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Space Shuttle Discovery

Space Shuttle orbiter (1984–2011)

Field	Value
name	Discovery
image	STS-133 Space Shuttle Discovery after undocking 3 (cropped).jpg
image_alt	Top view of a spaceplane in space.
caption	Discovery in orbit in 2011, during STS-133, the orbiter's final flight
type	Spaceplane
class	Space Shuttle orbiter
serial	OV-103
eponym
owner	NASA
manufacturer	Rockwell International
dry_mass	78000 kg
rocket	Space Shuttle
first_flight_date	August 30 – September 5, 1984
first_flight	STS-41-D
last_flight_date	February 24 – March 9, 2011
last_flight	STS-133
flights	39
time	8,783 hours
travelled	238539663 km around Earth
orbits	5,830 around Earth
fate	Retired
location
previous	Challenger
next	Atlantis

Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' at the [[Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

''Discovery'' rollout ceremony in October 1983

Discovery and SCA 905 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, November 6, 1983

**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. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, aggregating more spaceflights than any other spacecraft . The Space Shuttle launch vehicle had three main components: the Space Shuttle orbiter, a single-use central fuel tank, and two reusable solid rocket boosters. Nearly 25,000 heat-resistant tiles cover the orbiter to protect it from high temperatures on re-entry.

Discovery became the third operational orbiter to enter service, preceded by Columbia and Challenger. After the Challenger and Columbia accidents, Discovery became the oldest surviving orbiter. It embarked on its final mission, STS-133, on February 24, 2011, and touched down for the last time at Kennedy Space Center on March 9, having spent a cumulative total of nearly a full year in space. Discovery performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions, and also carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit among other satellites.

Discovery was the first operational shuttle to be retired, followed by Endeavour and then Atlantis. The shuttle is now on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

History

The name Discovery was chosen to carry on a tradition based on ships of exploration, primarily , one of the ships commanded by Captain James Cook during his third and final major voyage from 1776 to 1779, and Henry Hudson's , which was used in 1610–1611 to explore Hudson Bay and search for a Northwest Passage. Other ships bearing the name have included of the 1875–1876 British Arctic Expedition to the North Pole, and , which carried the 1901–1904 Discovery Expedition to Antarctica, led by Captain Scott.

Space Shuttle Discovery launched the Hubble Space Telescope and conducted the second and third Hubble service missions. It also launched the Ulysses probe and three TDRS satellites. Twice Discovery was chosen as the "Return To Flight" Orbiter, first in 1988 after the loss of Challenger in 1986, and then again for the twin "Return To Flight" missions in July 2005 and July 2006 after the Columbia disaster in 2003. Project Mercury astronaut John Glenn, who was 77 at the time, flew with Discovery on STS-95 in 1998, making him the oldest person to go into space at that time in history.

Had plans to launch United States Department of Defense payloads from Vandenberg Air Force Base gone ahead, Discovery would have become the dedicated US Air Force shuttle. Its first West Coast mission, STS-62-A, was scheduled for 1986, but canceled in the aftermath of the Challenger disaster.

On May 27, 1999, Discovery was launched on STS-96, the first shuttle mission to dock with the International Space Station.

Discovery was retired after completing its final mission, STS-133 on March 9, 2011. The spacecraft is now on display in Virginia at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, an annex of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.

In 2025, the Trump One Big Beautiful Bill had a rider from Texas federal lawmakers stating that a Shuttle was to be moved to Texas. The only federally owned shuttle remaining, Discovery, would be the shuttle that would be dismantled and moved, at a cost of over $300 million. It would likely be moved to Houston, but cannot leave the Smithsonian and transported to Texas without being taken apart.

