STS-41C deployment of the repaired Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) satellite from the payload bay of the shuttle orbiter Challenger.
The first direct ascent trajectory for a space shuttle. Despite the unsuccessful attempt to secure the satellite using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), the crew was able to grapple it with the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) and then replace the altitude control system and coronagraph/polarimeter electronics box inflight. The 'Extra' Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was deployed, carrying 57 experiments and left in orbit to be retrieved during a later mission. Other payloads were: IMAX camera; Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME); Cinema 360; Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSlP) experiment.
