… as my dad says.
Yesterday, in my zeal to comment on the Iranian satellite launch — which all too few people seem to recognize as a danger — I missed a space anniversary.*
On February 3, 1984, the Space Shuttle Challenger launched from the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-41B. Astronauts Vance D. Brand, Robert L. Gibson, Bruce McCandless, Ronald E. McNair, and Robert L. Stewart deployed two satellites, Westar-VI and Palapa-B2, but they did not reach orbit because the Payload Assist Module failed. This mission also tested the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), and featured the first untethered space walks by McCandless and Stewart. NASA photograph S84-27562 captured one of the MMU tests and became an iconic photograph of the space age:
(Click for larger image)
You can read more about the STS-41B mission on this NASA page.
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*Okay, I also missed it because I spent the evening at choir practice and on the phone. You caught me.
by 
Thanks much!
Love that quote!