Space Shuttle Discovery: Final Flight in Pictures

Discovery's Last Liftoff
Photograph courtesy NASA
After months of anticipation, the space shuttle Discovery lifted off February 24 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its 39th and final scheduled mission, as NASA's space shuttle program nears its end. Discovery is scheduled to land just before noon, eastern time, today.
Built after Columbia and Challenger, Discovery was NASA's third space shuttle, and it's now the U.S. space program's oldest and most traveled spaceship. (See pictures of space shuttle Discovery's milestone moments.)
For the STS-133 mission, Discovery carried supplies, spare parts, and the Permanent Multipurpose Module, a storage unit that's the final piece of the International Space Station.
Due to a series of leaks, Discovery's launch had been postponed from its original November date. On February 24 a last-minute repair to a chipped tile and a computer problem pushed liftoff to within four seconds of the launch window's closing—any later and the mission would have had to have been rescheduled.
For any launch, those last three seconds "can feel like an eternity," said NASA test director Steve Payne, who added that watching Discovery take off was "kind of an odd feeling."
Although the launch was a poignant moment, "we've been working on this one for months," he said, and sending the shuttle up after so long was a relief.
—Rachel Kaufman
Published March 9, 2011
Bye, Bye Boosters
Photograph by Pierre Ducharme, Reuters
Seconds after launch, space shuttle Discovery's reusable solid rocket boosters separated from the orbiter and fell back into the Atlantic Ocean to be collected and refurbished.
To ensure a shuttle's flight path crosses the International Space Station's orbit, launch windows are precisely timed down to the second. On February 24, "everything had cleared up beautifully" for an on-time launch, Payne said.
But the crew shutting the hatch on Discovery chipped a tiny piece of tile off the shuttle's surface. Luckily the chip was "not really a big deal, for once," Payne said. The ground crew "ran down to their truck, picked up their bottle of repair paint, and applied it in very short order."
Then, "we were all ready to press down into our terminal count when the Eastern Range"—a chain of tracking sites maintained by the U.S. Air Force to support shuttle missions—"reported they had a problem with one of their computers. When that comes up late in the count, everybody holds their breath."
Despite the glitches, Discovery safely lifted off at 4:53 p.m. ET. (Find out what it was like to witness space shuttle Discovery's launch amid throngs of shuttle tourists.)
Published March 9, 2011
Shuttle Shutterbug
Photograph courtesy NASA
NASA astronaut Nicole Stott snaps a photo from space shuttle Discovery's aft flight deck during downtime on the second day of the ship's final mission.
While en route to the space station, the shuttle crew performed routine maintenance, such as scanning the shuttle's underside with a robotic arm, a task that takes six hours and half of the six-person crew to complete.
The astronauts also inspected their space suits and prepared for the next day's docking, including executing a few small course-correction maneuvers. (Related: "Astronauts' Fingernails Falling Off Due to Glove Design.")
Published March 9, 2011
Window on Discovery
Photograph courtesy NASA
Seen from the space station, Discovery approaches to begin docking with the station on February 26.
One of the biggest tasks scheduled for mission STS-133 was installing the Permanent Multipurpose Module, which contained crucial supplies and spare parts for the station. The module is also the final pressurized component to be installed on the station, thus "completing" its construction. (Also see pictures: "Space Station's Observation Deck Unveiled.")
However, "the fact that we're adding the last pressurized module does not terminate the amount of science that will go up and down," NASA station flight director Royce Renfrew told National Geographic News in November.
"It's symbolic that we're bringing up the last pressurized module after numerous years of putting up pressurized parts, but the science will continue, hopefully through 2020 and beyond."
Published March 9, 2011
Suited Up for Discovery
Photograph courtesy NASA
Astronaut Michael Barratt (center) helps Discovery crewmates Steve Bowen (left) and Alvin Drew prepare for the first spacewalk of the STS-133 mission on February 28.
During the outing, the astronauts installed various space station essentials, such as a new camera-guidance system and a power extension cable. Drew and Bowen also removed a failed ammonia pump for return to Earth at a later date.
