The crew assigned to the STS-61A mission included (front row left to right) Reinhard Furrer, German payload specialist; Bonnie J. Dunbar, mission specialist; and Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr. commander. On the back row, left to right, are Steven R. Nagel, pilot; Guion S. Bluford, mission specialist; Ernst Messerscmid, German payload specialist; and Wubbo J. Ockels, Dutch payload specialist. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on October 30, 1985 at 12:00:00 noon (EST), the STS-61A mission’s primary payload was the Spacelab D-1 (German Spacelab mission).

S84-47033 (nov 1984) --- Astronaut Reinhard Furrer, payload specialist D-1 German Spacelab mission.

S84-47032 (13 Dec 1984) --- Candid view of part of the STS 61-A crew. From left to right are Reinhard Furrer, Wubbo Ockels, Guion S. Bluford, Bonnie J. Dunbar and Ernst Messerschmid.

S88-37966 (2 Oct 1988) --- European Space Agency payload specialists Ulf Merbold (STS-42, right) and Reinhold Furrer (STS 61-A) get the "feel" of zero-gravity aboard NASA's KC-135 aircraft over the Gulf of Mexico.

S85-43139 (20 Sept 1985) --- Four members of the STS 61-A/Spacelab D-1 crew and two technicians are shown with a vestibular sled experiment for they will use for extensive research and testing late October and early November are (background, left to right), Astronaut Bonnie J. Dunbar, Reinhard Furrer, Ernst Messerschmid and Guion S. Bluford Jr. The seat shown can be moved back and forth with precisley adjusted accelerations along the fixed rails on the floor of the Spacelab aisle.

61A-S-016 (30 Oct 1985) --- Standing near their pre-flight breakfast table are the eight crewmembers for the STS 61-A/Spacelab D1 mission. L.-R., Guion S. Bluford, Wubbo J. Ockels, Steven R. Nagel, Henry W. Hartsfield, Bonnie J. Dunbar, Ernst Messerschmid, Reinhard Furrer and James F. Buchli, discuss their upcoming week in space.

61A-01-030 (30 Oct.-6 Nov. 1985) --- Mission specialist Guion S. Bluford prepares to perform a physics experiment onboard the D-1 science module in the cargo bay of the earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Challenger. In the backgroud, three European payload specialists busy themselves with experiment chores: (L-R) Wubbo J. Ockels (partially obscured), Reinhard Furrer and Ernst Messerschmid.

61A-S-015 (30 Oct 1985) --- A record number of crewmembers to serve on a Shuttle mission walks from the operations and checkout facility to a crew transfer van en route to Launch Pad 39A where the Challenger awaits the 61-A/Spacelab D-1launch. Leading the way is Henry W. Hartsfield Jr., mission commander, as Steven R. Nagel, pilot, trails the blue-suited team members. At center are James F. Buchli, Bonnie J. Dunbar and Guion S. Bluford Jr.--all mission specialists. They are flanked by Wubbo J. Ockels and Ernst Messerschmid on the left and Reinhard Furrer on the right. John W. Young, chief of the astronaut office at JSC and George W.S. Abbey, director of flight crew operations at JSC, follow the crew. Richard W. Nygren, assistant to the director, is in background. Messerschmid and Furrer are German scientists and Ockels is a Dutch scientist; and the three will be working with NASA's three mission specialists in the D-1 science module during the week-long flight.

61A-117-019 (30 Oct.-6 Nov. 1985) --- Traditional in-flight portrait of all eight STS-61A crew members was made with an automatic exposure of a 35mm camera. Left to right, back row, Henry W. Hartsfield Jr., commander; Bonnie J. Dunbar, mission specialist; James F. Buchli, mission specialist; and Reinhard Furrer, payload specialist. Left to right, front row, Ernst Messerschmid, payload specialist; Wubbo J. Ockels, payload specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA); Steven R. Nagel, pilot; and Guion S. Bluford Jr., mission specialist. Photo credit: NASA

61A-39-052 (30 Oct-6 Nov 1985) --- This Earth view shows Quinhuangdao, China. The Great Wall of China can be seen in this photograph. The center coordinates are 40.0 north latitude and 120.0 east longitude. This photograph was taken from an altitude of 180 miles, on the 24th orbit of the Space Shuttle Challenger. The crew consists of astronauts Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., commander; Steven R. Nagel, pilot; mission specialists James F. Buchli, Guion S. Bluford, Jr., Bonnie J. Dunbar; payload specialists Reinhard Furrer (DFVLR), Ernst Messerschmid (DFVLR), and Wubbo J. Ockels (ESA).

