STS-26 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, lifts off from KSC LC pad 39B

STS-26 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, rises into a cloudy sky and heads for Earth orbit atop the external tank (ET) as exhaust plumes billow from the two solid rocket boosters (SRBs) during liftoff from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) pad 39B. STS-26 marks OV-103's first flight since September 1985 and NASA's first manned mission since 51L Challenger accident, 01-28-86.