Space Shuttle Discovery Hitches A Ride To Washington D.C.
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On April 17th, NASA's oldest surviving and hardest working Space Shuttle, Discovery took off one last time from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. However, this was not a typical launch off into Space, but a rather tame flight piggybacked above a modified NASA 747 to the retired Shuttle's final resting place at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Virginia.
While the destination may not have been as exotic, Discovery generated almost as much excitement as it performed a flyby over its new home and then over all Washington D.C.'s downtown national monuments before landing gracefully, at Dulles International Airport, to the welcoming cheers of thousands of fans.
However, before Discovery settles down in its new home, Enterprise, the first Space Shuttle Orbiter ever built, will have to be removed and latched on to the same NASA 747, so that it can be transported to its new home - The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City. Named after Star Trek's fictional starship, the Shuttle had no engine or heat shield and was built to conduct ground and gliding tests only. In contrast, Space Shuttle Discovery has been on 39 missions, completed 5,830 orbits, flown 148 million miles and spent a total of 395 days in Space.
NASA's shuttle program began in 1981 with the launch of Space Shuttle Columbia. Over the years, four other Shuttles were added, and between them they completed 135 successful missions, orbited the Earth 21,152 times and spent, a total of three and half years in Space.
Of the five, two met with unfortunate accidents - Space Shuttle Challenger blew up shortly after take-off in 1986, whist the oldest, Columbia, met with a similar fate whilst returning from a mission in 2003.
In 2011, thirty years after it all began, NASA decided to retire the Space Shuttle Program and focus on more exciting destinations like the moon and Mars. While Discovery has reached its final destination - two others are Endeavor and Atlantis are still being de-commissioned. When ready, the former will head to the California Science Center in Los Angeles, while Atlantis will remain on display at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Resources: Dailymail.co.uk, nationalgeographic.com, wikipedia.org, NASA.gov
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239 Comments
- Noahalmost 12 yearsWOW THATS COOL
- Agata M. almost 12 yearsI enjoyed this article. In April 17, 2012, Discovery had a piggyback ride above a modified NASA 747 to the retire in its final resting place at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Virginia. Space Shuttle Discovery has been on 39 missions, has completed 5,830 orbits around Earth, and flown 148 million miles. Also in its liftime, it spent a total of 395 days in Space. That is over one year of going into Space. While reading this article, I kept wondering, how Discovery didn't fall of the airplane. I would recommend this to any who wants to learn about Discovery.
- David P.almost 12 yearsThis article was the best article I read so far because I am very interested in Space Shuttles. I have heard so much about the Space Shuttle Discovery on the news. But after reading this article I learned even more. I know that on April 17, 2012, Discovery had a piggyback ride above a modified NASA 747 its last time. I also know that Space Shuttle Discovery is NASA`s oldest surviving and hardest working Space Shuttle. It has been on 39 missions, has completed 5,830 orbits around Earth, and flown 148 million miles. That is truly amazing! I will miss Space Shuttle Discovery because it is a very good Space Shuttle. I would recommend this article to friends who are also interested about the Space Shuttle Discovery.
- 515scoobyabout 12 yearsi love that vido. like it dint crash. how did it make it?
- austin d labout 12 yearsthat is so cool. how did it not crash? it is so cool.
- Brettabout 12 yearshate to be in the plane
anabelle7about 12 yearsomg!!- steveabout 12 yearscool and awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- tiffanyabout 12 yearswow!! this is cool.
- Nikola P.about 12 yearsI enjoyed this article very much. I have heard about the Space Shuttle Discovery from the news. In April 17, 2012, Discovery had a piggyback ride above a modified NASA 747 to the retire in its final resting place at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Virginia. Space Shuttle Discovery has been on 39 missions, has completed 5,830 orbits around Earth, and flown 148 million miles. Also in its liftime, it spent a total of 395 days in Space. That is over one year of going into Space. Also, I wonder how they put Dicovery on the airplane and how it does not fall from the airplane. I would recommend this article to a friend that is interested in the space shuttle, Discovery.
