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95-734: For example, 1990-037A is the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-31 , which carried the Hubble Space Telescope ( 1990-037B ) into space. This launch was the 37th known successful launch worldwide in 1990. The designation system has been generally known as the COSPAR system, named for the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) of the International Council for Science . COSPAR subsumed

190-534: A Northwest Passage . Other ships bearing the name have included HMS  Discovery of the 1875–1876 British Arctic Expedition to the North Pole, and RRS  Discovery , which carried the 1901–1904 Discovery Expedition to Antarctica , led by Captain Scott . Space Shuttle Discovery launched the Hubble Space Telescope and conducted the second and third Hubble service missions. It also launched

285-1144: A William Shakespeare "action figure" from the English Department of the University of Texas , a stuffed giraffe mascot from the Hermann Children's Hospital at the University of Texas, T-shirts from Lomax Junior High School in La Porte, Texas , a blue Hawaiian shirt from NASA Johnson Space Center 's Education Office, and a shirt from a volunteer fire department . NASA announced the STS-133 crew on September 18, 2009, and training began in October 2009. The original crew consisted of commander Steven Lindsey , pilot Eric Boe , and mission specialists Alvin Drew , Timothy Kopra , Michael Barratt , and Nicole Stott . However, on January 19, 2011, about

380-781: A 72-hour separation between dockings at the International Space Station threatened to delay the launch by at least a day due to the delayed launch of the ESA 's uncrewed Johannes Kepler ATV supply craft. Managers instead decided to press ahead with the countdown allowing for a possible stand down; had docking issues arisen with the ATV, STS-133 would have stood down for 48 hours. The Kepler ATV docked successfully at 10:59 UTC, February 24, 2011. Space Shuttle Discovery successfully lifted off from Kennedy Space Center 's Launch Pad 39A at 16:53:24 EST on February 24, 2011. Liftoff

475-562: A Heat Rejection System Radiator (HRSR) Flight Support Equipment (FSE), which takes up one whole side of the ELC. The other primary ORUs were the ExPRESS Pallet Controller Avionics 4 (ExPCA #4). The HRSR launching on ELC4 was a spare, if needed, for one of the six radiators that are part of the station's external active thermal control system. Discovery carried the humanoid robot Robonaut2 (also known as R2) to

570-761: A Planar Reflector was installed at the request of the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA). Following berthing to the space station, the contents of Leonardo were emptied and moved to appropriate locations on the ISS. Once JAXA's Kounotori 2 (HTV-2) arrived in February 2011, Leonardo' s now-unnecessary launch hardware was transferred to HTV2 for ultimate destruction in Earth's atmosphere. Activities to reconfigure Leonardo following STS-133 spanned multiple station crew increments. The Express Logistics Carrier (ELC)

665-529: A horizontal orientation to make repairs. However, later they successfully accessed the area inside the aft compartment, and re-positioned the nut to complete the repairs. The bolting of the orbiter to its ET ('hard mate') was completed early on the morning of September 11, 2010, at 09:27 EDT. The shuttle's 44th rollout to the launch pad was scheduled to begin at 20:00 EDT on September 20, 2010. NASA sent out more than 700 invitations to shuttle workers so they could bring their families to watch Discovery' s journey to

760-522: A laser rod failure during testing. STS-133 carried the signatures of more than 500,000 students who participated in the 2010 Student Signatures in Space program, which was jointly sponsored by NASA and Lockheed Martin . The students added their signatures to posters in May 2010 as part of the annual Space Day celebration. Through their participation, students also received standards-based lessons that contained

855-437: A month before launch, it was announced that Stephen Bowen would replace original crew member Tim Kopra, after Kopra was injured in a bicycle accident. All six crew members had flown at least one spaceflight before; five of the crew members, all but commander Steven Lindsey, were part of NASA's Astronaut Group 18 , all being selected in the year 2000. The mission commander, Steven Lindsey, handed over his position as Chief of

950-463: A review of the spacewalk procedures. After the review, Bowen and Drew donned oxygen masks and entered the crew lock of the Quest airlock for the standard pre-spacewalk campout. The airlock was lowered to 10.2 psi for the night. This was done to help the spacewalkers purge nitrogen from their blood and help prevent decompression sickness , also known as the bends. Steve Bowen and Alvin Drew performed

