TDRS-B was launched in the payload bay of Challenger, attached to an Inertial Upper Stage (IUS).

The IUS would have then performed two burns to raise the satellite into a geosynchronous orbit.

On the previous TDRS launch, TDRS-1, the IUS second-stage motor malfunctioned following the first-stage burn, resulting in a loss of control, and delivery of the satellite into an incorrect orbit.

TDRS-B was originally scheduled for launch on STS-12 in March 1984; however, it was delayed and the flight cancelled following the IUS failure on TDRS-1.

[4] The Shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds after launch due to an O-ring failure[5] in one of the Solid Rocket Boosters, killing the seven astronauts aboard and destroying TDRS-B.