Spacelab and 30 years of ESA astronauts

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Spacelab and 30 years of ESA astronauts

28 November 2013 Thirty years ago this week the first European-built Spacelab was launched on the Space Shuttle. ESA’s first astronaut, Ulf Merbold, flew on the mission, marking ESA’s entry into human spaceflight.

On 28 November 1983 at 11:00 local time, the ninth Space Shuttle mission was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA.

The six astronauts on Spacelab-1 worked in two teams on 12-hour shifts, allowing for continuous operations. They performed over 70 experiments in solar physics, space plasma physics, astronomy, Earth observation, material science, technology and life sciences.

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Science on the Shuttle's Spacelab

NASA Public Affairs Officer Lori Meggs talks about the 30th anniversary of the Spacelab Program with Marshall Space Flight Center Deputy Director Teresa Vanhooser.

Spacelab was a module inside the shuttle's payload bay where numerous science experiments were conducted. Vanhooser discusses how the missions were managed from Marshall and how it has paved the way for science on station today.

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia