STS-9

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = STS-9
insignia = Sts9_flight_insignia.png shuttle = Columbia
launch_pad = 39A
launch = November 28, 1983, 16:00:00 UTC
landing = December 8, 1983, 23:47:24 UTC
Edwards AFB, Runway 17
duration = 10d/07:47:24
altitude = 287 km
inclination = 57.0°
orbits = 167
distance = 6,913,505 km
crew_photo = Sts-9_crew.jpg
crew_caption = L-R: Garriott, Lichtenberg, Shaw, Young, Merbold, Parker
previous = STS-8
next = STS-41-B

STS-9 (also known as STS-41A) (Spacelab 1) was the 6th mission of the Space Shuttle "Columbia" It was "Columbia's" last flight until early January of 1986, STS-61C. It was also the last time the old Space Transportation System numbering was used until STS-26 (after STS-51-L, the mission in which the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster happened).

Crew

Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.

*John W. Young (6) - Commander
*Brewster H. Shaw (1) - Pilot
*Owen K. Garriott (2) - Mission Specialist
*Robert A. Parker (1) - Mission Specialist
*Ulf Merbold (1) - Payload Specialist - flag|West Germany ESA
*Byron K. Lichtenberg (1) - Payload Specialist

Backup crew

*Wubbo Ockels - Payload Specialist - flag|Netherlands ESA
*Michael Lampton - Payload Specialist

Mission parameters

*Mass:
**"Orbiter liftoff:" 112,318 kg
**"Orbiter landing:" 99,800 kg
**"Payload:" 15,088 kg
*Perigee: 241 km
*Apogee: 254 km
*Inclination: 57°
*Period: 89.5 min

Mission objective

For the STS-9 mission "Columbia" was once again back in orbit. The launch occurred at 11 a.m. EST, Nov. 28, 1983, after a 1-month delay because of a nozzle problem with one of the SRBs. This necessitated moving the vehicle back to the Vehicle Assembly Building where the nozzle was replaced.

The 6-member crew—a manned space flight record at the time—included John W. Young, commander, on his second Shuttle flight; Brewster H. Shaw, pilot; Owen Garriott and Robert A. Parker, both mission specialists; and Byron K. Lichtenberg and Ulf Merbold payload specialists— the first two non-astronauts to fly on the Shuttle. Merbold, a citizen of West Germany, also was the first foreign citizen to participate in a Shuttle flight. Lichtenberg was a researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Scientist-astronaut Garriot had spent 56 days in orbit in 1973 aboard Skylab.

The mission was devoted entirely to Spacelab l, a joint NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) program designed to demonstrate the ability to conduct advanced scientific research in space, with astronauts and payload specialists working in the Spacelab module and coordinating their efforts with scientists at the Marshall Payload Operations Control Center (POCC) then located at the Johnson Space Center. Funding for Spacelab l was provided by ESA.

The 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, the commander and the pilot team members were assigned to the flight deck, while the mission and payload specialists worked inside the Spacelab.

Seventy-two scientific experiments were carried out in the fields of atmospheric and plasma physics, astronomy, solar physics, material sciences, technology, life sciences and Earth observations. The effort went so well that the mission was extended an additional dayto 10 days, making it the longest duration Shuttle flight to that date.

In addition, Owen Garriot 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 l mission was highly successful, having proved 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 Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, now fully operational, was able to relay vasts amounts of data through its ground terminal to the POCC.

Computer and APU problems

During orbiter orientation, four hours before re-entry, one of the guidance computers crashed when the 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 failed when the RCS thruster motion knocked a piece of solder loose and shorted out the CPU board.

"Columbia" landed on Runway 17 at Edwards AFB, on Dec. 8, 1983, at 3:47 p.m. PST, completing 166 orbits and traveling 4.3 million miles. Right before landing, two of the orbiter's three auxiliary power units caught fire due to a hydrazine leak, but the orbiter still landed successfully. "Columbia" was ferried back to KSC on Dec. 15. The leak was later discovered after it burned itself out and caused major damage to the compartment.

Mission insignia

The major payload of the flight, Spacelab 1, is depicted in the cargo bay of the
"Columbia". The nine stars and the path of the orbiter tell the flight's numerical designation in the Space Transportation System's mission sequence.

ee also

* Space science
* Space shuttle
* List of space shuttle missions
* List of human spaceflights chronologically

External links

* [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-9.html NASA STS-9 Mission Summary]
* [http://members.aol.com/WSNTWOYOU/STS9MR.HTM STS-9 Mission Report]
* [http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle09.htm STS-9 Video Highlights]
* [http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/8.13.html#subj3 Risks Digest 8.13 on computer problems on early Shuttle flights]