The space shuttle Discovery launches from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, heading through Atlantic skies toward its 51-D mission. The seven-member crew lifted off at 8:59 a.m. ET, April 12, 1985.
NASA
The launch of space shuttle Discovery is captured in this April 12, 1985, photo. This mission, STS-51D, was the 16th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and Discovery's fourth flight.
Discovery carried out 39 missions, more than any other space shuttle. Its missions included deploying and repairing the Hubble Space Telescope and 13 flights to the International Space Station - including the very first docking in 1999. The retired shuttle now resides at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.
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