Space Shuttle Discovery at Udvar-Hazy Center

Space Shuttle Discovery and Carrier 747 at Vandenberg Air Force Base

Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' ( Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the orbiters from

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

Space Shuttle program The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. I ...

and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission,

STS-41-D STS-41-D (formerly STS-14) was the 12th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the first mission of Space Shuttle ''Discovery''. It was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on August 30, 1984, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, ...

, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, aggregating more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. The Space Shuttle launch vehicle has three main components: the

Space Shuttle orbiter The Space Shuttle orbiter is the spaceplane component of the Space Shuttle, a partially reusable orbital spacecraft system that was part of the discontinued Space Shuttle program. Operated from 1977 to 2011 by NASA, the U.S. space agency, thi ...

, a single-use central fuel tank, and two reusable solid rocket boosters. Nearly 25,000 heat-resistant tiles cover the orbiter to protect it from high temperatures on re-entry. ''Discovery'' became the third operational orbiter to enter service, preceded by '' Columbia'' and '' Challenger''. It embarked on its final mission,

STS-133 STS-133 ( ISS assembly flight ULF5) was the 133rd mission in NASA's Space Shuttle program; during the mission, Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' docked with the International Space Station. It was ''Discoverys 39th and final mission. The mission l ...

, on February 24, 2011, and touched down for the last time at

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...

on March 9, having spent a cumulative total of nearly a full year in space. ''Discovery'' performed both research and

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...

(ISS) assembly missions, and also carried the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most vers ...

into orbit among other satellites. ''Discovery'' was the first operational shuttle to be retired, followed by '' Endeavour'' and then ''

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and '' Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that b ...

''. The shuttle is now on display at the

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous ...

of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

History

The name ''Discovery'' was chosen to carry on a tradition based on ships of exploration, primarily , one of the ships commanded by Captain James Cook during his third and final major voyage from 1776 to 1779, and

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

's , which was used in 1610–1611 to explore Hudson Bay and search for a

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...

. Other ships bearing the name have included of the 1875–1876

British Arctic Expedition The British Arctic Expedition of 1875–1876, led by Sir George Strong Nares, was sent by the British Admiralty to attempt to reach the North Pole via Smith Sound. Although the expedition failed to reach the North Pole, the coasts of Greenland a ...

to the North Pole, and , which carried the 1901–1904 ''Discovery'' Expedition to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

, led by

Captain Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

. Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' launched the

and conducted the second and third Hubble service missions. It also launched the ''Ulysses'' probe and three TDRS satellites. Twice ''Discovery'' was chosen as the "Return To Flight" Orbiter, first in 1988 after the loss of ''Challenger'' in 1986, and then again for the twin "Return To Flight" missions in July 2005 and July 2006 after the ''Columbia'' disaster in 2003.

Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...

astronaut John Glenn, who was 77 at the time, flew with ''Discovery'' on

STS-95 STS-95 was a Space Shuttle mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 29 October 1998, using the orbiter ''Discovery''. It was the 25th flight of ''Discovery'' and the 92nd mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program ...

in 1998, making him the oldest person to go into space at that time in history. Had plans to launch

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

payloads from

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg Sp ...

gone ahead, ''Discovery'' would have become the dedicated

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sig ...

shuttle. Its first West Coast mission, STS-62-A, was scheduled for 1986, but canceled in the aftermath of the ''

Challenger disaster On January 28, 1986, the broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. The spacecraft disintegrated above the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:39a.m. EST (16:39 UTC). It was ...

''. ''Discovery'' was retired after completing its final mission,

on March 9, 2011. The spacecraft is now on display in Virginia at the

, an annex of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

's National Air and Space Museum.

