Space Shuttle Discovery

This article contains information regarding a rocket or spacecraft which is either currently in the process of launching, or is scheduled to launch within the next 4 days.

Details may change as the countdown and ascent progress.

Launch details: Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-120), with seven astronauts, 23 October, 15:38 GMT • Live countdown clock • Webcast

Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery being prepared for mission STS-121.
OV Designation	OV-103
Country	United States
Contract award	29 January 1979
Named after	RRS Discovery
First flight	STS-41-D 30 August 1984 – 5 September 1984
Last flight	STS-116 9 December 2006 - 22 December 2006
Number of missions	33
Crews	199
Time spent in space	268.62 days
Number of orbits	4,229
Distance travelled	–176,657,672 km –109,810,673 mi
Satellites deployed	31 (including Hubble Space Telescope)
Mir dockings	1
ISS dockings	7
Status	Active

Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the three currently operational spacecraft in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States.^[1] (The other two are Atlantis and Endeavour.) When first flown in 1984, Discovery became the third operational Space Shuttle and is now the oldest shuttle in service. Discovery has performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions.

The spacecraft takes its 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 fictional Jupiter spaceship from the films 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: The Year We Make Contact.

Discovery was the shuttle that launched the Hubble Space Telescope. The second and third Hubble 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 in 1988 as the return to flight orbiter after the 1986 Challenger disaster, and then for the twin return to flight missions in July 2005 and July 2006 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.

Had the planned missions from Vandenberg Air Force Base for the DOD gone ahead, Discovery would have flown these missions.

Current status

As of 2007-10-01 Discovery has been rolled out to launch pad 39A in preparation for the STS-120 mission.^[2] The terminal countdown demonstration test was conducted from October 7 to October 10. The target launch date for the mission is October 23, 2007.

Flights

Space Shuttle Discovery has flown 33 flights, spent 241.95 days in space, completed 3,808 orbits, and flown 98,710,673 statute miles (158,859,429 km) in total, as of December 2006. It has flown the most flights of all Space Shuttles so far (a title it is likely to keep). Discovery has also flown on more individual flights than any other spacecraft in history and is likely to retain this honor for some time as no planned launch vehicles (neither American nor International) have a designed lifespan of more than 10 flights. Discovery has flown both "return to flight" missions after the Challenger and Columbia disasters: STS-26 in 1988 and STS-114 in 2005.

STS-121 launches, the only Independence Day shuttle launch for NASA.

The Space Shuttle Discovery approaches the International Space Station for docking but before the link-up occurred, the orbiter "posed" for a thorough series of inspection photos.

Notable missions

STS-41-D: First flight
STS-51-D: Carried first sitting United States Member of Congress into space, Senator Jake Garn (R-UT)
STS-26: Return to space after Challenger disaster (STS-51-L)
STS-31: Launch of Hubble Space Telescope
STS-60: First Russian launched in an American spacecraft, Sergei Krikalyov
STS-95: Second flight of John Glenn, oldest man in space and third sitting Member of Congress to enter space.
STS-92, the 100th Space Shuttle Mission
STS-114: Return to space after Columbia disaster (STS-107)
STS-121:First Shuttle launch on the 4th of July Holiday
STS-116: First night time launch of a shuttle since the Columbia disaster.

