This week in 1990, space shuttle Columbia, mission STS-35, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center carrying Astronomy Laboratory 1 in its cargo bay. ASTRO-1 was developed as a system of telescopes that could fly multiple times on the space shuttle. It consisted of three ultraviolet telescopes and an X-ray telescope. The telescopes were mounted on a Spacelab pallet in the payload bay of the shuttle. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for managing the Spacelab missions. Here, the various components of the ASTRO-1 payload are seen above the backdrop of Earth. 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)