Space Shuttle Discovery

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Space Shuttles
Image:Flag of the United States.svg US Space Shuttle program Enterprise (test) Pathfinder (mockup) Columbia (destroyed 2003) Challenger (destroyed 1986) Discovery (grounded; to fly July 2006) Atlantis (grounded; to fly August 2006) Endeavour (grounded) Explorer (mockup)
Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Shuttle Buran program Buran (retired, damaged) Ptichka (unfinished) 2.01 (unfinished) 2.02 (dismantled) 2.03 (dismantled)

Shuttle Orbiter Discovery (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is a NASA Space Shuttle.

First flown on August 30, 1984, Discovery is the third operational space shuttle, and the oldest remaining in service. She has performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions.

The spacecraft takes her name from previous ships of exploration named Discovery, primarily HMS Discovery, the sailing ship that accompanied famous explorer James Cook on his third and final major voyage. Others include Henry Hudson's ship Discovery which he used in 1610–1611 to search for a Northwest Passage, and RRS Discovery, a vessel used for expeditions to Antarctica in 1901-1904 by Scott and Shackleton (and still preserved as a museum). The shuttle shares a name with Discovery One, the spaceship from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.Image:Discovery docking with the Space Station.JPG

Discovery was the shuttle that launched the Hubble Space Telescope. The second and third Hubble Space Telescope service missions were also conducted by Discovery. She has also launched the Ulysses probe and three TDRS satellites. Discovery has been chosen twice as the return to flight orbiter, first as the return to flight orbiter after the 1986 Challenger disaster in 1988, and as the orbiter for the return to flight mission in July 2005, 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 human being to venture into space.

1 STS-114 mission
2 STS-121 mission (scheduled for July 2006)
3 Flights
4 Notable missions
5 Decommissioning of Space Shuttle Discovery
6 See also
7 External links

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STS-114 mission

Image:123424main landingCap.jpg On July 26, 2005 at 10:39 EDT, Discovery launched into space on mission STS-114, marking the first shuttle launch since the February 2003 Columbia Disaster. Videos taken during the minutes after the launch revealed that a piece of foam insulation came off Discovery's external fuel tank, although it apparently did not damage the shuttle. After the problem was discovered, NASA suspended all future launches until the problem is solved. During the mission astronauts repaired the suspected damaged spot on an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA).

Discovery was set to return on August 7, 2005, but their mission was extended due to unfavorable weather conditions. The shuttle returned from orbit on August 9, 2005, landing in darkness at 8:12 AM EDT just before dawn at Edwards Air Force Base after travelling 5.8 million miles. Image:Discovery open.jpg

Discovery landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10 AM, Monday, August 22. Discovery was flown from Edwards Air Force Base using one of NASA Boeing 747 Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. After landing, Discovery was lifted off the back of the 747 and then towed to the nearby Orbiter Processing Facility marking the end of STS-114. Here, Discovery will be emptied of its cargo from the International Space Station and will be readied for the next shuttle mission: STS-121.

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STS-121 mission (scheduled for July 2006)

Image:Sts121 portrait.jpg

STS-121 will be the second Return to Flight Testing after the Columbia accident in 2003. At first, the space shuttle Atlantis was selected for this mission, but after the external tank foam loss issues with STS-114, the launch has been delayed to July 2006, enabling NASA to select Discovery for STS-121. STS-121 will also continue the demonstration of heat shield repair techniques. STS-121 will visit the International Space Station with additional supplies using the Italian built Leonardo multi purpose logistics module. With sufficient supplies, the ISS will be able to accommodate a third astronaut. German European Space Agency Astronaut Thomas Reiter will join NASA commander William McArthur and Russian Valeri Tokarev, making the ISS truly international again.

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Flights

Image:Shuttle-discovery.jpg Space Shuttle Discovery has flown 31 flights, spent 241.95 days in space, completed 3,808 orbits, and flown 98,710,673 miles (158,859,429 km) in total, as of July 2005.

Discovery is set for retirement in 2010.

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Notable missions

STS-41-D: First Flight
STS-51-D: Carried first sitting United States congressman into space, Senator Jake Garn (R-UT)
STS-26: Return to space after Challenger disaster (STS-51-L)
STS-95: Second flight of John Glenn, oldest man in space
STS-114: Return to space after Columbia disaster (STS-107)

Date	Designation	Notes
1984 August 30	STS-41-D	Launched two communications satellites, including LEASAT F2
1984 November 8	STS-51-A	Launched two and rescued two communications satellites including LEASAT F1
1985 January 24	STS-51-C	Launched DOD Magnum ELINT satellite
1985 April 12	STS-51-D	Launched two communications satellites including LEASAT F3
1985 June 17	STS-51-G	Launched two communications satellites, Sultan Salman al-Saud becomes first Saudi Arabian in space
1985 August 27	STS-51-I	Launched two communications satellites including LEASAT F4. Recovered LEASAT F3
1988 September 29	STS-26	Return to flight, launched TDRS
1989 March 13	STS-29	Launched TDRS
1989 November 22	STS-33	Launched DOD Magnum ELINT satellite
1990 April 24	STS-31	Launch of Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
1990 October 6	STS-41	Launch of Ulysses
1991 April 28	STS-39	Launched DOD Air Force Program-675 (AFP675) satellite
1991 September 12	STS-48	Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS)
1992 January 22	STS-42	International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1)
1992 December 2	STS-53	Department of Defense payload
1993 April 8	STS-56	Atmospheric Laboratory (ATLAS-2)
1993 September 12	STS-51	Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS)
1994 February 3	STS-60	Wake Shield Facility (WSF)
1994 September 9	STS-64	LIDAR In-Space Technology Experiment (LITE)
1995 February 3	STS-63	Rendezvous with Mir space station
1995 July 13	STS-70	7th Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS)
1997 February 11	STS-82	Servicing Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
1997 August 7	STS-85	Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes
1998 June 2	STS-91	Final Shuttle/Mir Docking Mission
1998 October 29	STS-95	SPACEHAB, Second flight of John Glenn, Pedro Duque becomes first spaniard in space
1999 May 27	STS-96	Resupply mission for the International Space Station
1999 December 19	STS-103	Servicing Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
2000 October 11	STS-92	International Space Station Assembly Flight
2001 March 8	STS-102	International Space Station crew rotation flight
2001 August 10	STS-105	International Space Station crew and supplies delivery
2005 July 26	STS-114	Return to flight, International Space Station supplies delivery, new safety procedures testing and evaluation