8/15/2023 0 Comments Discovery shuttle![]() ![]() In 1985, Discovery became the only shuttle orbiter to fly four times in a single year. Through a spectacular series of spacewalks using the free-flying Manned Maneuvering Unit jetpacks, two malfunctioning satellites were retrieved and tucked into Discovery's payload bay for the trip home. On its second mission, Discovery became the first spacecraft to retrieve a satellite and bring it home. The mission was commanded by astronaut Henry W. That flight launched three communications satellites and tested an experimental solar array wing. assembly plant in October 1983 and was delivered via piggyback airplane flight to NASA' s Kennedy Space Center the next month. Named for past sailing ships of exploration, it rolled out of its Palmdale, Calif. It took four years to build Discovery, the third shuttle orbiter built. Those have included the first female to ever pilot a spacecraft, the oldest person to fly in space, the first African-American to perform a spacewalk, the first cosmonaut to fly on an American spacecraft and the first sitting member of Congress to fly in space.ĭiscovery was used for NASA's Return to Flight Mission following the Challenger accident, during which the STS-26 crew delivered the TDRS-C satellite to Earth orbit. That equals 288 round trips to the moon or about one and a half trips to the sun.ĭiscovery has carried more crew members - 246 - than any space vehicle. It has traveled almost 143 million miles. Discovery has circled Earth 5,628 times, all the while speeding along at 17,400 miles per hour. In 38 trips to space, Discovery has spent 352 days in orbit, almost a full year. And twice it has demonstrated the United States' will to persevere following devastating tragedy, returning America to orbit following the two worst accidents in space history.Īlthough all five vehicles that have comprised NASA's space shuttle fleet are unmatched in achievements, space shuttle Discovery is unique among the extraordinary. ![]() It launched a telescope that has seen deeper in space and in time than ever before. It was the first spacecraft to retrieve a satellite and bring it back to Earth. It has flown to space more than any other craft, and it has carried more crew members to orbit. Space shuttle Discovery is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 23 crew member as the shuttle approaches the International Space Station during STS-131 rendezvous and docking operations. ![]()
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