#sts-41d

Space Shuttle Discovery on the 747 SCA taxiing passed Space Shuttle Enterprise, for her flight back to the Kennedy Space Center, after her maiden flight, STS-41-D. Discovery landed the day before at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Date: September 10, 1984

"In this picture, Space Shuttle Discovery sits on Launch Pad 39A prior to the launch of its STS-41D mission. Scheduled to launch on June 26, 1984, the launch was aborted due to a hydrogen fire on the launch pad. This was the first launch pad abort of the Shuttle Program."

Date: August 29, 1984

STS-41-D Discovery being rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).

Following the launch abort at T-6 on June 26, 1984, it was discovered there was a problem with SSME #3, which had some contamination in a hydraulic actuator, this in turn led to a temporary blockage of the engine’s hydrogen fuel valve. NASA decided to change out the complete engine on the pad. However, it was decided to combine the Discovery's first (STS-41-D) and second (STS-41-F) missions and payloads together to minimize satellite backlog after the PAM-D failures during STS-41-B. This required the Space Shuttle to be de-stacked from the ET and sent to the OPF. There workers installed additional support for the new payload. Discovery returned to the launch pad on August 9.

Date: July 14, 1984

Workers replacing SSME #3 on STS-41-D Discovery on the LC-37B. This is due to the launch abort at T-6 seconds on June 26, 1984. The problem was discovered there was a problem with said SSME, which had some contamination in a hydraulic actuator, this in turn led to a temporary blockage of the engine’s hydrogen fuel valve. NASA decided to change out the complete engine on the pad over two days.

Date: July 3-5, 1984

STS-41-D Discovery departing the VAB for LC-39A

Date: August 9, 1984

"At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the payloads for the STS-41-D Space Shuttle flight are shown loaded in Discovery’s cargo bay. With the orbiter in the vertical position at Launch Pad 39A, the payloads are, from top to bottom, OAST-1 a 102-foot-tall, 13-foot-wide Office of Application and Space Technology solar panel), the Satellite Business System SBS-D, Telstar 3-C, and Syncom IV-2. The six day mission is scheduled for launch on Aug. 29, 1984."

Date: August 14, 1984

STS-41-D Space Shuttle Discovery "is about to be hoisted into a tail-toward-ground mode for mating to its two solid rocket boosters (SRB) and an external tank (ET) (awaiting the maneuver high out of frame) in the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) huge vehicle assembly building (VAB). After its arrival here from the manufacturer in Palmdale, California, Discovery underwent extensive pre-launch preparations in the nearby processing facility (OPF)."

Date: June 4, 1984

Space Shuttle Discovery atop the 747 SCA during the cross-country ferry flight.

Date: November 5-9, 1983