S84-47177 (17 Dec 1984) --- A recent flight in NASA's KC-135 aircraft gave the STS 61-A/Spacelab D-1 crewmembers a chance to get a preview of weightlessness. Mission specialists Bonnie J. Dunbar and Guion S. Bluford appear to be balancing several payload specialists during a few brief moments of microgravity. With heads near the floor are, left to right, Payload Specialists Reinhard Furrer, Ulf Merbold, Wubbo J. Ockels and Ernst Messerschmid. Ockels is from the Netherlands; the others, from Germany, with Merbold serving as backup.

S85-40783 (27 Sept. 1985) --- This international crew expected to fly aboard the space shuttle Challenger when it launches next month represents the largest number (eight) of persons to occupy an orbiting spacecraft at the same time. Posing with the mission insignia are (front row, left to right) Reinhard Furrer, German payload specialist; Bonnie J. Dunbar, mission specialist; James F. Buchli, mission specialist; and Henry W. Hartsfield Jr., commander; and (back row, left to right) Steven R. Nagel, pilot; Guion S. Bluford, mission specialist; Ernst Messerschmid, German payload specialist; and Wubbo J. Ockels, Dutch payload specialist. Photo credit: NASA

61A-S-140 (6 Nov 1985) --- The record-setting eight crewmembers for STS 61-A file from their "home" for the past week at the completion of a successful Spacelab D-1 mission. Astronaut Henry W. Hartsfield Jr., mission commander, shakes hands with George W. S. Abbey, director of flight crew operations at JSC. Other crewmembers, from left to right, are Astronauts Guion S. Bluford Jr., James F. Buchli, Steven R. Nagel and Bonnie J. Dunbar; and Payload Specialists Wubbo J. Ockels, Ernst Messerschmid and Reinhard Furrer. The Challenger came to a complete stop at 9:45:39 a.m. (PST).

61A-S-139 (6 Nov 1985) --- Eight persons returning from space at one time is a record which was set at 9:45:39 a.m. (PST) today when the Space Shuttle Challenger's wheels came to a stop on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base. The main gear is seen touching down at 9:44:51 a.m. Inside the spacecraft are astronauts Henry W. Hartsfield Jr., Steven R. Nagel, Bonnie J. Dunbar, James F. Buchli, Guion S. Bluford Jr., Reinard Furrer, Ernst Messerschmid and Wubbo J. Ockels. A number of West German and other European experiments were performed during the week-long Spacelab D-1 mission.

61A-40-38 (30 Oct-6 Nov 1985) --- The coral reef forming the atoll of Midway sits atop a volcanic seamount that has descended more than 3,000 feet (1000 meters) below the sea surface in this ancient region of the Hawaiian volcanic chain. This view was taken by the crew members onboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Challenger. The crew consisted of astronauts Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., commander; Steven R. Nagel, pilot; James F. Buchli, Guion S. Bluford, Jr., and Bonnie J. Dunbar, all mission specialists; Reinhard Furrer, Ernst Messerschmid, and Wubbo J. Ockels, all payload specialists. Ockels represents the European Space Agency (ESA).

61A-S-018 (30 Oct 1985) --- A record-sized crew of eight persons is lifted toward Earth-orbit as the space shuttle Challenger blasts from the launch pad at Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. Almost all the service structure/gantry is obscured by smoke resulting from the boosters' firing. Inside the spacecraft are astronauts Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., Steven R. Nagel, Bonnie J. Dunbar, James F. Buchli, Guion S. Bluford, Jr., along with payload specialists Wubbo J. Ockels, Reinhard Furrer and Ernst Messerschmid. Within hours of this photo, the Spacelab D-1 Science Module was activated and crew members were busy performing experiments. Launch occurred at noon (EST), Oct. 30, 1985. Photo credit: NASA

S85-38035 (August 1985) --- This insignia has been chosen by the eight members of the STS-61A/D1 Spacelab mission as the emblem they will wear on their spacesuits and which will represent the record-sized space shuttle crew on the scheduled autumn mission. Crew members' surnames surround the colorful patch scene depicting Challenger carrying a long science module and an international crew from Europe and the United States. Serving on the crew are Henry W. Hartsfield Jr., commander; Steven R. Nagel, pilot; Bonnie J. Dunbar, mission specialist; James F. Buchli, mission specialist; Guion S. Bluford Jr., mission specialist; Ernst Messerschmid, German payload specialist; Reinhard Furrer, German payload specialist; and Wubbo J. Ockels, Dutch payload specialist. The NASA insignia design for space shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the forms of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, the change will be publicly announced. Photo credit: NASA