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Discovery's Maiden Flight

Space Shuttle Discovery made its first flight to space for STS-41D, lifting off at 8:41:50 a.m. EDT on August 30, 1984.

 

Astronaut Henry W. Hartsfield Jr. was the mission commander and Michael L. Coats, pilot. Astronauts Richard M. (Mike) Mullane, Steven A. Hawley, and Judith A. Resnik were mission specialists. Charles D. Walker was payload specialist.

 

The mission featured a combination cargo that includes some of the payloads originally manifested to fly on STS-41D and some of the payload elements that were slated to fly on Discovery’s second mission, STS-41F. Cargo bay payloads included: LEASAT-2 (SYNCOM IV-2) for Hughes Communications Services, Inc.; SBS-4 for Satellite Business Systems; TELSTAR 3 for American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T); and OAST-1 for NASA's office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST). The three commercial communications satellites were originally scheduled to fly on Mission 41-F.

 

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Credit: NASA

Image Number: KSC-84PC-0474

Date: August 30, 1984

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Uploaded on August 30, 2025
Taken on August 30, 1984