Several cooperative plasma experiments were carried out on board Spacelab-1, the ninth payload of the Space Transportation System (STS-9). Among them, the electron spectrometer 1ES019A was designed to observe 0.1--12.5 keV electron fluxes with high temporal and spatial resolution, while the SEPAC electron beam accelerator emitted electron beams with currents up to 280 mA and maximum energies of 5 keV. Since the question of orbiter charging to high voltages has controversially been discussed in several publications on STS-3 and STS-9 electron beam experiments, an attempt is made to relate information from the return electron flux observed during the SEPAC operations to the vehicle charging interpretation. A close examination reveals that most of our observations can be understood if the occurrence of a beam-plasma discharge is assumed at least for electron beam intensities above 100 mA. This would provide a substantial return current capability. High orbiter charging effects during electron beam accelerator electron emissions are consequently not supported by our observations. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1988