Editing Ulf Merbold (section)

== STS-9 Space Shuttle mission ==
[[File:Sts-9 crew.jpg|thumb|right|Crew of STS-9, from left to right: [[Owen Garriott]], [[Byron K. Lichtenberg]], [[Brewster H. Shaw]], [[John Young (astronaut)|John Young]], Ulf Merbold, [[Robert A. Parker]]|alt=Refer to caption]]
{{main|STS-9}}

Merbold first flew to space on the [[STS-9]] mission, which was also called Spacelab-1, aboard [[Space Shuttle Columbia|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'']].{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=71}} The mission's launch was planned for 30 September 1983, but this was postponed because of issues with a communications satellite. A second launch date was set for 29 October 1983, but was again postponed after problems with the exhaust nozzle on the right [[solid rocket booster]].{{sfn|Evans|2005|pp=72–73}} After repairs, the shuttle returned to the launch pad on 8 November 1983, and was launched from [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A]] at 11:00{{nbsp}}a.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]] on 28 November 1983.{{sfn|Lord|1987|p=345}}{{Sfn|Shapland|Rycroft|1984|pp=116–117}} Merbold became the first non-US citizen to fly on a NASA space mission and also the first West German citizen in space.{{sfn|NASA|1983|p=2}}<ref name="FR">{{Cite news |date=26 November 2008 |title=Ulf Merbold war der erste BRD-Astronaut |language=de |url=https://www.fr.de/wissen/merbold-erste-brd-astronaut-11609500.html |access-date=18 March 2022 |work=[[Frankfurter Rundschau]]|issn=0940-6980 |archive-date=15 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415120334/https://www.fr.de/wissen/merbold-erste-brd-astronaut-11609500.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The mission was the first six-person spaceflight.{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=71}}{{Sfn|Shayler|Burgess|2006|p=377}}

[[File:STS-9 Spacelab 1.jpg|thumb|right|Spacelab in ''[[Space Shuttle Columbia|Columbia]]''{{'}}s payload bay|alt=Columbia's open payload bay is visible above Earth. In the payload bay, a small white tunnel runs to a circular module.]]
During the mission, the shuttle crew worked in groups of three in 12-hour shifts, with a "red team" consisting of Young, Parker and Merbold, and a "blue team" with the other three astronauts.{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=71}} The "red team" worked from 9:00{{nbsp}}p.m. to 9:00{{nbsp}}a.m. EST.{{Sfn|Shayler|Burgess|2006|p=378}} Young usually worked on the flight deck, and Merbold and Parker in the Spacelab.{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=71}} Merbold and Young became good friends.{{sfn|Hitt|Smith|2014|p=199}} On the mission's first day, approximately three hours after takeoff and after the [[Space Shuttle orbiter|orbiter]]'s payload bay doors had been opened, the crew attempted to open the hatch leading to Spacelab.{{sfn|Lord|1987|p=353}}{{Sfn|Shayler|Burgess|2006|p=380}} At first, Garriott and Merbold could not open the jammed hatch; the entire crew took turns trying to open it without applying significant force, which might damage the door. They opened the hatch after 15 minutes.{{Sfn|Shayler|Burgess|2006|p=380}}

The Spacelab mission included about 70 experiments,{{sfn|Croft|Youskauskas|2019|p=68}} many of which involved fluids and materials in a [[Micro-g environment|microgravity environment]].{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=78}} The astronauts were subjects of a study on the effects of the environment in orbit on humans;{{sfn|Evans|2005|pp=79–80}} these included experiments aiming to understand [[space adaptation syndrome]], of which three of the four scientific crew members displayed some symptoms.{{Sfn|Shayler|Burgess|2006|p=384}}{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=80}} Following NASA policy, it was not made public which astronaut had developed space sickness.{{sfn|Croft|Youskauskas|2019|p=70}} Merbold later commented he had vomited twice but felt much better afterwards.{{sfn|Croft|Youskauskas|2019|p=72}} Merbold repaired a faulty mirror heating facility, allowing some materials science experiments to continue.{{sfn|Croft|Youskauskas|2019|p=75}} The mission's success in gathering results, and the crew's low consumption of energy and cryogenic fuel, led to a one-day mission extension from nine days to ten.{{sfn|Shayler|Burgess|2006|p=390}}

[[File:S09-10-613 - STS-009 - Ulf Merbold on flight deck - DPLA - d53b7f2b160c6ecd73ff8d18ba5c831e.jpg|thumb|right|Merbold on the flight deck|alt=Refer to caption]]
On one of the last days in orbit, Young, Lichtenberg and Merbold took part in an international, televised press conference that included US president [[Ronald Reagan]] in Washington, DC, and the Chancellor of Germany [[Helmut Kohl]], who was at a European economic summit meeting in [[Athens, Greece]].{{sfn|Shayler|Burgess|2006|p=391}}{{sfn|Lord|1987|p=358}}{{sfn|Hitt|Smith|2014|p=204}} During the telecast, which Reagan described as "one heck of a conference call", Merbold gave a tour of Spacelab and showed Europe from space while mentioning {{lang|de|die Schönheit der Erde}} (the beauty of the Earth).{{sfn|Lord|1987|p=358}}<ref name="wapo">{{Cite news |last1=O'Toole |first1=Thomas |last2=Hilts |first2=Philip J. |date=6 December 1983 |title=Spacemen Talk to Leaders and Home Folks, on Two Continents |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/12/06/spacemen-talk-to-leaders-and-home-folks-on-two-continents/eb1e51c9-7d71-4d26-8862-9ce655e57ca6/ |access-date=29 March 2022 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=28 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828115355/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/12/06/spacemen-talk-to-leaders-and-home-folks-on-two-continents/eb1e51c9-7d71-4d26-8862-9ce655e57ca6/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Merbold spoke to Kohl in German, and showed the shuttle's experiments to Kohl and Reagan, pointing out the possible importance of the materials-science experiments from Germany.<ref name="wapo" />

When the crew prepared for the return to Earth, around five hours before the planned landing, two of the five onboard computers and one of three inertial measurement units malfunctioned, and the return was delayed by several orbits.{{sfn|Shayler|Burgess|2006|pp=393–394}} ''Columbia'' landed at [[Edwards Air Force Base]] (AFB) at 6:47{{nbsp}}p.m. EST on 8 December 1983.{{sfn|Lord|1987|p=360}} Just before the landing, a leak of [[hydrazine]] fuel caused a fire in the aft section.{{sfn|Shayler|Burgess|2006|p=394}} After the return to Earth, Merbold compared the experience of standing up and walking again to walking on a ship rolling in a storm.{{sfn|Croft|Youskauskas|2019|p=78}} The four scientific crew members spent the week after landing doing extensive physiological experiments, many of them comparing their post-flight responses to those in microgravity.{{sfn|Shayler|Burgess|2006|pp=394–395}} After landing, Merbold was enthusiastic about the mission and the post-flight experiments.{{sfn|Croft|Youskauskas|2019|p=73}}