3 February 1984: The Space Shuttle Challenger OV-099 lifted off from Florida's K.S.C. with CDR Vance Brand, Pilot "Hoot" Gibson, M.S.1 Bruce McCandless, M.S.2 Bob Stewart, & M.S.3 Ron McNair; the quintet deployed two satellites, Westar VI & Palapa B2, both of which limped into too low of orbits due to Payload Assist Module problems; the Challenger also carried five Getaway Specials.
S.T.S.-41-B was the tenth Space Shuttle flight, thus the "(№ 10)" at the top. S.T.S.-1 was the first Shuttle flight & S.T.S.-9 the ninth. It is going to be a long time before the flight designation lines up with the ordinal number, but that time will come again, should the world perdure. Unpacking the new flight designation system, the "41-B" in S.T.S.-41-B, will require a separate post. Watch this space.
Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: S.T.S.-41-B
Guster, "Satellite" from Ganging Up On the Sun (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)
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