Construction milestones

Features and upgrades

STS-41-D_Crew_Enjoying_Space_-_GPN-2004-00024

STS-121 Discovery posing for inspection photos edit1

During its construction, ''Discovery'' was fitted with several black tiles near the middle starboard window where there should have been white tiles. It is unknown if this was the result of a harmless manufacturing mishap or done intentionally to give a distinctive look to the shuttle. This feature has been called 'teardrop' and allowed ''Discovery'' to be told apart from the rest of the fleet without looking at its name, although often unnoticed by the uninitiated. The spacecraft weighed roughly less than ''Columbia'' when it was brought into service due to optimalizations determined during the construction and testing of ''Enterprise'', ''Columbia'' and ''Challenger''. ''Discovery'' weighs heavier than ''

'' and heavier than '' Endeavour'' after further weight-saving adjustments were made. Part of the ''Discovery'' weight optimizations included the greater use of quilted AFRSI blankets rather than the white LRSI tiles on the fuselage, and the use of graphite epoxy instead of aluminum for the payload bay doors and some of the wing spars and beams. Upon its delivery to the Kennedy Space Center in 1983, ''Discovery'' was modified alongside ''Challenger'' to accommodate the liquid-fueled Centaur-G booster, which had been planned for use beginning in 1986 but was cancelled in the wake of the ''Challenger'' disaster. 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

. As with all the orbiters, it could be attached to the top of specialized aircraft and did so in June 1996 when it returned to the Kennedy Space Center, and later in April 2012 when sent to the Udvar-Hazy Center, riding piggy-back on a modified Boeing 747. After

STS-105 STS-105 was a mission of the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' to the International Space Station, launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, 10 August 2001. This mission was ''Discoverys final mission until STS-114, because ''Discovery'' was gro ...

, ''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. The work included scheduled upgrades and additional safety modifications.

Decommissioning and display

''Discovery'' was decommissioned on March 9, 2011. NASA offered ''Discovery'' to the

's National Air and Space Museum for public display and preservation, after a month-long decontamination process, as part of the national collection. ''Discovery'' replaced in the Smithsonian's display at the

in Virginia. ''Discovery'' was transported to Washington Dulles International Airport on April 17, 2012, and was transferred to the Udvar-Hazy on April 19 where a welcome ceremony was held. Afterwards, at around 5:30 pm, ''Discovery'' was rolled to its "final wheels stop" in the Udvar Hazy Center.

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 over 27 years. ''Discovery'' flew more flights than any other Orbiter Shuttle, including four in 1985 alone. ''Discovery'' flew both "return to flight" missions after the '' Challenger'' and '' Columbia'' disasters:

STS-26 STS-26 was the 26th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the seventh flight of the orbiter ''Discovery''. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on September 29, 1988, and landed four days later on October 3, 1988. STS-26 was decla ...

in 1988, STS-114 in 2005, and

STS-121 STS-121 was a 2006 NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by . The main purposes of the mission were to test new safety and repair techniques introduced following the ''Columbia'' disaster of February 2003 as w ...

in 2006. ''Discovery'' flew the ante-penultimate mission of the Space Shuttle program,

, having launched on February 24, 2011. ''Endeavour'' flew

STS-134 STS-134 ( ISS assembly flight ULF6) was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 25th and last spaceflight of . This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the Internationa ...

and ''Atlantis'' performed

STS-135 STS-135 ( ISS assembly flight ULF7) was the 135th and final mission of the American Space Shuttle program. It used the orbiter ''Atlantis'' and hardware originally processed for the STS-335 contingency mission, which was not flown. STS-135 la ...

, 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.

Flights listing

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

Mission and tribute insignias

Flow directors

The Flow Director was responsible for the overall preparation of the shuttle for launch and processing it after landing, and remained permanently assigned to head the spacecraft's ground crew while the astronaut flight crews changed for every mission. Each shuttle's Flow Director was supported by a Vehicle Manager for the same spacecraft. Space Shuttle ''Discoverys Flow Directors were: * Until 01/1991: John J. "Tip" Talone Jr. (afterwards Flow Director for '' Endeavour'') * 01/1991 – 09/1992: John C. "Chris" Fairey * 09/1992 – 10/1996: David A. King * 10/1996 – 05/2000: W. Scott Cilento * 12/2000 – 03/2011: Stephanie S. Stilson

Gallery

References

External links

Return to Flight mission STS-114 and STS-121

Pictures of preparations for a launch of ''Discovery''

A Space Shuttle's Final Rollout
– slideshow by ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' magazine
April 16, 2007: Consolidated Launch Manifest: Space Shuttle Flights and ISS Assembly Sequence.
* {{Authority control Discovery Discovery Artifacts in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution Historic American Engineering Record in Texas Individual spacecraft in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution Individual rockets Individual aircraft