STS-78 launched on June 20, 1996, and landed 16 days and 21 hours later on July 7, 1996, becoming the longest Space Shuttle mission to date. (Later that year the STS-80 mission broke that record by nineteen hours). The Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission served as a model for future studies on board the International Space Station. The mission included studies sponsored by ten nations, and five space agencies, and the international crew included a Frenchman, a Canadian, a Spaniard, and an Italian.