STS-51-A

STS-51-A was the second flight of Space Shuttle Discovery, and the 14th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on 8 November 1984, and landed just under eight days later on 16 November.

STS-51-A was unique, in that it marked the first time a shuttle had deployed two communications satellites, and retrieved from orbit two other communications satellites. The Canadian Anik D2 and SYNCOM IV-l satellites were both successfully deployed by the crew of Discovery. Palapa B-2 and Westar 6, meanwhile, had been deployed during the STS-41-B mission earlier in the year, but had been placed into improper orbits due to the malfunctioning of their kick motors; they were both safely recovered and returned to Earth during STS-51-A.