Space Shuttle Discovery

Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States,^[4] and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011. Prior to its retirement, Discovery was NASA's Orbiter Fleet leader, having flown 39 successful missions in over 27 years of service. In 1984, Discovery became the third operational orbiter following Columbia and Challenger,^[5] and made its final touchdown at Kennedy Space Center on March 9, 2011 at 10:57:17 CST,^[6] having spent a cumulative total of one full year (365 days) in space. Discovery has performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions. Discovery also flew the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit, and was the only orbiter to take other parts of the telescope to space. Discovery was the first operational shuttle to be retired, followed by Endeavour and Atlantis.

History

The spacecraft takes its name from four British ships of exploration named Discovery, primarily HMS Discovery, one of the ships commanded by Captain James Cook during his third and final major voyage from 1776 to 1779.

Others include

• Henry Hudson's Discovery, which he used in 1610–1611 to search for a Northwest Passage. This ship had previously been used in the 1607 founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in what was to become the United States;
• HMS Discovery, one of the ships which took Captain George Nares' British Arctic Expedition of 1875–1876 to the North Pole; and
• RRS Discovery, a Royal Geographical Society research vessel which, under the command of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton, was the main ship of the 1901–1904 "Discovery Expedition" to Antarctica^[7] which is still preserved as a museum.

Discovery was the shuttle that launched the Hubble Space Telescope. The second and third Hubble service missions were also conducted by Discovery. It has also launched the Ulysses probe and three TDRS satellites. Discovery has been chosen twice as the "Return To Flight" Orbiter, first in 1988 after the 1986 Challenger disaster, and then for the twin "Return To Flight" missions in July 2005 and July 2006 after the 2003 Columbia disaster. Discovery also carried Project Mercury astronaut John Glenn, who was 77 at the time, back into space during STS-95 on October 29, 1998, making him the oldest person to go into space.^[8]

Had the planned STS-62-A mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1986 for the United States Department of Defense gone ahead, Discovery would have flown it. Its final mission, STS-133, landed on March 9, 2011, in Kennedy Space Center, Florida. After decommissioning and delivery, the spacecraft will be displayed in Virginia at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, an annex of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.^{[1][9][10][11][12][13][14]}

Construction milestones

Upgrades and features

Discovery weighed some 6,870 pounds (3,120 kg) less than Columbia when it was brought into service due to optimizations determined during the construction and testing of Enterprise, Columbia and Challenger.^[8]

Beginning in late 1995, the orbiter underwent a nine-month Orbiter Maintenance Down Period (OMDP) in Palmdale California. This included outfitting the vehicle with a 5th set of cryogenic tanks and an external airlock to support missions to the International Space Station. It can be attached to the top of specialized aircraft and did so in June 1996 when it returned to the Kennedy Space Center, riding piggy-back on a modified Boeing 747.^[8]

After STS-105, Discovery became the first of the orbiter fleet to undergo Orbiter Major Modification (OMM) period at the Kennedy Space Center. Work began in September 2002 to prepare the vehicle for Return to Flight. This included scheduled upgrades and additional safety modifications.^[8] Discovery is 6 pounds (2.7 kg) heavier than Atlantis and 363 pounds (165 kg) heavier than Endeavour.^[2]

Decommissioning

Discovery was decommissioned on March 9, 2011.^[16][17]

NASA has offered Discovery to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum for public display and preservation, after a months-long decontamination process,^[18] as part of the national collection after the orbiter has been retired.^[19][20][21] Discovery will replace Enterprise in the Smithsonian's display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.^{[22][23][24][9][10][11]}

Flights

By its last mission, Discovery had flown 149 million miles (238 million km) in 39 missions, completed 5,830 orbits, and spent 365 days in orbit in over 27 years.^[1] Discovery is the Orbiter Fleet leader, having flown more flights than any other Orbiter Shuttle in the fleet, including four in 1985 alone. Discovery flew all three "return to flight" missions after the Challenger and Columbia disasters: STS-26 in 1988, STS-114 in 2005, and STS-121 in 2006. Discovery flew the third to the last mission of the Space Shuttle program, STS-133, having launched on (NET) February 24, 2011. Endeavour flew aboard STS-134 and Atlantis performed STS-135, NASA's last Space Shuttle mission. On February 24, 2011, Space Shuttle Discovery launched from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39-A to begin its final orbital flight.^[25]

Notable missions:

• STS-41-D: Space Shuttle Discovery's maiden spaceflight
• STS-51-D: Carried first incumbent United States member of Congress into space, Senator Jake Garn (R–Utah)
• STS-26: First "Return to Flight" after Challenger disaster (STS-51-L)
• STS-31: Launch of the Hubble Space Telescope
• STS-48: Launch of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite
• STS-60: First Russian launched in an American spacecraft (Sergei Krikalev)
• STS-63: First female shuttle pilot Eileen Collins.^[2]
• STS-95: Second flight of John Glenn, who has been 77 at that time, the oldest man in space and third incumbent member of Congress to enter space
• STS-96: First Orbiter Shuttle and first mission flight to dock with the International Space Station^[2]
• STS-92: The 100th Space Shuttle mission
• STS-114: Second "Return to Flight" missions after Columbia disaster (STS-107)
• STS-116: First night time launch of a Space Shuttle since the Columbia disaster. Last Shuttle launch from LC-39B
• STS-131: Longest mission for this Orbiter with 15 days to its credit
• STS-133: Final mission for this Space Shuttle

Flights listing

‡ Longest shuttle mission for Discovery
– shortest shuttle mission for Discovery

Gallery

Tribute and mission insignias

In media

Discovery was featured in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. She was used as a booster vehicle for the Autobots' spacecraft Xantium when they were exiled from Earth, but Starscream shot her down and destroyed her.

See also

• List of human spaceflights
• List of human spaceflights chronologically
• List of Space Shuttle crews
• List of space shuttle missions
• Timeline of Space Shuttle missions

References

External links

• Mission Summary Archive
• Part 1: Discovery space shuttle up close and personal tour at KSC
• Part 2: Discovery space shuttle up close and personal tour at KSC
• Part 3: Discovery space shuttle up close and personal tour at KSC
• STS-133 Space Shuttle Discovery Is Towed Back To the Hangar After Landing
• STS-133 Landing – Space Shuttle Discovery Completes Final Mission To Space
• STS-133 space shuttle Discovery launches for the final time
• Return to Flight mission STS-114 and STS-121
• Shuttle Orbiter Discovery (OV-103)
• Night Launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery
• Discovery on Servicing Mission 2 at ESA/Hubble site
• Discovery on Servicing Mission 3A at ESA/Hubble site
• Pictures of preparations for a launch of Discovery
• A Space Shuttle's Final Rollout – slideshow by Life magazine
• April 16, 2007: Consolidated Launch Manifest: Space Shuttle Flights and ISS Assembly Sequence.