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Discovery space
shuttle
Discovery prior to docking with the International Space Station
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.
Discovery as viewed from the International Space Station
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.
Rollout of the orbiter Discovery, 1998 (NASA)
STS-114 mission
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.
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.
Flights
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.
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)
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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 |
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