page_title: Space Shuttle Discovery
hierarchical_section_title: Space Shuttle Discovery
caption_attribution_description: English: Picture of the Space Shuttle Discovery taken at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, USA.
context_page_description: Space Shuttle Discovery is 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, gathering more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. Like other shuttles, the shuttle has three main components: the Space Shuttle orbiter, a central fuel tank, and two 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. It embarked on its last mission, STS-133, on February 24, 2011 and touched down for the final time at Kennedy Space Center on March 9, having spent a cumulative total of almost a full year in space. Discovery performed both research and International Space Station assembly missions, and also carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.
  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.
context_section_description: Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is 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, gathering more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. Like other shuttles, the shuttle has three main components: the Space Shuttle orbiter, a central fuel tank, and two 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. It embarked on its last mission, STS-133, on February 24, 2011 and touched down for the final time at Kennedy Space Center on March 9, having spent a cumulative total of almost 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. 
  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.
caption: Space Shuttle Discovery at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "DSC-RX10M4", "Image XResolution": "1", "Image YResolution": "1", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Not Absolute", "Image Software": "Hugin 2018.0.0.5abfb4de7961 built by Niklas Mischkulnig", "Image DateTime": "2017:12:24 14:47:26", "Image Copyright": "Sanjay Acharya", "Image ExifOffset": "304", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "GPS GPSStatus": "V", "GPS GPSMapDatum": "WGS-84", "GPS GPSDifferential": "0", "Image GPSInfo": "460", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0231", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2017:12:24 14:47:26", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF LensModel": ""}