Space Shuttle Discovery

The name Discovery was chosen to carry on a tradition based on ships of exploration,[2] primarily HMS Discovery,[6] one of the ships commanded by Captain James Cook during his third and final major voyage from 1776 to 1779, and Henry Hudson's Discovery,[2] which was used in 1610–1611 to explore Hudson Bay and search for a Northwest Passage. Other ships bearing the name have included HMS Discovery[7] of the 1875–1876 British Arctic Expedition to the North Pole, and RRS Discovery, which carried the 1901–1904 Discovery Expedition to Antarctica, led by Captain Scott.[8]

Space Shuttle 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 at that time in history.[9]

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.[10] Its first West Coast mission, STS-62-A, was scheduled for 1986, but canceled in the aftermath of the Challenger disaster.

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.[11]

On the maiden voyage of Discovery: Judith Resnik, Henry Hartsfield, Michael L. Coats, Steven A. Hawley, Charles D. Walker, and Richard M. Mullane

Discovery after booster separation

Discovery approaching the ISS on STS-121, its 'teardrop' feature clearly visible

Discovery sends the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit on April 25, 1990

During its construction, Discovery was fitted with several black tiles near the middle starboard window where there should have been white tiles. It is unknown if this was the result of a harmless manufacturing mishap or done intentionally to give a distinctive look to the shuttle. This feature has been called 'teardrop' and allowed Discovery to be told apart from the rest of the fleet without looking at its name, although often unnoticed by the uninitiated.[12]

The spacecraft weighed roughly 3,600 kg (7,900 lb) less than Columbia when it was brought into service due to optimalizations determined during the construction and testing of Enterprise, Columbia and Challenger.[9] Discovery weighs 6 pounds (2.7 kg) heavier than Atlantis and 363 pounds (165 kg) heavier than Endeavour after further weight-saving adjustments were made.[13]

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.[14]

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.[15]

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. 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.[9]

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. The work included scheduled upgrades and additional safety modifications.[9]

SCA N905NA carrying Discovery on the last flyover of the National Mall at around 10:15 am EDT, during its 11:05 am landing at Dulles airport on April 17, 2012[16]

Enterprise and Discovery exchanged and Discovery on display at the National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Discovery was decommissioned on March 9, 2011.[17][18]

NASA offered Discovery to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum for public display and preservation, after a month-long decontamination process,[19] as part of the national collection.[20][21][22] Discovery replaced Enterprise in the Smithsonian's display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.[23][24][25] 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.[26][27]

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), one of the many satellites deployed from Discovery

By its last mission, Discovery had flown 149 million miles (238 million km) in 39 missions, completed 5,830 orbits, and spent 365 days in orbit over 27 years.[28] Discovery flew more flights than any other Orbiter Shuttle, including four in 1985 alone. Discovery flew both "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.[29]

Mission and tribute insignias

NASA Orbiter Tribute for Space Shuttle Discovery

Mission insignia for Discovery flights
STS-41-D	STS-51-A	STS-51-C	STS-51-D	STS-51-G	STS-51-I	STS 26	STS 29
STS 33	STS 31	STS 41	STS 39	STS 48	STS 42	STS 53	STS 56
STS 51	STS 60	STS 64	STS 63	STS 70	STS 82	STS 85	STS 91
STS 95	STS 96	STS 103	STS 92	STS 102	STS 105	STS 114	STS 121
STS 116	STS 120	STS 124	STS 119	STS 128	STS 131	STS 133

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:

• Until 01/1991: John J. "Tip" Talone Jr. (afterwards Flow Director for Endeavour)[32]
• 01/1991 – 09/1992: John C. "Chris" Fairey[32]
• 09/1992 – 10/1996: David A. King[33]
• 10/1996 – 05/2000: W. Scott Cilento[34]
• 12/2000 – 03/2011: Stephanie S. Stilson[35]

• List of human spaceflights
• List of Space Shuttle crews
• List of Space Shuttle missions
• Timeline of Space Shuttle missions

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Space Shuttle Discovery.

• Mission Summary Archive
• Return to Flight mission STS-114 and STS-121
• Shuttle Orbiter Discovery (OV-103) Archived February 9, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
• Night Launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery
• Discovery on Servicing Mission 3A at ESA/Hubble site
• Pictures of preparations for a launch of Discovery Archived December 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
• A Space Shuttle's Final Rollout Archived September 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine – slideshow by Life magazine
• April 16, 2007: Consolidated Launch Manifest: Space Shuttle Flights and ISS Assembly Sequence.
• Transition and Retirement: Hi-res spherical panoramas of the processing
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. TX-116-A, "Space Transportation System, Orbiter Discovery (OV-103), Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, Harris County, TX", 121 photos, 14 measured drawings, 28 photo caption pages