Discovery (OV-103) was NASA's third Space Shuttle orbiter to join the fleet, arriving for the first time at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in November 1983. After checkout and processing, it was launched on Aug. 30, 1984, for its first mission, 41-D, to deploy three communications satellites.
Since that inaugural flight, Discovery has completed 30 successful missions -- more than any other orbiter in NASA's fleet.
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off Pad B at the Kennedy Space Center on September 12, 1993, to begin STS-51. Image credit: NASA
Discovery is named for two famous sailing ships; one sailed by Henry Hudson in 1610-11 to search for a northwest passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the other by James Cook on a voyage during which he discovered the Hawaiian Islands.
Discovery has the distinction of being chosen as the Return to Flight orbiter twice. The first was for STS-26 in 1988, the first Return to Flight mission after the Challenger accident.
Destined for exploring the heavens instead of the seas, it was only fitting that NASA's Discovery carried the Hubble Space Telescope into space during mission STS-31 in April 1990, and provided both the second and third Hubble servicing missions (STS-82 in February 1997 and STS-103 in December 1999).
The shuttle assembly, including the Discovery Orbiter, the External Tank and the Solid Rocket Boosters generates 7, 820,000 pounds of thrust and weighs 4.5 million pounds at liftoff. The landing mass is 230,000 pounds.
The passenger capacity is 10 astronauts, but 5 - 7 is usual. The largest crew was 8. The maximum cargo to orbit is 63,500 pounds, about 5 tons more than the net load of a highway-legal log truck.
Launch to a Low Earth Orbit of 115 - 400 statute miles is attained by a velocity of 17,321 mph.
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