Space Shuttle Discovery


Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, gathering more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. Like other shuttles, the shuttle has three main components: the Space Shuttle orbiter, a central fuel tank, and two 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 last mission, STS-133, on February 24, 2011 and touched down for the final time at Kennedy Space Center on March 9, having spent a cumulative total of almost a full year in space. Discovery performed both research and International Space Station assembly missions, and also carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.
Discovery was the first operational shuttle to be retired, followed by Endeavour and then Atlantis. The shuttle is now on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center 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's, which was used in 1610–1611 to explore Hudson Bay and search for a Northwest Passage. Other ships bearing the name have included of the 1875–1876 British Arctic Expedition to the North Pole and, which led the 1901–1904 "Discovery Expedition" to Antarctica.
Discovery launched the Hubble Space Telescope 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 astronaut John Glenn, who was 77 at the time, flew with Discovery on STS-95 in 1998, making him the oldest person to go into space.
Had plans to launch United States Department of Defense payloads from Vandenberg Air Force Base gone ahead, Discovery would have become the dedicated US Air Force shuttle. Its first West Coast mission, STS-62-A, was scheduled for 1986, but canceled in the aftermath of Challenger.
Discovery was retired after completing its final mission, STS-133 on March 9, 2011. The spacecraft is now on display in Virginia at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, an annex of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.

Construction milestones

DateMilestone
1979 January 29Contract Award to Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California
1979 August 27Start long lead fabrication of Crew Module
1980 June 20Start fabrication lower fuselage
1980 November 10Start structural assembly of aft-fuselage
1980 December 8Start initial system installation aft fuselage
1981 March 2Start fabrication/assembly of payload bay doors
1981 October 26Start initial system installation, crew module, Downey
1982 January 4Start initial system installation upper forward fuselage
1982 March 16Midfuselage on dock, Palmdale, California
1982 March 30Elevons on dock, Palmdale
1982 April 30Wings arrive at Palmdale from Grumman
1982 April 30Lower forward fuselage on dock, Palmdale
1982 July 16Upper forward fuselage on dock, Palmdale
1982 August 5Vertical stabilizer on dock, Palmdale
1982 September 3Start of Final Assembly
1982 October 15Body flap on dock, Palmdale
1983 January 11Aft fuselage on dock, Palmdale
1983 February 25Complete final assembly and closeout installation, Palmdale
1983 February 28Start initial subsystems test, power-on, Palmdale
1983 May 13Complete initial subsystems testing
1983 July 26Complete subsystems testing
1983 August 12Completed Final Acceptance
1983 October 16Rollout from Palmdale
1983 November 5Overland transport from Palmdale to Edwards Air Force Base
1983 November 9Delivery to Kennedy Space Center
1984 June 2Flight Readiness Firing
1984 August 30First Flight

Upgrades and features

Discovery weighed roughly 3600 kg less than Columbia when it was brought into service due to optimizations determined during the construction and testing of Enterprise, Columbia and Challenger. Discovery weighs heavier than Atlantis and heavier than Endeavour.
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 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. 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, Discovery became the first of the orbiter fleet to undergo Orbiter Major Modification 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 Smithsonian Institution'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 Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center 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 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 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 ante-penultimate mission of the Space Shuttle program, STS-133, having launched on February 24, 2011. Endeavour flew 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.

