The third Space Shuttle to foray into space was Discovery (designated OV-103), its maiden flight occurring on 30 August 1984. A contract for construction of Discovery was awarded to Rockwell International in January 1979 and it rolled out in October 1983. Interestingly, it was 3,120kg lighter than Columbia thanks to construction savings realized after building the three earlier Shuttles. In its 27-year lifespan, Discovery completed 39 successful missions for NASA. Among its accomplishments was spending a cumulative total of 365 days in space, placing the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit, and launching the Ulysses Probe. It traveled 238 million kilometers through space, in the process orbiting Earth 5,830 times. After such a stellar career, it was thus fitting that Discovery should be the first Space Shuttle to enter retirement, something that occurred on 9 March 2011. Rockwell Space ShuttleDesigned as a re-usable spacecraft for orbital human spaceflight, the Space Shuttle first flew on April 12, 1981. This American spacecraft system has flown more than 130 times, undergoing a variety of missions from satellite launch to space science experiments and construction and repair of space stations. The system is comprised of an external tank, two solid rocket boosters and an orbiter vehicle, which carries the crew and payload. The shuttle stack launches vertically, and the orbiter returns to Earth horizontally at the end of each mission. The shuttle has more than 2.5 million parts, making it one of the most complex machines ever built.© Copyright 2003-2024 The Flying Mule, Inc. Postage Stamp Planes Airliner CollectionThe Model Power "Airliner Collection" range presents affordable, ready-made diecast models of civilian aircraft.Model Power "Airliner Collection" diecast airplanes feature:
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