1045-501: A shoulder width of 2 feet 7.4 inches (79.8 cm). R2 is equipped with 54 servo motors and has 42 degrees of freedom. Powered by 38 PowerPC processors, R2's systems run at 120 volts DC. Space Shuttle Discovery also carried the Developmental Test Objective (DTO) 701B payload using Advanced Scientific Concepts, Inc.'s DragonEye 3D Flash LiDAR detection and ranging ( LIDAR ) sensor. The addition of

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1140-572: A space theme. Student Signatures in Space has been active since 1997. In that time, nearly seven million student signatures from 6,552 schools were flown on ten Space Shuttle missions. Also carried aboard Discovery were hundreds of flags, bookmarks and patches which were distributed when the shuttle returned to Earth. The mission also flew two small Lego Space Shuttles, in honor of an educational partnership between Lego and NASA. Astronauts also carried personal mementos including medallions with connections to their schools or military careers, as well as

1235-438: A threat, since it was liberated after the shuttle had left Earth's atmosphere. During Discovery 's ascent, NASA managers also reported that they saw three more additional instances of foam liberation. These losses also occurred after aerodynamic sensitive times when debris could seriously damage the shuttle, and so were deemed non-threatening. NASA's engineers accounted for the foam losses to a condition called "cryo-pumping". When

1330-418: A three-dimensional image based on the time of flight of a single laser pulse from the sensor to the target and back. It provides both range and bearing information from targets that can reflect the light back such as the pressurized mating adapter 2 (PMA2) and those on the station's Japanese Kibo laboratory. The DragonEye DTO was mounted onto Discovery 's existing trajectory control system carrier assembly on

1425-446: Is a retired American Space Shuttle orbiter . The spaceplane was 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, aggregating more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. The Space Shuttle launch vehicle had three main components:

1520-530: Is a steel platform designed to support external payloads mounted to the space station starboard and port trusses with either deep space or Earthward views. On STS-133, Discovery carried the ELC-4 to the station to be positioned on the starboard 3 (S3) truss' lower inboard passive attachment system (PAS). The total weight of the ELC-4 is approximately 8,235 pounds. The Express Logistics Carrier 4 (ELC-4) carried several Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs). Among these were

1615-633: Is now on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum . The name Discovery was chosen to carry on a tradition based on ships of exploration, primarily HMS  Discovery , one of the ships commanded by Captain James Cook during his third and final major voyage from 1776 to 1779, and Henry Hudson 's Discovery , which was used in 1610–1611 to explore Hudson Bay and search for

1710-706: The Challenger and Columbia disasters: STS-26 in 1988, STS-114 in 2005, and STS-121 in 2006. Discovery flew the ante-penultimate mission of the Space Shuttle program, STS-133 , having launched on February 24, 2011. Endeavour flew STS-134 and Atlantis performed STS-135 , NASA's last Space Shuttle mission. On February 24, 2011, Space Shuttle Discovery launched from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39-A to begin its final orbital flight. ‡ Longest shuttle mission for Discovery – shortest shuttle mission for Discovery The Flow Director

1805-572: The Ulysses probe and three TDRS satellites. Twice Discovery was chosen as the "Return To Flight" Orbiter, first in 1988 after the loss of Challenger in 1986, and then again for the twin "Return To Flight" missions in July 2005 and July 2006 after the Columbia disaster in 2003. Project Mercury astronaut John Glenn , who was 77 at the time, flew with Discovery on STS-95 in 1998, making him

1900-774: The International Space Station (ISS). The day started with a firing of the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engine, called the NC2 burn, to help Discovery catch up to the ISS. Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialist Al Drew began the day performing an inspection of the Re-enforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels with the Orbital Boom Sensor System (OBSS). Lindsey and Boe started

1995-423: The International Space Station (ISS). The microgravity conditions aboard the space station provide an ideal opportunity for robots like R2 to work with astronauts. Although the robot's primary initial task is teaching engineers how dexterous robots behave in space, it may eventually, through upgrades and advancements, assist spacewalking astronauts to perform scientific work once it has been verified as functional on

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2090-659: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration . STS-133 STS-133 ( ISS assembly flight ULF5 ) was the 133rd mission in NASA 's Space Shuttle program ; during the mission, Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station . It was Discovery 's 39th and final mission. The mission launched on February 24, 2011, and landed on March 9, 2011. The crew consisted of six American astronauts , all of whom had been on prior spaceflights, headed by Commander Steven Lindsey . The crew joined

