This week in 1989, STS-29 launched aboard space shuttle Discovery to deliver the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-D. The third successful launch of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite series, TDRS-D was used in combination with other TDRS spacecraft and a ground communications system to form the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. The prime goal of the TDRS system was to provide continuous communication services to NASA’s most critical low-Earth-orbiting missions and improve the amount of data received. The NASA History Program documents and preserves NASA’s remarkable history through a variety of products — photos, press kits, press releases, mission transcripts and administrators’ speeches. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the History Program’s Web page.
Image credit: NASA