Thread: Discovery's Final Mission

Space Shuttle Discovery is set to begin its final filght from KSC tomorrow. Cruisers aboard Carnival's Sensation and the Disney Wonder should have a fabulous view of the historic launch, which is scheduled right around sailaway time, at 4:50PM on Thursday, February 24, 2011.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER --
It’s been a reliable workhorse in the NASA fleet, and after more than a quarter century of carrying crews, satellites and space station part, space shuttle Discovery will soon launch on its final journey.
Named for three separate British ships (Captain James Cook's HMS Discovery, Henry Hudson's Discovery and Capt. George Nares' HMS Discovery), the shuttle will have seen 39 missions in 26 years.
The first of NASA's three remaining shuttles set to retire, Discovery was the third orbiter built and the one launched the most times into space.
“When I think about Discovery, I think about my time at KSC,” said STS-133 Mission Specialist Nicole Stott. “It was the first vehicle I got to work on there. It means so much, because, I think, it’s more than just a job for people in the space program. What I’ve seen on the shuttle and the stations programs is the people working there; it’s a heart and soul thing.”
Scheduled to last 11 days, Discovery's last flight will bring its total time in space to more than 360 days – nearly an entire year flying around Earth.
STS-133 Commander Steve Lindsey is preparing for his third trip to space aboard shuttle Discovery.
“Historically, it’s obviously a very historic vehicle, having flown all the return to flight test missions after both the Challenger and Columbia accidents,” explained Lindsey. “It deployed Hubble. It’s the fleet leader in terms of number of flights. It would have flown about a year on orbit by the time we’re done with it, which is pretty remarkable for a space shuttle."
Construction on shuttle Discovery was completed in 1983 and flew its first flight on Aug. 30, 1984.
Two years after the shuttle Challenger disaster, Discovery was the first orbiter to return to flight. Returning NASA's shuttle fleet to flight after a major tragedy is a role Discovery served again 17 years later, in 2005, following the 2003 loss of the orbiter Columbia.
Between its STS-26 mission in 1988 and STS-114 return to flight in 2005, Discovery logged 23 more trips to space.
Among Discovery’s history was the first Russian cosmonaut aboard a U.S. mission, the first rendezvous with the Russian space station Mir, the first female pilot and the first crew rotation for the International Space Station.
Discovery also set the record for flying the oldest crew member in history. Mercury astronaut turned U.S. senator John Glenn, 77, flew aboard Discovery in 1998.
Shuttle Discovery was instrumental to the assembly of the International Space Station -- delivering the largest module, the Japan's Kibo laboratory and the final segment for the outpost's "backbone" truss.

“Personally, having flown it twice and now in my third flight, it has a special meaning to me,” recalled Lindsey. “I just hope that when it’s displayed, I would like to see it displayed in such a way that people that go and see it for the many years to come can get an appreciation for what it was like to fly it, from our perspective. For those of us who have participated in the space shuttle program, it’s really more about the people. When I think of the space shuttle program, I think people. I don’t think vehicles and I think that’s, I think for all of us, I think that’s the opportunity to work with a fantastic team all across the country over many years of this program.”
“It is a historic thing,” said STS-133 Pilot Eric Boe. “I think that we have such a special vehicle to fly and the hope, in addition to having a successful mission in conclusion, will be celebrating the real significance of the vehicle itself, and that includes the people because it wouldn’t happen without them. We have to look at this as a celebration of just how wonderful Discovery has performed and just how fantastic the team that has put it together worked to make it happen.”

Space shuttle Discovery has pulled into the International Space Station for the last time.
Commander Steve Lindsey confirmed docking at 2:14 p.m. EST Saturday, as the station was orbiting the Earth about 220 miles above western Australia.
Saturday's docking marked the beginning of Discovery's 13th and final trip to the orbiting outpost.
Before docking Saturday, Discovery performed its traditional "backflip," called the rendezvous pitch maneuver, so cameras on the space station can look for any signs of launch damage.
There was some concern after foam from Discovery's external fuel tank was seen breaking away and hitting the side of the shuttle, but NASA said that happened after the point during launch when it could have caused serious damage.
Discovery was the first shuttle ever to perform the backflip maneuver in 2005 during STS-114, the first "Return to Flight" mission after the Columbia disaster.
It was also the first shuttle to fly to a space station, when it docked at Russia's Mir station in 1998 on mission STS-91

Just found out that the ashes of a former boss of mine (he co-founded the company I worked for during the 90s; passed away from cancer in June) is on the Discovery. The love of his life just posted on Facebook that the shuttle was passing overhead the west coast a short time ago.

Danny truly would have loved that he was onboard.

Originally Posted by cruisin' chick

Just found out that the ashes of a former boss of mine (he co-founded the company I worked for during the 90s; passed away from cancer in June) is on the Discovery. The love of his life just posted on Facebook that the shuttle was passing overhead the west coast a short time ago.

Danny truly would have loved that he was onboard.

I wonder what the protocol is for sending personal items, including ashes, into space on one of our shuttles?

Originally Posted by Char

I wonder what the protocol is for sending personal items, including ashes, into space on one of our shuttles?

Good question. I believe that Gabriele was going to try to get Dan's photo on the shuttle. So maybe a connection helped (maybe someone at NASA is a Fleetwood Mac fan as Dan used to be an opening act for them many years ago and Gabi used to be their business manager).

Didn't Gene Roddenberry's ashes go on one flight?

Oops, just looked at Gabi's FB post again and it was his picture:

Discover took a picture of Danny into space on its very last mission which launched a couple of days ago. The next time the satellite passes over the West Coast will be Sat 2/26 about 7:50 pm. He always wanted to travel into space. Best I could do for him was this. Wooooosh!



He would have been thrilled anyway.

The mission has been extended by one day.