STS-9 Mission Patch

STS-9 Mission Patch

This mission patch was designed for the Space Shuttle mission STS-9 by the crew of John Young, Brewster Shaw, Robert Parker, Owen Garriott, Byron Lichtenberg, and Ulf Merbold. This Shuttle mission carried the first Spacelab laboratory - which can be seen in the Shuttle's cargo bay.

The patch design features nine stars and the Shuttle itself is leaving a trail that sketches out that number, both of which refer to the fact that this was the ninth Space Shuttle mission. The European reusable laboratory - Spacelab - was flown for the first time on this mission, and can be seen on this patch. German astronaut Ulf Merbold was the first Non-American to fly on the Space Shuttle, as part of a collaboration between the European Space Agency and NASA.

This particular patch was part of a collection of patches acquired by British-born professor of endocrine and metabolic surgery Anthony Goode, during his years working with NASA’s Life Sciences Division.