Space Shuttle Discovery

The name Discovery was chosen to carry on a tradition based on ships of exploration, one of the ships commanded by Captain James Cook during his third and final major voyage from 1776 to 1779, and Henry Hudson's , of the 1875–1876 British Arctic Expedition to the North Pole, and , which carried the 1901–1904 Discovery Expedition to Antarctica, led by Captain Scott. Its first West Coast mission, STS-62-A, was scheduled for 1986, but canceled in the aftermath of the Challenger disaster. On May 27, 1999, Discovery was launched on STS-96, the first shuttle mission to dock with the International Space Station. 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. ==Construction milestones==

, Henry Hartsfield, Michael L. Coats, Steven A. Hawley, Charles D. Walker, and Richard M. Mullane on STS-121, its 'teardrop' feature clearly visible|alt=Discovery is approaching the International Space Station during STS-121. The payload in the shuttle's cargo compartment would be attached to the ISS later in the mission. The spaceship's unique 'teardrop' feature, consisting of several black tiles near the cockpit, is clearly visible. 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. The spacecraft weighed roughly less than Columbia when it was brought into service due to optimalizations determined during the construction and testing of Enterprise, Columbia and Challenger. Discovery weighs heavier than Atlantis and heavier than Endeavour after further weight-saving adjustments were made. 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. 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. 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 fifth 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. 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. ==Decommissioning==

Discovery was decommissioned on March 9, 2011. NASA offered Discovery to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum for public display and preservation, after a month-long decontamination process, as part of the national collection. Discovery replaced Enterprise, which was in the Smithsonian's display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center until 2011. Discovery was transported to Washington Dulles International Airport on April 17, 2012, and was transferred to the Udvar-Hazy Center 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. Texas senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz added a provision to the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act to spend $85 million to relocate a space vehicle that has flown astronauts into space, presumably Discovery because of the sponsors of the provision and previous legislation attempts, from the Udvar-Hazy Center to the Space Center Houston Museum in Texas. While the Smithsonian estimated that the total cost of the transfer would be approximately $325 million, they also countered that ownership of the shuttle had been transferred to the museum and was no longer federal property, and that Congress did not have the ability to force a transfer. ==Flights==

By its last mission, Discovery had flown in 39 missions, completed 5,830 orbits, and spent 365 days in orbit over 27 years. 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. Flights listing ‡ Longest shuttle mission for Discovery – shortest shuttle mission for Discovery Mission and tribute insignias ==Flow directors==

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) • 01/1991 – 09/1992: John C. "Chris" Fairey • 10/1996 – 05/2000: W. Scott Cilento • 12/2000 – 03/2011: Stephanie S. Stilson ==Gallery==