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A fun moment of weightlessness with the crew aboard the orbiter Discovery. Credit: NASA. |
In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, crewmembers of NASA's Space Shuttle mission STS-41-D, aboard the Discovery orbiter, take a group shot during a moment of fun in space.
Crewmembers are (counter-clockwise from center) crew commander Henry W. Harsfield Jr., pilot Michael L. Coats, mission specialist Steven A. Hawley, mission specialist Judith A. Resnik, payload specialist Charles D. Walker, and mission specialist Richard M. Mullane. In this photograph taken Sept. 6, 1984, Dr. Judith Resnik is shown enjoying the weightlessness of space during her first mission.
Three satellites deployed during this mission: Satellite Business System SBS-D, SYNCOM IV-2 (also known as LEASAT2) and TELSTAR. The 102-foot-tall, 13-foot-wide Office of Application and Space Technology (OAST-1) solar wing extended from the payload bay. The wing carried different types of solar cells and extended to its full height several times. It demonstrated large lightweight solar arrays for a future in building large facilities in space such as a space station.
Each weekday, SPACE.com looks back at the history of spaceflight through photos (archive).
