One of solar arrays on Hubble did not unfurl when commanded to do so. Credit: NASAĪs always, the crew was prepared for anything that would come up on the mission. Smith (on RMS arm) conducting an unscheduled fifth extravehicular activity (EVA) during which they attach several thermal insulation blankets to three of Hubble’s equipment compartments at the top of the Support Systems Module section. Lee (left) and Mission Specialist Steven L. To do this the orbiter would burn more maneuvering fuel just getting into orbit than on a normal flight. Sullivan made up the crew.ĭue to the telescope needing to escape as much of the light generated from earth as possible, along with being well above the atmosphere to avoid any drag that would decrease it’s orbital altitude, the shuttle would launch to an orbital altitude of 379 miles, almost double the altitude of most shuttle flights before. Hawley, Bruce McCandless II and Kathryn D. Bolden, Jr., Mission Specialists Steven A. STS-31 launched on Apfrom Pad 39-B at the Kennedy Space Center with another all veteran crew onboard. It would ride in Discovery’s spacious payload bay into Earth orbit. The telescope, which would go on amaze us with its images and discoveries for many years to come was the size of a school bus and weighed in at 24,490 lbs. The Hubble Space Telescope would be the next high profile mission for Discovery. Despite a few minor issues onboard, the orbiter performed nearly flawlessly and opened the door for many more flights to come for the fleet. The crew selected for the mission were all shuttle veterans, Commander Frederick H. The primary mission of STS-26 was the deployment of a NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-3 (TDRS-3), though everyone understood the safe launch and landing of the shuttle, on its first flight since the accident, was the most important thing. The STS-26 mission launched from Pad 39-B at the Kennedy Space Center on September 29, 1988. The orbiter called upon for the return to flight mission was Discovery. The shuttle program itself came to a halt after Challenger was lost during ascent in January of 1986. Liftoff of Discovery with the Hubble Space Telescope on board. The third shuttle to join the fleet after Columbia and Challenger, it would soon become the workhorse and star of the fleet performing many high profile missions, and setting many spaceflight firsts, including STS-63 where Astronaut Eileen Collins became the first female Shuttle Commander STS-95 where the first American to orbit the Earth, John Glenn, became the oldest American to fly in space at the age of 77 the STS-60 mission saw the first Russian Cosmonaut carried into space aboard an American spacecraft and STS-92 was the 100th flight of the shuttle program. The storied career of Discovery would continue to be documented over its next 38 history making flights. The crew also carried onboard an IMAX movie camera and parts of the mission were used in the IMAX file, “The Dream is Alive”. Just the 12th Space Shuttle mission, it took four launch attempts before Discovery finally got off the ground on its maiden flight. STS-41D was a six-day mission to deploy three satellites into Earth orbit. After testing and a hot test firing, the orbiter launched on its first mission on August 30, 1984. Space Shuttle Discovery arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 9, 1983. Today we take a look back at her history and accomplishments during 27 years of spaceflight. PhotoC: Lloyd Campbellįive years ago, Space Shuttle Discovery launched on her final mission. Space Shuttle Discovery has been on display in the James S.
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