2185-545: The Smithsonian Institution 's National Air and Space Museum for public display and preservation, after a month-long decontamination process, as part of the national collection. Discovery replaced Enterprise , which was in the Smithsonian's display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center until 2011. Discovery was transported to Washington Dulles International Airport on April 17, 2012, and

2280-624: The Space Shuttle orbiter , a single-use central fuel tank, and two reusable solid 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 . After the Challenger and Columbia accidents, Discovery became the oldest surviving orbiter. It embarked on its final mission, STS-133 , on February 24, 2011, and touched down for

2375-648: The Weather Channel , WBZ radio in Boston, Massachusetts , WSB-TV in Atlanta, Georgia , and WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina . The crew also completed more cargo transfers to and from the ISS. Throughout the day, Drew and Bowen prepared tools that they would use on their spacewalk on Flight Day 5. Later in the day, they were joined by the shuttle crew and ISS commander Kelly and Flight Engineer Nespoli, for

2470-488: The (first module of the) space station was launched in 1998. For example, the satellite GOMX-3, launched on an H-II Transfer Vehicle on August 19, 2015, from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, is designated COSPAR ID 1998-067HA, because it first arrived on the International Space Station from where it was later launched. Space Shuttle Discovery Space Shuttle Discovery ( Orbiter Vehicle Designation : OV-103 )

2565-540: The Astronaut Office position to Peggy Whitson in order to lead the mission. For the first time, two mission crew members were in space when a crew assignment announcement was made, as Nicole Stott and Michael Barratt were aboard the ISS as part of the Expedition 20 crew. During STS-133, Alvin Drew became the last African-American astronaut to fly on the Space Shuttle, as no African-Americans were among

2660-582: The ET near the SRB Thrust Beam where the fracture(s) occurred. External Tank Photogrammetry Team used two full-field Optical Strain systems, specifically configured for the tests by NASA Glenn and Trilion Quality Systems. The Trilion Optical Strain systems (ARAMIS) measured the full-field displacements and strains of the ET from the cryogenic fuel loading during the 6-hour test (see data images). The Trilion Optical Strain cameras were fiber optically linked to

2755-401: The ISS's strict flammability requirements. Shielding was added to reduce electromagnetic interference and onboard processors were upgraded to increase R2's radiation tolerance. The original fans were replaced with quieter ones to accommodate the station's restrictive noise environment, and the power system was rewired to run on the station's direct current system. Tests were conducted to make sure

2850-763: The ISS, and was launched with a near-full load of payloads. The construction of the Leonardo MPLM by the Italian Space Agency commenced in April 1996. In August 1998, after the completion of primary construction, Leonardo was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). In March 2001, Leonardo made its first mission on Discovery as part of the STS-102 flight. The liftoff of Leonardo inside Discovery' s payload bay on STS-102 marked

2945-621: The K u band antenna for high-speed communications with Mission Control. While the K u band antenna was being activated, Alvin Drew and Pilot Eric Boe activated the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS), also known as the Canadarm . Later in the day, imagery of the External Tank during launch was downlinked for analysis. Flight Day 2 saw the crew of Discovery begin their preparations to dock with

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3040-555: The OMS engines. Engineers replaced an Air Half Coupling (AHC) flight cap. However, the new cap failed to solve the problem since vapor checks still showed signs of a leak. An aspirator was activated to collect the vapor at the leak-site allowing work to continue in other locations around the aft segment of Discovery . It was believed that the leak was in the crossfeed flange area – a problem with associated seals. On October 18, 2010, after an afternoon review, engineers were asked to double-check

3135-588: The SRMS could not reach it due to clearance issues, and it needed to be moved out of the way so that the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) could be removed from the payload bay. After the OBSS handoff, the entire STS-133 crew was joined by ISS Expedition 26 commander Scott Kelly and flight engineer Paolo Nespoli for a series of in-flight media interviews. The interviews were conducted with

3230-568: The Space Flight Awareness Award, and Trilion's Tim Schmidt, the Silver Snoopy Award, by astronaut Mike Foreman. The insulation was cut away for additional inspection, revealing two additional 9-inch metal cracks on either side of an underlying structural rib called "stringer S-7-2". NASA managers then decided to cut away additional foam and observed two more cracks on a stringer known as S-6-2 adjacent to

