Space Shuttle Discovery - Flights

Flights

By its last mission, Discovery had flown 149 million miles (238 million km) in 39 missions, completed 5,830 orbits, and spent 365 days in orbit in over 27 years. Discovery is the Orbiter Fleet leader, having flown more flights than any other Orbiter Shuttle in the fleet, including four in 1985 alone. Discovery flew all three "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 (NET) 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.

Notable missions:

  • STS-41-D: Space Shuttle Discovery's maiden spaceflight with the second American woman in space, Judith Resnik
  • STS-51-D: Carried first incumbent United States member of Congress into space, Senator Jake Garn (R–Utah)
  • STS-26: First "Return to Flight" after Challenger disaster (STS-51-L)
  • STS-31: Launch of the Hubble Space Telescope
  • STS-48: Launch of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite
  • STS-60: First Russian launched in an American spacecraft (Sergei Krikalev)
  • STS-63: First female shuttle pilot Eileen Collins.
  • STS-95: Second flight of John Glenn, who was 77 years of age at that time, the oldest man in space and third incumbent member of Congress to enter space
  • STS-96: First Orbiter Shuttle and first mission flight to dock with the International Space Station
  • STS-92: The 100th Space Shuttle mission
  • STS-114: Second "Return to Flight" missions after Columbia disaster (STS-107)
  • STS-116: First night time launch of a Space Shuttle since the Columbia disaster. Last Shuttle launch from LC-39B
  • STS-131: Longest mission for this Orbiter with 15 days to its credit
  • STS-133: Final mission for this Space Shuttle

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