In addition, the two spacewalkers "filled" a tube with the vacuum of space on behalf of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The "message in a bottle" is to return to Earth on Discovery and be exhibited as a "conduit between humans and space" to get the public excited about space exploration, according to JAXA.
(Related: "Human Guinea Pig to Blast Off With Space Shuttle.")
Published March 9, 2011
Outside Job
Photograph courtesy NASA
Space shuttle astronauts Alvin Drew and Steve Bowen conduct the final Discovery mission's first extravehicular activity (EVA) on February 28.
During the six-hour spacewalk, Bowen, who was attached to the station's Canadarm 2, was handling a faulty ammonia pump when the robotic arm's computer control failed temporarily.
Bowen waited just a few minutes while station commander Scott Kelly and mission specialist Mike Barratt switched to a different workstation, then he was able to resume the task.
The ammonia pump was ultimately transferred to a storage platform next to the station's Quest air lock. The pump will be returned to Earth at a later date so engineers can study the part's failure.
Published March 9, 2011
Storage Space, Courtesy Discovery
Photograph courtesy NASA
Astronauts inside the station used Canadarm 2, the space station's remote-controlled robotic arm, to remove the Permanent Multipurpose Module from Discovery's payload bay and attach the module to the station's Unity node on March 1.
Installing the module, essentially a giant storage closet, gives the space station crew an additional 2,500 cubic feet (70.8 cubic meters) in which to work.
On its way up, aboard Discovery, the module carried roughly 6,500 pounds (2,950 kilograms) of equipment, including spare parts, clothes, and Robonaut 2, the first humanoid robot in space. (See pictures of NASA's Robonaut 2 and some of its forerunners.)
Published March 9, 2011
Helping Hands
Photograph courtesy NASA
In the International Space Station, astronauts Eric Boe (left) and Scott Kelly unpack a container housing NASA's humanoid robot Robonaut 2 from the Permanent Multipurpose Module on March 2. (See pictures: "Five Forerunners of NASA's Robot Astronaut.")
During a recent call to the station, U.S. President Barack Obama joked that the crew should let Robonaut 2 "stretch his legs sometime soon"—but the robot itself isn't scheduled to be unpacked for a while.
The station crew is first hoping to remove some of R2's protective foam before Japan's "space moving van," the uncrewed HTV, undocks in late March carrying waste. Mission controllers in Japan will intentionally fly the craft back into Earth's atmosphere so that it burns up during re-entry.
As for letting the robot out early? "Every once in a while we hear some scratching," STS-133 commander Steve Lindsey joked to Obama.
Published March 9, 2011
Shuttle Open for Business
Photograph courtesy NASA
Floating above Earth, a docked space shuttle Discovery can be seen from the space station with its payload-bay doors open on March 2. The shuttle is just behind Dextre, a Canadian-built space robot, and to the right of the newly installed Permanent Multipurpose Module.
Discovery's 39 flights and 365 total days in space make it the most flown orbiter in NASA's fleet, but all the vehicles should have had a lot more life in them, Payne said: The shuttles "were designed for a hundred flights." The program is ending mainly due to budget issues.
In fact, the broken tiles and fuel leaks that delayed Discovery's last launch were not due to age, he added. "Tiles are fragile, [and] the issue we had with our tank had nothing to do with the age of the tank. We could have found this on the first mission or the tenth mission."
Published March 9, 2011
Home at Last
Photograph by Joe Skipper, Reuters
Discovery touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida just before noon on Wednesday, March 9.
The orbiter's "retirement home" is still unknown, but rumors point toward it cruising to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum annex in northern Virginia.
Considering Discovery's legacy, it's small wonder institutions are competing for the honor of receiving the vehicle: Discovery was the first shuttle to launch after both the Columbia and Challenger disasters, the shuttle that launched the Hubble Space Telescope, and the first shuttle to dock with the International Space Station.
"There's a rich legacy of history inherent in the name Discovery," said crew member Michael Barratt from the space station during an interview on NASA TV.
"To be able to take the final flight of this Discovery has been a real honor and privilege. And boy, we've really set the bar high for the next ship named Discovery."
Also see "Why Space Shuttle Discovery Is Machine With Personality'" >>
Published March 9, 2011