This week in 1983, space shuttle Challenger, mission STS-6, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Challenger carried the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-1. Started in the 1970s, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite comprises the space segment of the Space Network, a communications network of ground and space components for mission support. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite configuration consists of 10 orbiting satellites. Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-1, which was retired in the fall of 2009, is seen here in Challenger’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)