ESA–NASA Spacelab 1 – STS‑9 Embroidered Patch

A bold tribute to the first Spacelab mission and Europe’s historic debut in human spaceflight.

STS‑9 / Spacelab 1, launched aboard Space Shuttle Columbia on 28 November 1983, marked a major milestone: the first Spacelab module in orbit and the first ESA astronaut in space, Germany’s Ulf Merbold. For ten days, Columbia became a fully operational orbital laboratory, hosting dozens of scientific experiments across multiple disciplines.

This mission was packed with firsts:
•     First Spacelab flight
•     First six‑person Shuttle crew
•     First rollback of a Shuttle stack
•     Last use of the original STS numbering system

Spacelab 1 showcased Europe’s purpose‑built laboratory riding in Columbia’s cargo bay, setting the stage for decades of international cooperation in space science.

Mission Highlights
•     Shuttle: Columbia
•     Launch: 28 Nov 1983, Pad 39A
•     Landing: 8 Dec 1983, Edwards AFB
•     Duration: 10 days, 7 hours, 47 minutes
•     Orbits: 167
•     Altitude: 155 nm
•     Inclination: 57°
•     Distance Traveled: 4.3 million miles

This embroidered patch celebrates a landmark moment when NASA and ESA joined forces to turn the Shuttle into a world‑class research platform.

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