The Space Shuttle Discovery took off on its maiden voyage
on this day in history.

For Discovery, the fourth time was the charm: The previous
three launch attempts were scrubbed, with one canceled
just six seconds before liftoff.

That aborted launch — the first of its kind for the Space
Shuttle program — occurred on June 26, 1984.

The mission was called off after an issue was discovered
with one of the main engines. 

Discovery deployed three satellites: the Satellite Business
System SBS-D; the SYCOM IV-2 (also known as LEASAT-2);
and the TELSTAR.

The crew assigned to the mission included (seated left to
right) Richard M. (Mike) Mullane, mission specialist; Steven
A. Hawley, mission specialist; Henry W. Hartsfield,
commander; and Michael L. (Mike) Coats, pilot.
Standing in the rear are Charles D. Walker, payload
specialist; and Judith A. (Judy) Resnik, mission specialist. 

U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Guion S. Bluford became
the first African American to travel into space when the
space shuttle Challenger lifted off on its third mission. It
was the first night launch of a space shuttle, and many
people stayed up late to watch the spacecraft roar up
from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 2:32 a.m.

The Challenger spent six days in space, during which time
Bluford and his four fellow crew members launched a
communications satellite for the government of India,
made contact with an errant communications satellite,
conducted scientific experiments, and tested the shuttle’s
robotic arm.

Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. will be 82 years old on
November 22.

During the 1890s, publications were inserted into Joseph
Pulitzer‘s New York World and William Randolph Hearst‘s
New York Journal.

In November 1896, Morrill Goddard, editor of the New
York Journal from 1896 to 1937, launched Hearst’s
Sunday magazine, later commenting, "Nothing is so
stale as yesterday’s newspaper, but The American
Weekly may be around the house for days or weeks
and lose none of its interest."

William Randolph Hearst Sr. 
(April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951)