Construction milestones

Date	title=Discovery (OV-103)	url=http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/discovery.html	publisher=NASA/KSC	access-date=March 10, 2011	url-status=dead	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610033909/http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/Discovery.html	archive-date=June 10, 2011}}
1979 January 29	Contract Award to Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California
1979 August 27	Start long lead fabrication of Crew Module
1980 June 20	Start fabrication lower fuselage
1980 November 10	Start structural assembly of aft-fuselage
1980 December 8	Start initial system installation aft fuselage
1981 March 2	Start fabrication/assembly of payload bay doors
1981 October 26	Start initial system installation, crew module, Downey
1982 January 4	Start initial system installation upper forward fuselage
1982 March 16	Midfuselage on dock, Palmdale, California
1982 March 30	Elevons on dock, Palmdale
1982 April 30	Wings arrive at Palmdale from Grumman
1982 April 30	Lower forward fuselage on dock, Palmdale
1982 July 16	Upper forward fuselage on dock, Palmdale
1982 August 5	Vertical stabilizer on dock, Palmdale
1982 September 3	Start of Final Assembly
1982 October 15	Body flap on dock, Palmdale
1983 January 11	Aft fuselage on dock, Palmdale
1983 February 25	Complete final assembly and closeout installation, Palmdale
1983 February 28	Start initial subsystems test, power-on, Palmdale
1983 May 13	Complete initial subsystems testing
1983 July 26	Complete subsystems testing
1983 August 12	Completed Final Acceptance
1983 October 16	Rollout from Palmdale
1983 November 5	Overland transport from Palmdale to Edwards Air Force Base
1983 November 9	Delivery to Kennedy Space Center
1984 June 2	Flight Readiness Firing
1984 August 30	First Flight (STS-41-D)

Features and upgrades

''Discovery'' after booster separation on STS-121

During its construction, Discovery was fitted with several black tiles near the middle starboard window where there should have been white tiles. It is unknown if this was the result of a harmless manufacturing mishap or done intentionally to give a distinctive look to the shuttle. This feature has been called 'teardrop' and allowed Discovery to be told apart from the rest of the fleet without looking at its name, although often unnoticed by the uninitiated.

The spacecraft weighed roughly 6870 lb less than Columbia when it was brought into service due to optimalizations determined during the construction and testing of Enterprise, Columbia and Challenger. Discovery weighs 6 lb heavier than Atlantis and 363 lb heavier than Endeavour after further weight-saving adjustments were made.

Part of the Discovery weight optimizations included the greater use of quilted AFRSI blankets rather than the white LRSI tiles on the fuselage, and the use of graphite epoxy instead of aluminum for the payload bay doors and some of the wing spars and beams.

Upon its delivery to the Kennedy Space Center in 1983, Discovery was modified alongside Challenger to accommodate the liquid-fueled Centaur-G booster, which had been planned for use beginning in 1986 but was cancelled in the wake of the Challenger disaster.

Beginning in late 1995, the orbiter underwent a nine-month Orbiter Maintenance Down Period (OMDP) in Palmdale, California. This included outfitting the vehicle with a fifth set of cryogenic tanks and an external airlock to support missions to the International Space Station. As with all the orbiters, it could be attached to the top of specialized aircraft and did so in June 1996 when it returned to the Kennedy Space Center, and later in April 2012 when sent to the Udvar-Hazy Center, riding piggy-back on a modified Boeing 747.

After STS-105, Discovery became the first of the orbiter fleet to undergo Orbiter Major Modification (OMM) period at the Kennedy Space Center. Work began in September 2002 to prepare the vehicle for Return to Flight. The work included scheduled upgrades and additional safety modifications.

Decommissioning

Main article: Space Shuttle retirement

Discovery was decommissioned on March 9, 2011. NASA offered Discovery to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum for public display and preservation, after a month-long decontamination process, as part of the national collection. Discovery replaced Enterprise, which was in the Smithsonian's display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center until 2011. Discovery was transported to Washington Dulles International Airport on April 17, 2012, and was transferred to the Udvar-Hazy Center on April 19 where a welcome ceremony was held. Afterwards, at around 5:30 pm, Discovery was rolled to its "final wheels stop" in the Udvar-Hazy Center.

Texas senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz added a provision to the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act to spend $85 million to relocate a space vehicle that has flown astronauts into space, presumably Discovery because of the sponsors of the provision and previous legislation attempts, from the Udvar-Hazy Center to the Space Center Houston Museum in Texas. While the Smithsonian estimated that the total cost of the transfer would be approximately $325 million, they also countered that ownership of the shuttle had been transferred to the museum and was no longer federal property, and that Congress did not have the ability to force a transfer.

