STS-51-A

STS-51-A (formerly STS-19) was the 14th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the second flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on November 8, 1984, and landed just under eight days later on November 16, 1984. STS-51-A marked the first time a shuttle deployed two communications satellites, and retrieved from orbit two other communications satellites. The Canadian Anik D2 and Syncom IV-1 satellites were both successfully deployed by the crew of Discovery. Palapa B2 and Westar 6, meanwhile, had been deployed during the STS-41-B mission earlier in the year, but had been placed into improper orbits due to the malfunctioning of their kick motors; they were both safely recovered and returned to Earth during STS-51-A. STS-51-A was launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at 7:15:00 a.m. EST, on November 8, 1984, less than a month after the STS-41-G flight. A launch attempt the day before was scrubbed at T-minus 20 minutes due to high shear winds in the upper atmosphere. The five-person flight crew consisted of Frederick H. Hauck, commander, on his second flight; pilot David M. Walker; and three mission specialists – Anna Lee Fisher, Dale A. Gardner and Joseph P. Allen. Both Gardner and Allen were making their second shuttle flights. STS-51-A marked the first flight of the Space Shuttle commanded by an astronaut from the 1978 class rather than the Apollo era.