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A look back: space shuttle discovery

Touchdown Discovery Discovery makes a smooth landing on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. to complete a successful five-day flight during which the Hubble Space Telescope was sent into orbit. Landing was completed at 6:51 a.m. PDT.

NASA

Touchdown Discovery
Discovery makes a smooth landing on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. to complete a successful five-day flight during which the Hubble Space Telescope was sent into orbit. Landing was completed at 6:51 a.m. PDT.

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  • Discovery's celebrated spaceflight career began in 1984 with the STS-41D mission. Collected in this gallery are stunning photographs dating back to the early days of NASA's most experienced orbiter. The tribute pictured here hangs in Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discovery is shown circled by its 39 mission patches -- including the patch for its final planned flight, STS-133. The background image was taken from the Hubble Space Telescope, which launched aboard Discovery on STS-31 and serviced by Discovery on STS-82 and STS-103. The American flag and bald eagle represent Discovery's role in returning American astronauts to space with the STS-26 and STS-114 missions.
  • NASA's newest space shuttle, Discovery, makes a triumphant fly-by of the Florida Space Coast and the Kennedy Space Center runway before landing at 1:46 p.m. Discovery is shown riding into town secured to the back of a specially modified 747 aircraft known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The orbiter was arriving from the Palmdale, Calif. assembly plant where it was built.
  • Discovery's Maiden Voyage Space Shuttle Discovery soars away from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, beginning its maiden voyage and a storied spaceflight career that spanned more than 26 years. The on-time liftoff occurred at 8:42 A.M. EDT.
  • Discovery Launches with Hubble Space Telescope Space shuttle Columbia on Pad 39A 'watches' the picture-perfect ascent of sister ship Discovery during its liftoff on STS-31. The launch pads are separated by 1.6 miles. Discovery, carrying a five-member crew and the Hubble Space Telescope, lifted off at 8:34 a.m. EDT.
  • Touchdown Discovery Discovery makes a smooth landing on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. to complete a successful five-day flight during which the Hubble Space Telescope was sent into orbit. Landing was completed at 6:51 a.m. PDT.
  • A Fisheye View of Liftoff In this photo taken with a fisheye lens, shuttle Discovery roars away from Launch Pad 39B at 7:45 a.m. EDT as the STS-51 mission begins. The Advanced Communications Technology Satellite and attached Transfer Orbit Stage booster were deployed during the flight, along with a second primary payload, the Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrograph-Shuttle Pallet Satellite.
  • Rollout from Above Carried by its mobile launcher platform, shuttle Discovery slowly moves through the high bay doors of the Vehicle Assembly Building on the way to Launch Pad 39A before the STS-82 mission. A seven-member crew performed the second servicing of the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope during the flight.
  • A Sunrise Homecoming Sunrise paints a stunning backdrop for space shuttle Discovery as it touches down on Runway 33 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility at 7:07:59 a.m. EDT to complete the 11-day, 20-hour and 27-minute-long STS-85 mission. This was the 39th landing at Kennedy in the history of the space shuttle program and the 11th touchdown for Discovery at its home center.
  • Tanking Test Success Discovery is revealed at Launch Pad 39A one day after the successful test of the new super lightweight external fuel tank. The main objectives of the test were to evaluate the strut loads between the tank and the solid rocket boosters and to verify the integrity of the new components of the tank. Weighing 7,500 pounds less than its predecessors, the lightweight tank was developed to increase the Shuttle payload capacity on International Space Station assembly flights. Discovery launched June 2, 1998 on STS-91, the final shuttle/Mir docking mission.
  • Discovery Moves to Temporary Quarters Employees at NASA's Kennedy Space Center stop to watch as Discovery rolls from the Orbiter Processing Facility Bay-2 to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The recently painted NASA logo, termed the 'meatball,' is displayed on the vehicle's left wing and both sides of the fuselage. Inside the VAB, Discovery was mated to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters for the STS-95 mission.
  • Discovery's Flight Deck, 1998 This fish-eye view shows off Discovery's cockpit as it was configured for the STS-95 mission. Commander Curtis Brown's seat is on the left, while Pilot Steve Lindsey's seat is beside it on the right.

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