3325-724: The Space Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), which was being controlled by Boe and Drew, while the SSRMS moved to the Mobile Base System (MBS). Once there, the SSRMS took ELC-4 back from the SSRMS, and installed it at its location on the S3 truss location. ELC-4 was installed in its final location at 03:22 UTC on February 27. While the robotic transfer was going on, Bowen and Lindsey were transferring items that were needed for Flight Day 4 and

3420-605: The TCDT, the crew also received a briefing from NASA engineers, outlining the work that had been carried out on Discovery during the STS-133 processing flow. After successfully completing all the TCDT tasks, the crew returned to the Johnson Space Center on October 15, 2010. Flying aboard NASA T-38 training jets , the six astronauts returned to Kennedy Space Center on October 28, 2010, for final pre-launch preparations. On January 15, 2011, Timothy Kopra, scheduled as

3515-577: The Udvar-Hazy Center, riding piggy-back on a modified Boeing 747 . After STS-105 , Discovery became the first of the orbiter fleet to undergo Orbiter Major Modification (OMM) period at the Kennedy Space Center. Work began in September 2002 to prepare the vehicle for Return to Flight. The work included scheduled upgrades and additional safety modifications. Discovery was decommissioned on March 9, 2011. NASA offered Discovery to

3610-662: The beginning of EVA 1. During the EVA, Bowen and Drew installed a power cable linking the Unity and Tranquility modules in order to provide a contingency power source, should it become required. They then moved a failed ammonia pump, which was replaced in August 2010, from its temporary location to the External Stowage Platform 2 . Later, operations with the SSRMS robotic arm were delayed to due technical problems with

3705-584: The condition of the hardware did not match the observations documented when it was installed on the external tank inside the VAB. On the morning of November 12, teams began installing a new GUCP and completed the GUCP work over the next two days. The new plate was previously fit checked on the external tank at the Michoud Assembly Facility and yielded substantially better concentricity values than

3800-484: The confirmation of a November 1, 2010, target launch date, with fuel reloading into the OMS tanks beginning on the morning of October 24, 2010. On November 2, while readying Discovery for launch, engineers reported an electrical issue on the backup Main Engine Controller (MEC) mounted on Engine No. 3 (SSME-3). Earlier in the morning, engineers said that the problem had been solved, however, another glitch in

3895-608: The control room in the Launch Control Center 3 miles (4.8 km) away from the launch pad, where the data was monitored during the test. Trilion Quality Systems worked with NASA Marshall over the next week to understand the data, compare with ET computer models, allowing NASA to understand the failure modes and to be able implement the repairs. The Optical Strain patterning was still on the ET during launch on February 24, 2011, travelling with it into space. The External Tank Photogrammetry Team was, later that year, awarded

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3990-495: The crew and the launch team that simulated the final hours up until launch. During the TCDT, the crew went through a number of exercises that included rescue training and a launch day simulation that included everything that would happen on launch day – except the launch. Commander Steve Lindsey and Pilot Eric Boe also performed abort landings and other flight aspects in the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA). For

4085-575: The crews of STS-134 and STS-135 . Having flown onboard Atlantis ' STS-132 mission, Bowen became the first and the only NASA astronaut to be launched on two consecutive missions, until Doug Hurley launched aboard Crew Dragon Demo-2 in May 2020, after having previously launched on STS-135 . On October 12, 2010, the STS-133 crew arrived at the Kennedy Space Center to conduct the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT). The TCDT consisted of training for both

4180-622: The day. The hatches were finally opened at 21:16 UTC, and the Expedition 26 crew greeted the crew of STS-133. After the welcome ceremony and safety briefing, the crew's main task of the day was to transfer the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 4 (ELC-4). ELC-4 was taken out of Discovery's payload bay by the Space Station Remote Manipulator (SSRMS), also known as Canadarm2 , which was operated by Nicole Stott and Michael Barratt. The SSRMS handed it to

4275-429: The designators. While UNOOSA uses COSPAR ID, many NSSDC Master Catalog (NMC) entries are created before launches so they are not always bound to a COSPAR ID. Below are examples: Spacecraft which do not complete an orbit of the Earth, for example launches which fail to achieve orbit, are not assigned IDs. Satellites launched from the International Space Station are assigned a COSPAR ID beginning with "1998-067", because

4370-455: The end of the day, another OMS engine firing, known as the NC3 burn, took place. The orbiter docked to the ISS on Flight Day 3, marking the 13th time Discovery had visited the ISS. The docking occurred on time at 19:14 UTC . A hard mate between the two vehicles was delayed by about 40 minutes because of relative motion between the station and shuttle, thus putting the crew behind the timeline for

