Discovery in orbit in 2011, during STS-133, the orbiter's final flight
Type
Spaceplane
Class
Space Shuttle orbiter
Eponym
Discovery (1602)
HMS Discovery (1774)
Serial no.
OV-103
Owner
NASA
Manufacturer
Rockwell International
Specifications
Dry mass
78,000 kilograms (172,000 lb)
Rocket
Space Shuttle
History
First flight
August 30 – September 5, 1984
STS-41-D
Last flight
February 24 – March 9, 2011
STS-133
Flights
39
Flight time
8,783 hours
Travelled
238,539,663 kilometres (148,221,675 mi) around Earth[1]
Orbits
5,830 around Earth
Fate
Retired
Location
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Chantilly, Virginia
Space Shuttle orbiters
← Challenger
Atlantis →
Space Shuttle Discovery at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy CenterDiscovery rollout ceremony in October 1983Discovery and SCA 905 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, November 6, 1983
Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is a retired American spacecraft. The spaceplane was one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built.[2] 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, aggregating more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. The Space Shuttle launch vehicle had three main components: the Space Shuttle orbiter, 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.[3]
Discovery became the third operational orbiter to enter service, preceded by Columbia and Challenger.[4] It embarked on its final mission, STS-133, on February 24, 2011, and touched down for the last time at Kennedy Space Center on March 9,[5] having spent a cumulative total of nearly a full year in space. Discovery performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions, and also carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit among other satellites.
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.
^NASA (October 2010). "NASAfacts Discovery (OV-103)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on October 26, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
^NASA (2007). "Space Shuttle Overview: Discovery (OV-103)". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archived from the original on November 7, 2007. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
^"10 Cool Facts About NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery | Space Shuttle Retirement". Space.com. April 18, 2012. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
^"Discovery's last mission flight to space begun". February 24, 2011. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
^"Discovery's Final Touchdown A Success". redOrbit.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
and 17 Related for: Space Shuttle Discovery information
SpaceShuttleDiscovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is a retired American spacecraft. The spaceplane was one of the orbiters from NASA's Space...
the SpaceShuttle fleet, Discovery replaced Enterprise at the Udvar-Hazy Center, and Enterprise was transferred to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum...
On Saturday, February 1, 2003, SpaceShuttle Columbia disintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere over Texas and Louisiana, killing all seven astronauts...
part of the SpaceShuttle stack. Columbia was the first space-worthy orbiter; it made its inaugural flight in 1981. Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis...
The SpaceShuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and...
retirement of NASA's SpaceShuttle fleet took place from March to July 2011. Discovery was the first of the three active SpaceShuttles to be retired, completing...
the SpaceShuttle Enterprise, and used structural spares built during the construction of Discovery and Atlantis in its assembly. The spaceshuttle will...
The SpaceShuttle was a partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated by NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Its...
The SpaceShuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which...
SpaceShuttle Atlantis (Orbiter Vehicle designation: OV‑104) is a retired SpaceShuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space...
On January 28, 1986, the SpaceShuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. The spacecraft disintegrated...
module, was launched by a Proton rocket on 20 November 1998. The STS-88 SpaceShuttle mission followed two weeks after Zarya was launched, bringing Unity...
than Discovery. During its three years of operation, Challenger was flown on ten missions in the SpaceShuttle program, spending over 62 days in space and...
SpaceShuttle Columbia (OV-102) was a SpaceShuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the first American...
brought to the station aboard SpaceShuttleDiscovery during mission STS-102. The Expedition's increment began when Discovery docked on 10 March 2001, bringing...
Global Information
