details, sts1 524 people looked at this STS-107 mission summary, mission, › full details, summary, sts107 703 people looked at this STS-135: The Final Voyage › mission summary, sts135 the final voyage, mission, summary, atlantis floats over the bahamas 703 people looked at this Missions mission, missions highlights, new, current missions, multimedia 23429 people looked at thisSpace Shuttle Mission ArchivesText SizeGrow Text SizeShrink Text SizeAverage Rating: 4.3 / 5 (29 ratings)HELPHELPHELPHELPHELPHELP STS-9 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 Traveled: 4.3 million Crew Members Image above: STS-9 Crew photo with 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. Image Credit: NASA Launch/Landing Highlights The launch set for Sept. 30 was delayed 28 days due to a suspect exhaust nozzle on the right solid rocket booster. The problem was discovered while the shuttle was on the launch pad. The shuttle returned to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and was demated. The suspect nozzle was replaced and the vehicle restacked. The countdown on Nov. 28 proceeded as scheduled. The landing was delayed approximately eight hours to analyze problems when general purpose computers one and two failed and inertial measurement unit one failed. During landing, two of three auxiliary power units caught fire. Mission Highlights This flight carried first Spacelab mission and first astronaut to represent the European Space Agency (ESA), Ulf Merbold of Germany. ESA and NASA jointly sponsored the Spacelab-1 and conducted investigations which demonstrated the capability for advanced research in space. Spacelab is an orbital laboratory and contains an observations platform composed of cylindrical pressurized modules and U-shaped unpressurized pallets which remain in the orbiter's cargo bay during flight. Altogether 73 separate investigations were carried out in astronomy and physics, atmospheric physics, Earth observations, life sciences, materials sciences, space plasma physics and technology. This was the first time six persons were carried into space on a single vehicle. NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center Related Sites > NASA's Orbiter Fleet > NASA's Launch Schedule > Shuttle Reference Manual > Shuttle Archives › Back To Top NASA HomePage Last Updated: February 18, 2010 Page Editor: Jeanne Ryba NASA Official: Brian DunbarNASA Information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Budgets, Strategic Plans and Accountability Reports Equal Employment Opportunity Data Posted Pursuant to the No Fear Act Information-Dissemination Policies and Inventories Freedom of Information Act Privacy Policy & Important Notices NASA Advisory Council Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Inspector General Hotline Office of the Inspector General NASA Communications Policy Contact NASA Site Map USA.gov ExpectMore.gov Open Government at NASA Help and Preferences