PHOTO

 China World Newsmaker Slides Weekly Photos Share Your Photos Special

Final Flight of Discovery

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-03-10 09:17
Large Medium Small

Final Flight of Discovery

Final Flight of Discovery

Final Flight of Discovery

Final Flight of Discovery

 

Museums compete for space shuttles
 The space shuttle Discovery, 27 years old, 242 million km traveled, somewhat dinged but well maintained,  is an object of fervent desire for museums around the country, which would love to add it or one of its mates, the Endeavour and the Atlantis, to their collections. Financing terms can be arranged with NASA.  More>>
 

Space shuttle Discovery heads home to retirement
Its decades-long mission accomplished, space shuttle Discovery headed home to retirement after undocking from the International Space Station on Monday for the last time. More>>
 

Discovery docks at space station on final voyage
Space shuttle Discovery arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday, making its final visit before being parked at a museum. More>>
 

Shuttle Discovery lifts off for last space flight
Space shuttle Discovery blasted off for the last time on Thursday, carrying six astronauts and a load of supplies, spare parts and a robot for the International Space Station. More>>

Final Flight of Discovery

Date

Notable Missions

Length of journey 

Aug 30, 1984

First Discovery mission: Launched two communications satellites, including LEASAT F2.

6 days, 56 minutes

April 12, 1985

Launched two communications satellites including LEASAT F3.

6 days, 23 hours

Sept 29, 1988

Return to flight after Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, launched TDRS.

4 days, 01 hours

April 24, 1990

Launch of Hubble Space Telescope (HST).

5 days, 01 hours

Feb 3, 1994

First Russian launched in an American spacecraft (Sergei Krikalev).

7 days, 06 hours

Oct  29,1998

SPACEHAB, second flight of John Glenn,  oldest man in space and third incumbent member of Congress to enter space.

8 days, 21 hours

May 27,1999

First flight to dock to the International Space Station.

9 days,19 hours

Oct 11,2000

International Space Station Assembly Flight (carried and assembled the Z1 truss); 100th Shuttle mission.

  12 days, 21 hours

July 26,2005

Return to flight since Space Shuttle Columbia disaster; International Space Station (ISS) supplies delivery, new safety procedures testing and evaluation, Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Raffaello.

13 days, 21 hours
Dec 9, 2006 ISS crew rotation and assembly (carries and assembles the P5 truss segment); Last flight to launch on pad 39-B; First night launch since Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

 12 days, 20 hours
April 5, 2010 ISS resupply using the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. The mission also marked the first time that 4 women were in space & the first time that 2 Japanese astronauts were together in space; longest mission for this orbiter.

 15 days, 2 hours
Feb 24, 2011 The mission launched at 4:53 pm EST on February 24, is carrying the Pressurized Multipurpose Module (PMM) Leonardo, the ELC-4 and Robonaut 2 to the ISS. This is the final mission for Space Shuttle Discovery.

 12 days,19 hours

Final Flight of Discovery
Enterprise

 Columbia

Challenger

Enterprise, the first shuttle, did test flights on Jan 31, 1977, but was never flown into space. It is already on display at a museum outside Washington. Finally, on Nov 18, 1985, it was ferried to Washington, D.C., where it became property of the Smithsonian Institution.

Columbia, built in 1981 at a cost of about $1 billion, made its maiden flight on April 12, 1981. It had been refurbished three times since its first flight. It completed 27 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 near the end of its 28th. 

Challenger, NASA's 2nd Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service. Its maiden flight was on April 4, 1983, and it completed 9 missions before breaking apart 73 seconds after the launch of its tenth mission on Jan 28, 1986, resulting in the death of all seven crew members.

Discovery

Atlantis

Endeavour 

Discovery is one of the three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States. It has logged 143 million miles (230 million kilometers) since its first flight in 1984. It decommissioned in 2011. 

Atlantis is the fourth operational Space Shuttle to be constructed and was delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center in April 1985. After 32 flight, it has orbited the Earth more than 4600 times, traveling over 120 million miles. Its last mission  is scheduled for June 28, 2011. 

Endeavour is the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger. Endeavour first flew in May 1992 on mission STS-49 and was scheduled for decommissioning in 2011. The final takeoff is set on April 19, 2011. 
Final Flight of Discovery
Why to retire?

 Where to go after retirement?

How to go to space? 

The 30-year-old shuttle program is ending due to high operating costs. The Obama administration wants to free NASA to focus on deep space exploration and new technology development. 

NASA plans to give its three shuttles - Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour - to museums for preservation. 

When the US space shuttle program officially ends later this year, the Russian space program's Soyuz capsule will be the only method for transporting astronauts to and from the ISS. Obama administration want to spur private companies to get into the space taxi business.