Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) was one of the orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States,[4] operating from 1984 until 2011. When first flown, Discovery became the third operational orbiter,[5] and it made its final landing on 9 March 2011 at 10:57:17 CST,[6] with a cumulative total of one full year (365 days) in space; the longest of any spaceship in the world. Discovery has performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions. Two orbiters, Atlantis and Endeavour, remain operational.
Others include
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. She landed her last flight, STS-133 on March 9, 2011 in Kennedy Space Center, Florida and will be displayed in the Smithsonian Institute after retirement.[1]
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]
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,[12] as part of the national collection after the orbiter has been retired.[13][14][15] Discovery will replace Space Shuttle Enterprise in the Smithsonian's display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.[16][17]
Most important missions:
[edit] 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, 1776–1779.Others include
- Henry Hudson's Discovery, which he used in 1610–1611 to search for a Northwest Passage;
- 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.
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. She landed her last flight, STS-133 on March 9, 2011 in Kennedy Space Center, Florida and will be displayed in the Smithsonian Institute after retirement.[1]
[edit] Construction milestones
| Date | Milestone[9] |
|---|---|
| 1979 January 29 | Contract Award to Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California |
| 1979 August 27 | Start long lead fabrication of Crew Module |
| 1980 June 20 | Start fabrication lower fuselage |
| 1980 November 10 | Start structural assembly of aft-fuselage |
| 1980 December 8 | Start initial system installation aft fuselage |
| 1981 March 2 | Start fabrication/assembly of payload bay doors |
| 1981 October 26 | Start initial system installation, crew module, Downey |
| 1982 January 4 | Start initial system installation upper forward fuselage |
| 1982 March 16 | Midfuselage on dock, Palmdale, California |
| 1982 March 30 | Elevons on dock, Palmdale |
| 1982 April 30 | Wings arrive at Palmdale from Grumman |
| 1982 April 30 | Lower forward fuselage on dock, Palmdale |
| 1982 July 16 | Upper forward fuselage on dock, Palmdale |
| 1982 August 5 | Vertical stabilizer on dock, Palmdale |
| 1982 September 3 | Start of Final Assembly |
| 1982 October 15 | Body flap on dock, Palmdale |
| 1983 January 11 | Aft fuselage on dock, Palmdale |
| 1983 February 25 | Complete final assembly and closeout installation, Palmdale |
| 1983 February 28 | Start initial subsystems test, power-on, Palmdale |
| 1983 May 13 | Complete initial subsystems testing |
| 1983 July 26 | Complete subsystems testing |
| 1983 August 12 | Completed Final Acceptance |
| 1983 October 16 | Rollout from Palmdale |
| 1983 November 5 | Overland transport from Palmdale to Edwards Air Force Base |
| 1983 November 9 | Delivery to Kennedy Space Center |
| 1984 June 2 | Flight Readiness Firing |
| 1984 August 30 | First Flight (STS-41-D) |
[edit] Upgrades and features
Discovery weighed some 6,870 pounds 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]
[edit] Decommissioning
Discovery will be decommissioned in 2011.[10][11]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,[12] as part of the national collection after the orbiter has been retired.[13][14][15] Discovery will replace Space Shuttle Enterprise in the Smithsonian's display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.[16][17]
[edit] Flights
By its last mission, Discovery had flown 148 million miles (238 million km) in 39 missions, completed 5,830 orbits, and spent 365 days in orbit over 27 years.[1] Discovery is the orbiter fleet leader, having flown more flights than any other orbiter 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 last space shuttle mission STS-133, having launched on (NET) February 24, 2011. Endeavour will be the next shuttle to fly aboard STS-134 and Atlantis will be NASA's last Space Shuttle mission to be launched aboard STS-135 mission. Discovery safely completed its final mission on March 9, 2011.[1]Most important missions:
- STS-41-D: First flight
- STS-51-D: Carried first incumbent United States member of Congress into space, Senator Jake Garn (R–Utah)
- STS-26: Return to space after Challenger disaster (STS-51-L)
- STS-31: Launch of Hubble Space Telescope
- STS-60: First Russian launched in an American spacecraft (Sergei Krikalev)
- STS-95: Second flight of John Glenn, oldest man in space and third incumbent member of Congress to enter space
- STS-96: First flight to dock to the International Space Station
- STS-92: The 100th Space Shuttle mission
- STS-114: Return to space after Columbia disaster (STS-107)
- STS-116: First night time launch of a shuttle since the Columbia disaster. Last Shuttle launch from LC-39B
- STS-131: Longest mission for this orbiter
- STS-133: Final mission for this orbiter
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