At launch, it had a mass of 1,270 kilograms (2,800 lb), and an expected operational lifespan of seven years.

Discovery was launched from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 11:33:00 GMT on 17 June 1985.

[2] It was deployed from Discovery, and boosted to a geosynchronous transfer orbit by means of a PAM-D upper stage.

Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud flew aboard the Shuttle to supervise deployment, becoming the first Saudi citizen and first member of royalty to fly in space.

[4] The same fault had developed aboard its sister satellite, Arabsat-1A, a month earlier.