Flights listing

#	Date	Designation	Notes
1	1984 August 30	STS-41-D	First Discovery mission: Launched two communications satellites, including LEASAT F2.
2	1984 November 8	STS-51-A	Launched two and rescued two communications satellites including LEASAT F1.
3	1985 January 24	STS-51-C	Launched DOD Magnum ELINT satellite.
4	1985 April 12	STS-51-D	Launched two communications satellites including LEASAT F3.
5	1985 June 17	STS-51-G	Launched two communications satellites, Sultan Salman al-Saud becomes first Saudi Arabian in space.
6	1985 August 27	STS-51-I	Launched two communications satellites including LEASAT F4. Recovered LEASAT F3.
7	1988 September 29	STS-26	Return to flight since Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, launched TDRS.
8	1989 March 13	STS-29	Launched TDRS.
9	1989 November 22	STS-33	Launched DOD Magnum ELINT satellite.
10	1990 April 24	STS-31	Launch of Hubble Space Telescope (HST).
11	1990 October 6	STS-41	Launch of Ulysses.
12	1991 April 28	STS-39	Launched DOD Air Force Program-675 (AFP675) satellite.
13	1991 September 12	STS-48	Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS).
14	1992 January 22	STS-42	International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1).
15	1992 December 2	STS-53	Department of Defense payload.
16	1993 April 8	STS-56	Atmospheric Laboratory (ATLAS-2).
17	1993 September 12	STS-51	Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS).
18	1994 February 3	STS-60	Wake Shield Facility (WSF).
19	1994 September 9	STS-64	LIDAR In-Space Technology Experiment (LITE).
20	1995 February 3	STS-63	Rendezvous with Mir space station.
21	1995 July 13	STS-70	7th Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS).
22	1997 February 11	STS-82	Servicing Hubble Space Telescope (HST) (HSM-2).
23	1997 August 7	STS-85	Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes.
24	1998 June 2	STS-91	Final Shuttle/Mir Docking Mission.
25	1998 October 29	STS-95	SPACEHAB, second flight of John Glenn, Pedro Duque becomes first Spaniard in space.
26	1999 May 27	STS-96	Resupply mission for the International Space Station.
27	1999 December 19	STS-103	Servicing Hubble Space Telescope (HST) (HSM-3A).
28	2000 October 11	STS-92	International Space Station Assembly Flight (carried and assembled the Z1 truss); 100th Shuttle mission.
29	2001 March 8	STS-102	International Space Station crew rotation flight (Expedition 1 and Expedition 2)
30	2001 August 10	STS-105	International Space Station crew and supplies delivery (Expedition 2 and Expedition 3)
31	2005 July 26	STS-114	Return to flight since Space Shuttle Columbia disaster; International Space Station supplies delivery, new safety procedures testing and evaluation.
32	2006 July 4	STS-121	International Space Station crew and supplies delivery.
33	2006 December 9	STS-116	International Space Station crew rotation and assembly (carries and assembles the P5 truss segment).
34	NET 2007 October 23	STS-120	Planned International Space Station crew rotation and assembly (carries and assembles the Harmony module).
35	NET 2008 TBD	STS-124	Planned International Space Station crew rotation and assembly (carries and assembles the Kibō JEM PM module).

Decommissioning of Space Shuttle Discovery

The launch of STS-41-D, Discovery’s first mission.

According to NASA, Space Shuttle Discovery will be decommissioned in 2010.^{[citation needed]} If the Contingency Logistic Flight STS-133 by Endeavour will not be flown, Discovery will be the last Space Shuttle to fly on mission STS-132. NASA expects to launch the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle on the new Ares I rocket by 2014.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Space Shuttle Discovery

Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103)
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
Upcoming:	STS-120 · STS-124 · STS-119 · STS-126 · STS-128 · STS-130 · STS-132
Status:	All Space Shuttle missions Operational

Space Shuttle program
Main articles	Space Shuttle · Space Shuttle program
Components	Orbiter · Solid Rocket Booster · External Tank · Main Engines · Orbital Maneuvering System
Orbiters	Enterprise · Columbia · Challenger · *Discovery* · Atlantis · Endeavour
Launch sites	Kennedy Space Center LC-39 · Vandenberg Air Force Base · SLC-6
Developments	Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle · Shuttle-C · Ares I · Ares V
Testing	Pathfinder · MPTA · MPTA-ET
Other articles	Missions (cancelled) · Decision to build · Crews · Abort modes · Space shuttles in fiction · Crawler-transporter · Shuttle Carrier Aircraft · Space Shuttle America (motion simulator ride) · Shuttle Mockup Explorer

Space Shuttles
	US Space Shuttle program Enterprise (OV-101, atmospheric tests, retired) Pathfinder (OV-098, ground tests) Columbia (OV-102, destroyed 2003) Challenger (OV-099, destroyed 1986) Discovery (OV-103, active) Atlantis (OV-104, active) Endeavour (OV-105, active)	Soviet Buran program OK-GLI (Buran Analog BST-02, aerotester) Buran (Shuttle 1.01, destroyed 2002) Ptichka (Shuttle 1.02, 95–97% completed) Baikal (Shuttle 2.01, incomplete) Shuttle 2.02 (partially dismantled) Shuttle 2.03 (dismantled)