The NSMB Random Picture Thread! **NSFW**

How could they leave this one out?

Maybe it wasn't discovered yet?

Quote:
Astronaut Dale A. Gardner, having just completed the major portion of his second extravehicular activity (EVA) period in three days, holds up a For Sale sign referring to the two satellites, Palapa B-2 and Westar 6 that they retrieved from orbit after their Payload Assist Modules (PAM) failed to fire. Astronaut Joseph P. Allen IV, who also participated in the two EVAs, is reflected in Gardner's helmet visor. A portion of each of two recovered satellites is in the lower right corner, with Westar 6 nearer Discovery's aft.

telecom satellite trivia: they retrieved a satellite in LEO and brought it back pretty much just to prove that they could. this was done in the mid 1980s. at the time, the cost of launching a geostationary telecom satellite was less than $150m to build and launch, while it cost $600 million every time to launch the space shuttle. the specific mission was to retrieve a satellite that had launched successfully but for some reason never boosted itself into geostionary orbit (36,000+ km away vs. 350-450 km which is low orbit). supposedly the mission was to bring back the satellite to refurbish and relaunch it, but it was an economic loser all around…

one of the reasons why the USAF funded part of the space shuttle program is that they wanted the ability to capture a satellite in orbit and bring it back. the shuttle launch pad at vandenberg AFB in CA was very nearly made operational but cancelled by the challenger disaster.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_AFB_Space_Launch_Complex_6

^^ LOLOL