4465-463: The external tank and, to a lesser extent, the payload. The launch, initially scheduled for September 2010, was pushed back to October, then to November, then finally to February 2011. STS-133 left Leonardo (named after the famed Italian Renaissance inventor Leonardo da Vinci ), one of the three Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules (MPLMs), on the space station as a Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM). PMM Leonardo added much-needed storage space on

4560-581: The external tank for the November 5 launch attempt. The cracks in the tank were the first to be found at the launch pad. In December 2010, with the Shuttle still on the launch pad, a full tanking test was performed to understand that failure modes of the SOFI foam fracturing. The ET Tanking Test involved a full flight loading of the ET (External Tank) with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuels, while monitoring

4655-409: The external tank is loaded with liquid hydrogen, the air trapped in the foam first liquifies. During the ride into orbit, as the hydrogen level in the tank drops, it warms up and the liquefied air turns back into a gas. The pressure generated due to the state change of hydrogen can cause parts of foam in the tank to come off. Once on orbit, the crew of STS-133 opened the payload bay doors and activated

4750-452: The first designation system, devised at Harvard University . That system used letters of the Greek alphabet to designate artificial satellites. This was based on the scientific naming convention for natural satellites. For example, Sputnik 1 was designated 1957 Alpha 2. The launch vehicle, which was brighter in orbit, was designated 1957 Alpha 1. Brighter objects in the same launch were given

4845-543: The first of seven MPLM flights prior to STS-133. With the landing of Discovery after the STS-131 mission, Leonardo was transferred back to the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center. Leonardo began receiving modifications and reconfigurations immediately to convert it for permanent attachment to the space station and to facilitate on-orbit maintenance. Some equipment

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4940-424: The gaseous hydrogen from the tank to the flare stack. Controllers decided to stop valve cycling in order to increase the pressure and attempt to force a seal before attempting to complete the fast-fill process. At this stage, the leak spiked and remained at the highest 60,000 ppm level (likely even at a higher value), indicating a serious problem with the GUCP's seal. Shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach characterized

5035-428: The inspection on the starboard wing and nose cap, and continued on with the port wing; the whole survey took about six hours to complete. Drew joined up with Michael Barratt and Steve Bowen to checkout and get their two Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs) ready for the two spacewalks that would be conducted during the mission. Later in the day, the crew checked out the rendezvous tools to ensure they were operational. At

5130-417: The last time at Kennedy Space Center on March 9, having spent a cumulative total of nearly 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 among other satellites. Discovery was the first operational shuttle to be retired, followed by Endeavour and then Atlantis . The shuttle

5225-521: The launch of Apollo 13 . STS-133 was originally manifested for launch on September 16, 2010. In June 2010, the launch date was moved to the end of October 2010 and the mission was set to take place before STS-134, which in turn had been rescheduled to February 2011. STS-133 had the longest vertical flow period (170 days) since STS-35 (185 days). Discovery was moved from its hangar in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF)-3 to

5320-430: The launch window available in early December would be passed up, with a new target of December 17 set, but cautioned that the launch could slip into February 2011. After reviewing the space station's December traffic model following the realigned Johannes Kepler ATV 's launch date, NASA had identified a potential launch window in mid-/late-December 2010. The December 17, 2010, date was preferred because it would have allowed

5415-447: The lead spacewalker for the mission at the time, was injured in a bicycle accident near his Houston -area home, reportedly breaking his hip . He was replaced by Stephen Bowen on January 19, 2011. The replacement did not affect the targeted launch date. This is to date the closest to a scheduled launch that a Space Shuttle crewmember has been replaced. During the Apollo program , Jack Swigert replaced Ken Mattingly three days prior to

5510-411: The leak as "significant," similar to what was seen on STS-119 and STS-127 , although the rate was higher in magnitude and occurred earlier in the fueling process. After the day required to make the tank safe by purging remaining hydrogen gas with helium gas, NASA engineers prepared for the disconnection of the vent arm and the significant number of lines prior to taking their first look at the GUCP. On

5605-410: The long-duration six person crew of Expedition 26 , who were already aboard the space station. About a month before lift-off, one of the original crew members, Tim Kopra , was injured in a bicycle accident. He was replaced by Stephen Bowen . The mission transported several items to the space station, including the Permanent Multipurpose Module Leonardo , which was left permanently docked to one of

