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Spacelab-1 Mission (STS-9) O
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| Name of Image |
Spacelab-1 Mission (STS-9) Onboard Photograph |
| Date of Image |
1983-11-01 |
| Full Description |
In this photograph, astronauts Owen Garriott on the body restriant system and Byron Lichtenberg prepare for a Vestibular Experiment during the Spacelab-1 mission. The Vestibular Experiments in Space were the study of the interaction among the otoliths, semicircular canals, vision, and spinal reflexes in humans. The main objective was to determine how the body, which receives redundant information for several sensory sources, interprets this information in microgravity. Another objective was to record and characterize the symptoms of space sickness experienced by crewmembers. The body restraint system was a rotating chair with a harness to hold the test subject in place. The crewmember wore an accelerometer and electrodes to record head motion and horizontal and vertical eye movement as the body rotated. The first Spacelab mission, Spacelab-1, sponsored jointly and shared equally by NASA and the European Space Agency, was a multidisciplinary mission, that is, investigations were performed in several different fields of scientific research. The overall goal of the mission was to verify Spacelab performance through a variety of scientific experiments. The Spacelab-1 was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia for the STS-9 mission on November 28, 1983. The Marshall Space Flight Center had management responsibilities for the mission. |
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Spacelab-1 Mission Onboard P
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| Name of Image |
Spacelab-1 Mission Onboard Photograph-Vestibular Experiment in Space |
| Date of Image |
1983-11-01 |
| Full Description |
In this Spacelab-1 mission onboard photograph, astronaut Byron Lichtenberg performs a drop experiment, one of the Vestibular Experiments in Space investigations. The experiment examined spinal reflexes to determine whether they changed in microgravity. In Earth's environment, the otoliths signal the muscles to prepare for jolts associated with falling. During the flight, the normal reflex between the otoliths and the muscles was partially inhibited early in flight, declined further as the flight progressed, and returned to normal immediately after landing, suggesting that the brain ignored or reinterpreted otolith signals during space flight. Crewmembers reported a lack of awareness of position and location of feet, difficulty in maintaining balance, and a perception that falls were more sudden, faster, and harder than similar drops experienced in preflight. Crewmembers experienced illusions as they performed prescribed movement tests. When crew members viewed various targets and then pointed at them while blindfolded, their perception of target location and position of their own limbs was inaccurate in flight compared with similar tests on the ground. The Spacelab-1 was a multidisciplinary mission, that is, investigations were performed in several different fields of scientific research. The overall goal of the mission was to verify Spacelab performance through a variety of scientific experiments. The Spacelab-1 was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia for the STS-9 mission on November 28, 1983. The Marshall Space Flight Center had management responsibilities for the mission. |
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Activities Inside Spacelab-1
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| Name of Image |
Activities Inside Spacelab-1 Module |
| Date of Image |
1983-11-01 |
| Full Description |
This photograph shows activities inside the science module during the Spacelab-1 (STS-9) mission. Left to right are Mission Specialist Robert Parker, Payload Specialist Byron Lichtenberg, Mission Specialist Owen Garriott, and Payload Specialist Ulf Merbold. The overall goal of the Spacelab-1 mission, the first mission of the Spacelab facility, were: (1) To verify the Spacelab system capability, (2) to obtain valuable scientific, applications, and technology data from a U.S./European multidisciplinary payload, and (3) to demonstrate the broad capability of Spacelab for scientific research. More than 70 experiments in 5 disciplines from 14 nations were conducted during the mission. The mission marked the the entry of non-astronaut persornel, called Payload Specialists, into space as working members of the crew. They are fellow scientists representing the international group of investigators using the mission. Mission Specialists are NASA astronauts who have broad scientific training. They operate various Orbiter-Spacelab systems, perform any required activity outside the spacecraft, and support investigations as needed. The Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia that carried Spacelab-1 was operated by two other NASA astronauts serving as commander and pilot. The STS-9 mission, managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, was launched on November 28, 1983. |
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Activities During Spacelab-1
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| Name of Image |
Activities During Spacelab-1 Mission |
| Date of Image |
1983-11-01 |
| Full Description |
This STS-9 mission (Spacelab-1) onboard photograph shows astronaut Owen Garriott drawing a blood sample from astronaut Byron Lichtenberg inside Spacelab-1 science module for one of the life sciences experiments, called "Effects of Prolonged Weightlessness on the Humoral Immune Response of Humans." The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of weightlessness on the body's immune response or ability to resist disease. Blood samples were obtained from crewmembers at designated times before, during, and after flight. These specimens were analyzed for changes in antibody levels. More than 70 experiments in 5 disciplines from 14 nations were conducted during the mission. The five disciplines included Astronomy and Solar Physics, Space Plasma Physics, Atmospheric Physics and Earth Observations, Life Sciences, and Materials Science. The Spacelab mission (STS-9), managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, was launched on November 28, 1983. |
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -
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| Description |
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Noted physicist Stephen Hawking (center) enjoys zero gravity during a flight aboard a modified Boeing 727 aircraft owned by Zero Gravity Corp. (Zero G). Hawking, who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) is being rotated in air by (right) Peter Diamandis, founder of the Zero G Corp., and (left) Byron Lichtenberg, former shuttle payload specialist and now president of Zero G. Kneeling below Hawking is Nicola O'Brien, a nurse practitioner who is Hawking's aide. At the celebration of his 65th birthday on January 8 this year, Hawking announced his plans for a zero-gravity flight to prepare for a sub-orbital space flight in 2009 on Virgin Galactic's space service. Photo credit: Jim Campbell, Aero-News Network |
| Release Date |
04/26/2007 |
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STS-9 payload specialist Byr
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| Title |
STS-9 payload specialist Byron Lichtenberg attached to portable oscillioscope |
| Description |
STS-9 payload specialist Byron Lichtenberg is attached to a portable oscillioscope during experiments in the Spacelab module. The band around the payload specialist's head and the connected recording device were worn during his waking hours throughout the mission as part of an effort to learn more about space adaptation. |
| Date Taken |
1983-11-23 |
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Official Portrait of the STS
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| Title |
Official Portrait of the STS-9 crew |
| Description |
Official Portrait of the STS-9 crew. Seated from left to right are Owen Garriott, mission specialist, Brewster Shaw, pilot, John Young, commander, and Robert Parker, mission Specialist. Standing from left to right are the payload specialists, Byron Lichtenberg and Ulf Merbold. |
| Date Taken |
1983-06-29 |
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Byron Lichtenberg with model
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| Title |
Byron Lichtenberg with models of A-10 aircraft and shuttle with payload |
| Description |
Official photo of Byron Lichtenberg at Barnes Airport, Westfield, Mass., with models of A-10 aircraft and Shuttle with Spacelab payload for STS-9 mission support. |
| Date Taken |
1983-08-05 |
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