Flights

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), one of the many satellites deployed from ''Discovery'' (photo from STS-48)

By its last mission, Discovery had flown 149 e6mi in 39 missions, completed 5,830 orbits, and spent 365 days in orbit over 27 years. Discovery flew more flights than any other Orbiter Shuttle, including four in 1985 alone. Discovery flew both "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 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.

Flights listing

#	Date	Designation	Notes	Length of journey
1		STS-41-D	First Discovery mission: Judith Resnik became second American woman in Space. Three communications satellites were put into orbit, including LEASAT F2.	6 days, 00 hours,
56 minutes, 04 seconds
2		STS-51-A	Launched two and rescued two communications satellites including LEASAT F1.	7 days, 23 hours,
44 minutes, 56 seconds
3		STS-51-C	Launched DOD Magnum ELINT satellite.	3 days, 01 hours,
33 minutes, 23 seconds-
4		STS-51-D	Launched two communications satellites including LEASAT F3. Carried first incumbent United States member of Congress into space, Senator Jake Garn (R–Utah)	6 days, 23 hours,
55 minutes, 23 seconds
5		STS-51-G	Launched two communications satellites, Sultan Salman al-Saud becomes first Saudi Arabian in space.	7 days, 01 hours,
38 minutes, 52 seconds
6		STS-51-I	Launched two communications satellites including LEASAT F4. Recovered, repaired, and redeployed LEASAT F3.	7 days, 02 hours,
17 minutes, 42 seconds
7		STS-26	Return to flight after Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, launched TDRS-3.	4 days, 01 hours,
00 minutes, 11 seconds
8		STS-29	Launched TDRS-4.	4 days, 23 hours,
38 minutes, 52 seconds
9		STS-33	Launched DOD Magnum ELINT satellite.	5 days, 00 hours,
06 minutes, 49 seconds
10		STS-31	Launch of Hubble Space Telescope (HST).	5 days, 01 hours,
16 minutes, 06 seconds
11		STS-41	Launch of Ulysses.	4 days, 02 hours,
10 minutes, 04 seconds
12		STS-39	Launched DOD Air Force Program-675 (AFP-675) satellite.	8 days, 07 hours,
22 minutes, 23 seconds
13		STS-48	Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS).	5 days, 08 hours,
27 minutes, 38 seconds
14		STS-42	International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1).	8 days, 01 hours,
14 minutes, 44 seconds
15		STS-53	Department of Defense payload.	7 days, 07 hours,
19 minutes, 47 seconds
16		STS-56	Atmospheric Laboratory (ATLAS-2).	9 days, 06 hours,
08 minutes, 24 seconds
17		STS-51	Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS).	9 days, 20 hours,
11 minutes, 11 seconds
18		STS-60	First Shuttle-Mir mission; Wake Shield Facility (WSF). First Russian launched in an American spacecraft (Sergei Krikalev).	8 days, 07 hours,
09 minutes, 22 seconds
19		STS-64	LIDAR In-Space Technology Experiment (LITE).	10 days, 22 hours,
49 minutes, 57 seconds
20		STS-63	Rendezvous with Mir space station. First female shuttle pilot Eileen Collins.	8 days, 06 hours,
29 minutes, 36 seconds
21		STS-70	Launched TDRS-7.	8 days, 22 hours,
20 minutes, 05 seconds
22		STS-82	Servicing Hubble Space Telescope (HST) (HSM-2).	9 days, 23 hours,
38 minutes, 09 seconds
23		STS-85	Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes (CRISTA).	11 days, 20 hours,
28 minutes, 07 seconds
24		STS-91	Final Shuttle/Mir Docking Mission.	9 days, 19 hours,
55 minutes, 01 seconds
25		STS-95	SPACEHAB, 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. Pedro Duque became the first Spaniard in space.	8 days, 21 hours,
44 minutes, 56 seconds
26		STS-96	First Space Shuttle mission to dock with the International Space Station	9 days, 19 hours,
13 minutes, 57 seconds
27		STS-103	Servicing Hubble Space Telescope (HST) (HSM-3A).	7 days, 23 hours,
11 minutes, 34 seconds
28		STS-92	International Space Station Assembly Flight (carried and assembled the Z1 truss); 100th Shuttle mission.	12 days, 21 hours,
43 minutes, 47 seconds
29		STS-102	International Space Station crew rotation flight (Expedition 1 and Expedition 2)	12 days, 19 hours,
51 minutes, 57 seconds
30		STS-105	International Space Station crew and supplies delivery (Expedition 2 and Expedition 3)	11 days 21 hours,
13 minutes, 52 seconds
31		STS-114	First "Return To Flight" mission since Space Shuttle Columbia disaster; International Space Station (ISS) supplies delivery, new safety procedures testing and evaluation, Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Raffaello.	13 days, 21 hours,
33 minutes, 00 seconds
32		STS-121	Second "Return To Flight" mission since the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, owing to concerns surrounding foam debris from the external tank during STS-114; International Space Station (ISS) supplies delivery, test new safety and repair techniques.	12 days, 18 hours,
37 minutes, 54 seconds
33		STS-116	ISS crew rotation and assembly (carries and assembles the P5 truss segment); Last flight to launch on pad 39-B;
First night launch since Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.	12 days, 20 hours,
44 minutes, 16 seconds
34		STS-120	ISS crew rotation and assembly (carries and assembles the Harmony module).	15 days, 02 hours,
23 minutes, 55 seconds
35		STS-124	ISS crew rotation and assembly (carries and assembles the Kibō JEM PM module).	13 days, 18 hours,
13 minutes, 07 seconds
36		STS-119	International Space Station crew rotation and assembly of a fourth
starboard truss segment (ITS S6) and a fourth set of solar arrays and batteries. Also replaced a failed unit for a system that converts urine to drinking water.	12 days, 19 hours,
29 minutes, 33 seconds
37		STS-128	International Space Station crew rotation and ISS resupply using the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. Also carried the C.O.L.B.E.R.T treadmill named after Stephen Colbert	13 days 20 hours, 54 minutes, 40 seconds
38		STS-131	ISS resupply using the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. The mission also marked the first time that four women were in space and the first time that two Japanese astronauts were together on a space station. Longest mission for this Orbiter.	15 days 2 hours, 47 minutes 11 seconds‡
39		STS-133	The mission launched at 4:53 pm EST on February 24, was carrying the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) Leonardo, the ELC-4 and Robonaut 2 to the ISS. Final flight of Discovery.	12 days 19 hours,
4 minutes, 50 seconds

