Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011. Read more
NASA Announces New Homes For Shuttle Orbiters After Retirement
After 30 years of spaceflight, more than 130 missions, and numerous science and technology firsts, NASA's space shuttle fleet will retire and be on display at institutions across the country to inspire the next generation of explorers and engineers. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on Tuesday announced the facilities where four shuttle orbiters will be displayed permanently at the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program. Shuttle Enterprise, the first orbiter built, will move from the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Centre in Virginia to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York. The Udvar-Hazy Centre will become the new home for shuttle Discovery, which retired after completing its 39th mission in March. Shuttle Endeavour, which is preparing for its final flight at the end of the month, will go to the California Science Centre in Los Angeles. Atlantis, which will fly the last planned shuttle mission in June, will be displayed at the Kennedy Space Centre Visitor Complex in Florida. Read more
Nasa announces US museums to receive space shuttles
Nasa is to send three retired space shuttles to museums in California, Florida and suburban Washington. Discovery heads to the Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Centre in Virginia, Atlantis to Florida's Kennedy Space Centre, and Endeavour to the California Science Centre in Los Angeles. Also, the prototype Enterprise, which never flew in space, goes to the Intrepid museum in New York City. Read more
When Nasa's most trusted shuttle touches down next month, it will mark the beginning of the end of an era. Discovery in particular has had a historic run, making 39 missions since 1984. It transported the Hubble Space telescope into orbit. Now, it's headed for a less taxing berth at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC. Read more
The drive to bring the space shuttle to National Museum of the United States Air Force has been a mix of politics, diplomacy and marketing. Now the plan is one step closer to reality. Within a few weeks, the shuttle program will be over and the spacecraft will no longer be needed by NASA. For the past year, museums nationwide have been competing to be its final resting place. Read more
Space shuttle engineers have often been forced to source parts by unusual means.
Most famously, Nasa scientists used eBay, the auction website, to find replacement parts so primitive they would not even be recognised by home computer users. The shuttles, first launched in 1981, often rely on components that are so out of date, they are no longer made. Some used a type of computer disk drive that was outmoded by the end of the 1970s. Read more
NASA Updates Shuttle Target Launch Dates For Final Two Flights
NASA is targeting approximately 4:33 p.m. EDT on Nov. 1 for the launch of space shuttle Discovery's STS-133 mission and 4:19 p.m. EST on Feb. 26, 2011, for the liftoff of shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 flight from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Read more