5700-472: The lower integer number, and Alpha was given since it was the first launch of the year. The Harvard designation system continued to be used for satellites launched up to the end of 1962, when it was replaced with the modern system. The first satellite to receive a new-format designator was Luna E-6 No.2 , 1963-001B, although some sources, including the NSSDC website, retroactively apply the new-format designators to older satellites, even those no longer in orbit at

5795-481: The middle starboard window where there should have been white tiles. It is unknown if this was the result of a harmless manufacturing mishap or done intentionally to give a distinctive look to the shuttle. This feature has been called 'teardrop' and allowed Discovery to be told apart from the rest of the fleet without looking at its name, although often unnoticed by the uninitiated. The spacecraft weighed roughly 6,870 lb (3,120 kg) less than Columbia when it

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5890-432: The mission's first extra-vehicular activity (EVA), or spacewalk, on Flight Day 5. After waking up at 06:23 EST, the crew immediately began EVA preparations. A conference was held between the crew of the station and Mission Control at about 08:20 EST, followed by further EVA preparation work, including the depressurization of the airlock. Bowen and Drew switched their spacesuits to internal battery power at 10:46 EST, marking

5985-409: The nearby 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on September 9, 2010. The shuttle emerged from OPF-3 at 06:54 EDT and the rollover was done at 10:46 EDT when Discovery came to a rest in the VAB's transfer aisle. The quarter-mile trip between the OPF-3 and VAB was the 41st rollover for Discovery. The rollover was originally planned at 06:30 EDT on September 8, 2010. The move did not commence due to

6080-478: The night of November 9, technicians began disconnecting the GUCP by unhooking and lowering the hydrogen vent line. Teams performed an initial inspection of the flight seal and a quick disconnect prior to sending them to labs for thorough engineering analysis. Engineers reported an unevenly (asymmetrically) compressed internal seal and the quick disconnect hardware also seemed to have a less concentric fit than pre-fueling measurements indicated. Inspections also confirmed

6175-403: The oldest person to go into space at that time in history. Had plans to launch United States Department of Defense payloads from Vandenberg Air Force Base gone ahead, Discovery would have become the dedicated US Air Force shuttle. Its first West Coast mission, STS-62-A , was scheduled for 1986, but canceled in the aftermath of the Challenger disaster . On May 27, 1999, Discovery

6270-426: The option open for a launch window for 17 December, but a lot of data has to come together to support that". The launch date of February 24, 2011, was officially set after the Flight Readiness Review meeting on February 18, 2011. Reviews of previous problems, including the GUP vent line connection, external tank foam and external tank stringer cracks, were found to be positive. Additionally, flight rules which required

6365-444: The orbiter underwent a nine-month Orbiter Maintenance Down Period (OMDP) in Palmdale, California . This included outfitting the vehicle with a 5th set of cryogenic tanks and an external airlock to support missions to the International Space Station . As with all the orbiters, it could be attached to the top of specialized aircraft and did so in June 1996 when it returned to the Kennedy Space Center, and later in April 2012 when sent to

6460-420: The orbiter was rotated vertically. The orbiter was lifted into the high bay where its external tank (ET-137) and boosters were waiting to be mated. During the mating operations, an internal nut pre-positioned inside the aft compartment of the orbiter slipped out of position and fell away inside the compartment. Engineers initially were worried that the orbiter would have to be removed from the ET and placed back in

6555-428: The orbiter's docking system. SpaceX took data in parallel with Discovery' s Trajectory Control Sensor (TCS) system. Both the TCS and DragonEye "looked" at the retroreflectors that are on the station. After the mission, SpaceX compared the data DragonEye collected against the data collected by the TCS to evaluate DragonEye's performance. The sensor was installed onto Discovery two weeks later than planned, following

6650-439: The pad. However, the shuttle began the 3.4-mile trek from the VAB to the pad earlier than planned at about at 19:23 EDT on September 20, 2010. Discovery took about six hours to arrive at Pad 39A. The shuttle was secured on the launch pad by 01:49 EDT the next day. On October 14, 2010, engineers at the launch pad first discovered a small leak in a propellant line for Discovery 's orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engines. The leak

