This week in 1984, space shuttle Discovery, mission STS-41D, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on its maiden voyage. During its six-day mission, Discovery deployed three satellites: the Satellite Business system SBS-D, Syncom IV-2, and Telstar. It also carried the 102-foot-tall Office of Application and Space Technology solar wing, which extended from the payload bay. It demonstrated large lightweight solar arrays for building large facilities in space. Here, the Solar Array Experiment panel deployment for the OAST-1 can be seen in Discovery’s cargo bay. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating, and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological, and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage. (NASA)