‡ Longest shuttle mission for Discovery

– shortest shuttle mission for Discovery

Mission and tribute insignias

NASA Orbiter Tribute for Space Shuttle ''Discovery''

Mission insignia for Discovery flights
[[Image:Sts-41-d-patch.png	center	100x100px]]
STS-41-D
[[Image:Sts-33-patch.png	center	100x100px]]
STS-33
[[Image:STS-51 patch.svg	center	110x110px]]
STS-51
[[Image:STS-95 Patch.svg	center	100x100px]]
STS-95
[[Image:STS-116 emblem.svg	center	100x100px]]
STS-116

Flow directors

The Flow Director was responsible for the overall preparation of the shuttle for launch and processing it after landing, and remained permanently assigned to head the spacecraft's ground crew while the astronaut flight crews changed for every mission. Each shuttle's Flow Director was supported by a Vehicle Manager for the same spacecraft. Space Shuttle ''Discovery'''s Flow Directors were:

Until 01/1991: John J. "Tip" Talone Jr. (afterwards Flow Director for Endeavour)
01/1991 – 09/1992: John C. "Chris" Fairey
09/1992 – 10/1996: David A. King
10/1996 – 05/2000: W. Scott Cilento
12/2000 – 03/2011: Stephanie S. Stilson

Gallery

Discovery performing the Rendezvous pitch maneuver during STS-114 prior to docking with the International Space Station	The Space Shuttle Discovery soon after landing at the end of STS-114	Modified Boeing 747 carrying Discovery after STS-128	STS-124 comes to a close as Discovery lands at the Kennedy Space Center	Discoverys final touchdown on Kennedy Space Center's runway, concluding the STS-133 mission and Discoverys 27-year career