6745-513: The pulsed laser navigation sensor was the third time a Space Shuttle provided assistance to the commercial space company SpaceX , following STS-127 and STS-129 . The DragonEye on STS-133 incorporated several design and software improvements from the version flown on STS-127 to provide increased performance. Its inclusion on STS-133 was part of a final test run ahead of being fully implemented on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft , which had its maiden flight in December 2010. The navigation sensor provides

6840-411: The right OMS crossfeed flange, after the education (a vacuum-related procedure, used to completely clear the plumbing of the toxic MMH) of the plumbing was completed ahead of the schedule by over a day. Later, testing indicated that the new seals were properly seated and holding pressure with no signs of additional seepage. Normal pad operations commenced soon after allowing managers to press forward with

6935-419: The robot could both endure the harsh conditions in space and exist in it without doing damage. R2 also underwent vibration testing that simulated the conditions it would experience during its launch onboard Discovery . The robot weighs 300 pounds (140 kg) and is made out of nickel-plated carbon fiber and aluminum. The height of R2 from waist to head is 3 feet 3.7 inches (100.8 cm), and it has

7030-462: The shuttle remained on the pad. An environmental enclosure was erected around the known damage site to facilitate the ongoing repairs and eventually to apply fresh foam insulation. On November 18, as part of the repairs, technicians installed new sections of metal, called "doublers" because they are twice as thick as the original stringer metal providing additional strength, to replace the two cracked stringers on Discovery 's external tank. Scanning of

7125-405: The shuttle to carry more stored oxygen to the International Space Station to help it deal with oxygen generation issues, which the crew had dealt with for several months. "What we've told the agency leadership is that clearly we're not ready for the 3 to 7 December window that's coming up next week," John Shannon, NASA's SSP manager, said in a news conference held after the special PCRB. "We'll leave

7220-567: The space station. It was the first humanoid robot in space, and was stowed on board the Leonardo PMM. Once Robonaut2 was unpacked, it began initial operation inside the Destiny module for operational testing, but over time, both its location and its applications could expand. Robonaut2 was initially designed as a prototype to be used on Earth. For its journey to the ISS, R2 received a few upgrades. Outer skin materials were exchanged to meet

7315-552: The spacewalk on Flight Day 5. On Flight Day 4, Stott and Barratt grappled the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) using the Canadarm2 and removed it from the starboard sill of Discovery's payload bay. Once it was grappled and out of the payload bay, the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System grappled the end of the OBSS and took a handoff from the Canadarm2. The OBSS was grappled by the space station arm, because

7410-434: The station's ports. The shuttle also carried the third of four ExPRESS Logistics Carriers to the ISS, as well as a humanoid robot called Robonaut . The mission marked both the 133rd flight of the Space Shuttle program and the 39th and final flight of Discovery , with the orbiter completing a cumulative total of a whole year (365 days) in space. The mission was affected by a series of delays due to technical problems with

7505-448: The stringers on the liquid oxygen/intertank flange was completed on November 23. NASA also performed backscatter scanning of the lower liquid hydrogen/intertank flange stringers on November 29. Program managers identified the analysis and repairs that were required to safely launch the shuttle, and this analysis was reviewed at a special Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) held on November 24. Managers announced at that meeting that

7600-420: The system raised concerns and additional troubleshooting was ordered. Troubleshooting followed and indicated the problem was related to "transient contamination" in a circuit breaker. NASA Test Director Steve Payne, addressing reporters, told that after troubleshooting and power cycles, the controller powered up normally. However, at the same time the problem was thought to be a non-issue, an unexpected voltage drop

7695-400: The tank to the flare stack, where it was burned off. All had been proceeding to plan with the tank "fast filled" during tanking, until the first leak indication was revealed. Firstly, a 33,000 ppm leak then reduced to a level below 20,000 ppm was recorded. The Launch Commit Criteria limit was 40–44,000 ppm. The leak was only being observed during the cycling of the vent valve to "open" to release

7790-582: The time of its introduction. Designators are assigned to objects by the United States Space Command along with satellite catalog numbers as they are discovered in space. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC), part of NASA , maintain two catalogs that provide additional information on the launchers and payloads associated with

7885-403: The torque on six bolts around the suspected leaky flange fitting and tighten if necessary. Subsequent leak tests showed again signs of seepage, and the task of solving the issue required the draining of both the left and right OMS tanks of the shuttle and a unique in-situ repair at the pad to avoid a rollback. On October 23, 2010, engineers completed the removal and replacement of the two seals on