Flights listing

#DateDesignationNotesLength of journey
1STS-41-DFirst Discovery mission: Judith Resnik became second American woman in Space. Three communications satellites were put into orbit, including LEASAT F2.6 days, 00 hours,
56 minutes, 04 seconds
2STS-51-ALaunched two and rescued two communications satellites including LEASAT F1.7 days, 23 hours,
44 minutes, 56 seconds
3STS-51-CLaunched DOD Magnum ELINT satellite.3 days, 01 hours,
33 minutes, 23 seconds-
4STS-51-DLaunched two communications satellites including LEASAT F3. Carried first incumbent United States member of Congress into space, Senator Jake Garn 6 days, 23 hours,
55 minutes, 23 seconds
5STS-51-GLaunched two communications satellites, Sultan Salman al-Saud becomes first Saudi Arabian in space.7 days, 01 hours,
38 minutes, 52 seconds
6STS-51-ILaunched two communications satellites including LEASAT F4. Recovered, repaired, and redeployed LEASAT F3.7 days, 02 hours,
17 minutes, 42 seconds
7STS-26Return to flight after Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, launched TDRS.4 days, 01 hours,
00 minutes, 11 seconds
8STS-29Launched TDRS.4 days, 23 hours,
38 minutes, 52 seconds
9STS-33Launched DOD Magnum ELINT satellite.5 days, 00 hours,
06 minutes, 49 seconds
10STS-31Launch of Hubble Space Telescope.5 days, 01 hours,
16 minutes, 06 seconds
11STS-41Launch of Ulysses.4 days, 02 hours,
10 minutes, 04 seconds
12STS-39Launched DOD Air Force Program-675 satellite.8 days, 07 hours,
22 minutes, 23 seconds
13STS-48Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.5 days, 08 hours,
27 minutes, 38 seconds
14STS-42International Microgravity Laboratory-1.8 days, 01 hours,
14 minutes, 44 seconds
15STS-53Department of Defense payload.7 days, 07 hours,
19 minutes, 47 seconds
16STS-56Atmospheric Laboratory.9 days, 06 hours,
08 minutes, 24 seconds
17STS-51Advanced Communications Technology Satellite.9 days, 20 hours,
11 minutes, 11 seconds
18STS-60First Shuttle-Mir mission; Wake Shield Facility. First Russian launched in an American spacecraft.8 days, 07 hours,
09 minutes, 22 seconds
19STS-64LIDAR In-Space Technology Experiment.10 days, 22 hours,
49 minutes, 57 seconds
20STS-63Rendezvous with Mir space station. First female shuttle pilot Eileen Collins.8 days, 06 hours,
29 minutes, 36 seconds
21STS-707th Tracking and Data Relay Satellite.8 days, 22 hours,
20 minutes, 05 seconds
22STS-82Servicing Hubble Space Telescope .9 days, 23 hours,
38 minutes, 09 seconds
23STS-85Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes.11 days, 20 hours,
28 minutes, 07 seconds
24STS-91Final Shuttle/Mir Docking Mission.9 days, 19 hours,
55 minutes, 01 seconds
25STS-95SPACEHAB, second flight of John Glenn, who was 77 years of age at that time, the oldest man in space and third incumbent member of Congress to enter space. Pedro Duque became the first Spaniard in space.8 days, 21 hours,
44 minutes, 56 seconds
26STS-96First Space Shuttle mission to dock with the International Space Station9 days, 19 hours,
13 minutes, 57 seconds
27STS-103Servicing Hubble Space Telescope .7 days, 23 hours,
11 minutes, 34 seconds
28STS-92International Space Station Assembly Flight ; 100th Shuttle mission.12 days, 21 hours,
43 minutes, 47 seconds
29STS-102International Space Station crew rotation flight 12 days, 19 hours,
51 minutes, 57 seconds
30STS-105International Space Station crew and supplies delivery 11 days 21 hours,
13 minutes, 52 seconds
31STS-114First "Return To Flight" mission since Space Shuttle Columbia disaster; International Space Station supplies delivery, new safety procedures testing and evaluation, Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello.13 days, 21 hours,
33 minutes, 00 seconds
32STS-121Second "Return To Flight" mission since the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster; International Space Station supplies delivery, test new safety and repair techniques.12 days, 18 hours,
37 minutes, 54 seconds
33STS-116ISS crew rotation and assembly ; Last flight to launch on pad 39-B;
First night launch since Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.		12 days, 20 hours,
44 minutes, 16 seconds
34STS-120ISS crew rotation and assembly.15 days, 02 hours,
23 minutes, 55 seconds
35STS-124ISS crew rotation and assembly.13 days, 18 hours,
13 minutes, 07 seconds
36STS-119International Space Station crew rotation and assembly of a fourth
starboard truss segment and a fourth set of solar arrays and batteries. Also replaced a failed unit for a system that converts urine to drinking water.		12 days, 19 hours,
29 minutes, 33 seconds
37STS-128International Space Station crew rotation and ISS resupply using the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. Also carried the C.O.L.B.E.R.T treadmill named after Stephen Colbert13 days 20 hours, 54 minutes, 40 seconds
38STS-131ISS resupply using the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. The mission also marked the first time that four women were in space and the first time that two Japanese astronauts were together on a space station. Longest mission for this Orbiter.15 days 2 hours, 47 minutes 11 seconds‡
39STS-133The mission launched at 4:53 pm EST on February 24, was carrying the Permanent Multipurpose Module Leonardo, the ELC-4 and Robonaut 2 to the ISS. Final flight of Discovery.12 days 19 hours,
4 minutes, 50 seconds

‡ 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 Discovery's Flow Directors were:

The launch of STS-41-D, Discovery's first mission.STS-121 launched on July 4, 2006 – the only Shuttle to launch on Independence Day.STS-119 on the night of March 11, 2009.Discovery sits atop a modified Boeing 747 as it touches down.Discovery lands after its first flight, STS-41-D.
Discovery performing the Rendezvous pitch maneuver prior to docking with the International Space Station.The Space Shuttle Discovery soon after landingModified Boeing 747 carrying Discovery.STS-124 comes to a close as Discovery lands at the Kennedy Space Center.Discoverys final touchdown on Kennedy Space Center's runway, concluding the STS-133 mission and Discoverys 27-year career.