Discovery (NASA designation for the orbiter – OV-103) – an American space shuttle constructed by NASA, designed for multiple orbital journeys.
Its name comes from one of James Cook’s ships and the HMS Discovery from research expeditions.
It was the third NASA shuttle to fly into outer space (previously, such journeys were made by Columbia and Challenger). Its first space journey took place on August 30, 1984, and the last one ended on March 9, 2011.
In its final years, its task was the transport of crew and the exchange of supplies for the International Space Station (ISS).
The Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103) is NASA’s most distinguished space shuttle, which completed a record 39 missions between 1984–2011, spending over a year in space. It became famous for placing the Hubble Telescope into orbit.
Key facts from Discovery’s history:
Missions: 39 successful flights (1984–2011), 5830 orbits of the Earth, a distance of over 238 million km.
- Key achievements: Deploying the Hubble telescope (1990), the first mission after the Challenger disaster (STS-26) and the Columbia disaster (STS-114).
- The first female shuttle pilot (Eileen Collins), as well as a mission involving 77-year-old John Glenn.
- Significance: Discovery was the „workhorse” of the fleet, used for the construction of the International Space Station (ISS) and missions to the Mir station.
- Last flight: Mission STS-133 completed on March 9, 2011.
Currently, Discovery is located at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia, serving as the most important object related to the era of American space shuttles.