7980-415: The two original cracks. They were found on the far left of removed foam on the flange area between the intertank and the liquid oxygen tank. However, these cracks appeared to have suffered less stress than the others found. No cracks were found in stringers on the right side. NASA suspected the use of a lightweight aluminum-lithium alloy in the tanks contributed to the crack problem. Repairs commenced while

8075-430: The unavailability of fire suppression systems because of a broken water main near the VAB and turn basin that runs out to the shuttle launch pads. The two SRBs were designated as flight set 122 by contractor Alliant Techsystems and were made up from one new segment and remaining segments reused across 54 earlier shuttle missions dating back to STS-1 . Inside the VAB, engineers attached a large sling to Discovery and

8170-509: The white LRSI tiles on the fuselage, and the use of graphite epoxy instead of aluminum for the payload bay doors and some of the wing spars and beams. Upon its delivery to the Kennedy Space Center in 1983, Discovery was modified alongside Challenger to accommodate the liquid-fueled Centaur-G booster, which had been planned for use beginning in 1986 but was cancelled in the wake of the Challenger disaster. Beginning in late 1995,

8265-485: Was brought into service due to optimalizations determined during the construction and testing of Enterprise , Columbia and Challenger . Discovery weighs 6 pounds (2.7 kg) heavier than Atlantis and 363 pounds (165 kg) heavier than Endeavour after further weight-saving adjustments were made. Part of the Discovery weight optimizations included the greater use of quilted AFRSI blankets rather than

8360-410: Was detected after they noticed a fishy smell coming from the aft of the shuttle, thought of as a sign of fuel vapor in the air. Upon inspection, the leak was found at a flange located at the interface where two propellant lines met in Discovery 's aft compartment. The line carried monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) propellant, one of two chemicals (the other is an oxidizer, nitrogen tetroxide ) used to ignite

8455-534: Was initially set for 16:50:24 EST, but was delayed for 3 minutes by a minor glitch in a computer system used by the Range Safety Officer (RSO) for the Eastern Range . Once Discovery was cleared for launch, it took 8 minutes and 34 seconds to reach orbit. At approximately four minutes into the flight, a piece of foam was seen breaking away from the External Tank. This foam was deemed not to be

8550-487: Was launched on STS-96 , the first shuttle mission to dock with the International Space Station . Discovery was retired after completing its final mission, STS-133 on March 9, 2011. The spacecraft is now on display in Virginia at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center , an annex of the Smithsonian Institution 's National Air and Space Museum . During its construction, Discovery was fitted with several black tiles near

8645-542: Was observed. In a Mission Management Team (MMT) meeting held later that day, managers decided to scrub the launch for at least 24 hours to work towards flight rationale. On November 5, 2010, Discovery 's launch attempt, a hydrogen leak was detected at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) during the fueling process. The plate was an attachment point between the external tank and a 17-inch pipe that carried gaseous hydrogen safely away from

8740-456: Was obtained with the old and removed GUCP. Technicians took extra measurements to ensure the best possible alignment of the newly installed GUCP. Teams began installing the flight seal and quick disconnect on November 15. Additional inspection of the tank revealed cracks in foam insulation in the flange between the intertank and liquid oxygen tank. The cracks are believed to have occurred about an hour after super-cold propellants began flowing into

8835-449: Was removed to reduce the overall weight of Leonardo . These removals resulted in a net weight loss of 178.1 lb (80.8 kg). Additional modifications to Leonardo included the installation of upgraded multi-layer insulation (MLI) and Micro Meteoroid Orbital Debris (MMOD) shielding to increase the ability of the PMM to handle potential impacts of micrometeoroids or orbital debris ;

8930-476: Was responsible for the overall preparation of the shuttle for launch and processing it after landing, and remained permanently assigned to head the spacecraft's ground crew while the astronaut flight crews changed for every mission. Each shuttle's Flow Director was supported by a Vehicle Manager for the same spacecraft. Space Shuttle Discovery' s Flow Directors were: [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of

9025-652: Was transferred to the Udvar-Hazy on April 19 where a welcome ceremony was held. Afterwards, at around 5:30 pm, Discovery was rolled to its "final wheels stop" in the Udvar Hazy Center. By its last mission, Discovery had flown 149 million mi (240 million km) in 39 missions, completed 5,830 orbits, and spent 365 days in orbit over 27 years. Discovery flew more flights than any other Orbiter Shuttle, including four in 1985 alone. Discovery flew both "return to flight" missions after

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