References

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(April 18, 2012). "10 Cool Facts About NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery | Space Shuttle Retirement". Space.com.
(February 24, 2011). "Discovery's last mission flight to space begun".
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"Discovery (OV-103)".
(February 22, 2011). "How Did the Space Shuttle Discovery Get Its Name?".
"Part II. Discovery (OV-103)". NASA.gov.
"STS-96 - NASA".
(April 12, 2011). "Space Shuttle Discovery Joins the National Collection".
Kelsey Ables. (24 October 2025). "GOP lawmakers raise pressure on Smithsonian over space shuttle fight". Washington Post.
Josh Dinner. (22 October 2025). "The Smithsonian might have to cut space shuttle Discovery into pieces to get it to Texas". SPACE.com.
Maggie Roth. (1 July 2025). "Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Includes Provision to Move the Space Shuttle Discovery to Texas". Northern Virginia Magazine.
"Discovery (OV-103)". NASA/KSC.
"Tire marks and teardrop tiles: Smithsonian curator on shuttle Discovery at 30 years {{!}} collectSPACE".
"Space Shuttle Overview: Discovery (OV-103)". NASA.
(April 10, 2011). "Space Shuttle Discovery Facts". Florida Today.
(August 1984). "STS-41D Press Kit". NASA.
Lardas, Mark. (2012). "Space Shuttle Launch System: 1972–2004". Osprey Publishing.
Pearlman, Robert Z.. (April 17, 2012). "Space Shuttle Discovery lands, for the last time, in Washington, D.C.". The Christian Science Monitor.
(2007). "Consolidated Launch Manifest". NASA.
Bergin, Chris. (2006). "NASA sets new launch date targets through to STS-124". NASASpaceflight.com.
Chow, Denise. (March 9, 2011). "Space Shuttle Discovery Lands on Earth After Final Voyage". SPACE.com.
Pearlman, Robert. (2008). "NASA seeks shuttle suitors: Museums may need to cover the costs for retired orbiters". collectspace.com.
(December 17, 2009). "NASA Solicits Ideas for Displaying Retired Space Shuttles and Main Engines". NASA.
Berger, Eric. (December 7, 2009). "Discovery is Smithsonian's". Houston Chronicle.
Pearlman, Robert Z.. (March 17, 2010). "NASA Primes Retired Test Shuttle Enterprise For One Last Flight". Space.com.
(March 15, 2010). "news – "NASA readies retired test shuttle Enterprise for one last flight"". collectSPACE.
(April 12, 2011). "NYC, L.A., Kennedy Space Center, Smithsonian to get the 4 retired space shuttles". USA Today.
"Welcome, Discovery!". Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
Associated Press/NBC Washington. (January 24, 2012). "Udvar-Hazy Center Getting a 2nd Space Shuttle". NBC Washington.
Pearlman, Robert. (2025-07-11). ""It's a heist": Senator calls out Texas for trying to steal shuttle from Smithsonian".
(July 4, 2025). "H.R.1 - One Big Beautiful Bill Act". US Government.
Roth, Maggie. (July 1, 2025). "Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' Includes Provision to Move the Space Shuttle Discovery to Texas". Northern Virginia Magazine.
(30 July 2025). "'The Smithsonian Institution owns the Discovery.' Museum resists Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' plan to move space shuttle to Houston". Space.com.
Dunn, Marcia. (March 9, 2011). "Space shuttle Discovery lands, ends flying career". Salt Lake Tribune.
Travis, Matthew. (February 24, 2011). "STS-133 space shuttle Discovery launches for the final time".
[http://aapress.com/ethnicity/japanese/four-women-two-japanese-in-space-at-same-time/ Four Women, Two Japanese in Space at Same Time] {{Webarchive. link. (July 25, 2011 ''Asian American Press'', April 8, 2010)
(February 24, 2011). "Shuttle Discovery takes off on its final flight". CNN.
(January 8, 1991). "KSC Names Two Space Shuttle Flow Directors".
"NASA – KSC Names David King as Shuttle Discovery's Flow Director".
"KSC Release No. 120-96".
KSC, Kay Grinter. (June 6, 2013). "Kennedy Biographies". NASA.

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