Discovery Shuttle
Discovery Shuttle
Discovery Shuttle
"And Houston, Discovery. For the final time, wheels stop," Discovery's commander Steven Lindsey called out as the shuttle rolled to a halt.
Around the planet more times than any spacecraft in history, the space shuttle Discovery made its final landing safely on Wednesday morning at NASA'S Kennedy Space Center. An impressive 5,628 orbits, to be exact. That whopping total equals a trip to the sun and back at 148,221,675 miles.
Highlighting just how much people are inspired to look to the sky and reach for the stars, on Monday, March 7, 2011, actor William Shatner who played the role of Captain Kirk on Star Trek, made a surprise call to the astronauts on Discovery. According to NY Daily News, in his infamous chant, Shatner recited the words, "'These have been the voyages of the space shuttle Discovery. 'Her 30-year mission: To seek out new science, to build new outposts, to bring nations together on the final frontier. To boldly go, and do, what no spacecraft has done before."
"Star Trek" helped to make space travel more interesting to television viewers, which in turn helped to keep the American Space Program funded. Millions of young children watched "Star Trek" every week and dreamt about going into space. It may have inspired the many men and women who have devoted their lives to becoming astronauts and scientists.
Even after shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis make their final voyages in the coming months, Discovery will still hold the all-time record with 39 missions and 365 days in space over a period of 27 years.
First delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in November 1983 and launching into space on her maiden voyage on August 30, 1984, Discovery also lays claim to a laundry list of interesting records.
Discovery has docked 13 times with the International Space Station.
She put into orbit 31 satellites.
One of the satellites has been a source of amazement and information for the entire world for more than two decades: On mission STS-31 in April 1990, Discovery put the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. The world and our perception of the Universe changed just a few days later.
It was the first shuttle to launch into space after the Challenger disaster.
On STS-82, Discovery reached the highest altitude in the space shuttle program.
It carried Sergei Krikalev, the first Russian ever in a NASA spaceship.
She also carried Senator and former astronaut John Glenn back into space in STS-95 in October 29, 1998. Glenn was the first American in Space and the oldest man to go to space.
Discovery was the first shuttle returned to space after the Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003. It also had the first night time launch after Columbia.
On STS-63, February 1, 1995, it had a rendezvous with the Russian MIR station, with the first female pilot in the shuttle program: Eileen M. Collins.
Discovery was the final shuttle to dock with the Russian MIR space station on mission STS-91, which launched in June 1998.
After safely returning a total of 246 people from space, Discovery will be decommissioned and sent to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Discover How to Build a Tesla generator Calabria to be discovered sea routes Le Castella, Capo Rizzuto, Ciro 'Marina and Torre Melissa Discover how to pick lottery numbers Discover How To Stop Aging Skin The Natural Way Discover Mumbai- The Enthralling Montage of Cultural Diffusion! Discover more all around Italian Cooking Courses Discover inexpensive escorts in your nearby city E-Discovery - What exactly is it? Discovering Success and Recognition with Inshore Solutions Bajaj Discover 125 Discovering the Wonders of the Axarquia The best way to Discover Bed Bugs The Most Effective Residence Mortgage Deals Could Be Discovered