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Space Shuttle Launch Schedules
Space Shuttle Information
NASA Space Shuttles
- Space Shuttle Missions
- Space Shuttle Atlantis
- Space Shuttle Discovery
- Space Shuttle Columbia
- Space Shuttle Challenger Crash
- STS 121
Space Shuttle Discovery
The Discovery is known for its reliability and for being the first shuttle launched after both the Columbia and the Challenger disasters. The return to space each time marked a renewal of the faith of the people in the space program, which allowed the Discovery to be moved into the role of a faithful space shuttle.
History of the Discovery
The Discovery was one of five space shuttles built by NASA, and is one of only three still being used. Two of the space shuttles, the Challenger and the Columbia, both had disasters that destroyed them. The Discovery has flown the most missions so far and is likely to hold that claim to fame for a while, as there are few that can compete with its 33 missions. It is slated to fly five more missions, giving it nearly 40 missions total, before it is decommissioned at the end of the space shuttle program in 2010. Its most noted flights were are the two return-to-space flights after the two tragedies, the mission that put the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit, and the flight that put John Glenn as the oldest person to ever go to space at the age of 77. These have given the Discovery a reputation and caused it to be a recognized name in the American culture.
Discovery's Claim to Fame
If there was a Hall of Fame for spacecraft, the Discovery would be the cream of the crop. It has performed more for the space program than any other spacecraft in history, and possibly the near future. Putting the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit was by itself enough to put it in the running, but with 33 missions and around 100 million miles of travel, it has cemented its place in space history as the mother of spacecraft and the model for those to come.
History of the Discovery
The Discovery was one of five space shuttles built by NASA, and is one of only three still being used. Two of the space shuttles, the Challenger and the Columbia, both had disasters that destroyed them. The Discovery has flown the most missions so far and is likely to hold that claim to fame for a while, as there are few that can compete with its 33 missions. It is slated to fly five more missions, giving it nearly 40 missions total, before it is decommissioned at the end of the space shuttle program in 2010. Its most noted flights were are the two return-to-space flights after the two tragedies, the mission that put the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit, and the flight that put John Glenn as the oldest person to ever go to space at the age of 77. These have given the Discovery a reputation and caused it to be a recognized name in the American culture.
Discovery's Claim to Fame
If there was a Hall of Fame for spacecraft, the Discovery would be the cream of the crop. It has performed more for the space program than any other spacecraft in history, and possibly the near future. Putting the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit was by itself enough to put it in the running, but with 33 missions and around 100 million miles of travel, it has cemented its place in space history as the mother of spacecraft and the model for those to come.