#sts-51g

STS-51-G Discovery in flight. The primary mission of this flight was to deploy three communications satellites into orbit. These were Arabsat-1B for the Arab Satellite Communications Organization, Morelos-1 for Mexico and Telstar-303 for AT&T.

Date: June 17, 1985

Space Shuttle Discovery lands at 9:11:52 a.m. EDT, on Runway 23 in Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Date: June 24, 1985

Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on her STS-51-G mission. This mission is notable for its crew. It was the first flight without at least one astronaut from the Gemini or Apollo era.

One of the payload specialists was Sultan bin Salman Al Saud, who is from Saudi Arabia. He became the first Arab, the first Muslim, and the first member of a royal family to fly into space.

Date: June 17, 1985

"Four members of the STS-51-G crew participate in a training exercise in the shuttle mission simulation and training facility at the Johnson Space Center. Steven R. Nagel, left foreground, is a mission specialist for the flight, while Sultan Salman Abdelazize Al-Saud (right foreground) is a payload specialist. In the background are astronauts Daniel C. Brandenstein (left) in the commander's station and John O. Creighton in the pilot's position."

Photo credit: NASA/ Otis Imboden of National Geographic

Date: May 17, 1985