Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is a retired American Space Shuttle orbiter. The spaceplane was one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. [2] Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984.

On Oct. 16, 1983, NASA’s newest space shuttle, Discovery, made its public debut during a rollout ceremony at its manufacturing plant in Palmdale, California. Under construction for three years, Discovery joined NASA’s other two space-worthy orbiters, Columbia and Challenger, and atmospheric test vehicle Enterprise.

The Space Shuttle Discovery flew every kind of mission an orbiter was meant to fly. As a historical object in the Museum's collection, it embodies the 30-year history of U.S. human spaceflight from 1981 to 2011, the era of the Space Shuttle program.

Sep 29, 2021 · Discovery was ready to go back into the weightless expanse—the first Space Shuttle mission since the Challenger disaster nearly three years earlier. Would there be a repeat of that terrible day on...

Sep 5, 2024 · Space shuttle Discovery (STS-31) comes in for a landing on April 29, 1990. An idea born in unsettled times becomes a feat of engineering excellence. The most complex machine ever built to bring humans to and from space and eventually construct the next stop on the road to space exploration. Beginning of dialog window.

Aug 30, 2019 · Space Shuttle Discovery, named after several historical ships of exploration, was the third space-qualified orbiter to be added to the fleet. Incorporating manufacturing lessons learned from the first orbiters as well as through the use of more advanced materials, Discovery weighed nearly 8,000 pounds less than its sister ship Columbia .

Early in the Space Shuttle program, NASA flew with payload specialists, who were typically systems specialists who worked for the company paying for the payload's deployment or operations. ... Discovery deploying its brake parachute after landing on STS-124. The approach and landing phase began when the orbiter vehicle was at an altitude of ...

Sep 9, 2020 · NASA's retired space planes are officially on display for the public to enjoy, but you'll have to go state-hopping to see all four of the iconic spacecraft. From Los Angeles to New York, the...

Jan 28, 2025 · The five crew members launched on the three-day jaunt to space and back – aboard Space Shuttle Discovery – on January 24, 1985. The purpose of the classified mission was to deploy a satellite to geostationary orbit using an Inertial Upper Stage (IUS).

STS-41 was the 36th Space Shuttle mission and the eleventh mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery. The four-day mission had a primary objective of launching the Ulysses probe as part of the "International Solar Polar Mission" (ISPM). ... NASA was evaluating a possible Shuttle rescue mission in 1992. In preparation for this rescue, ...