Description
Please note that the borders around the picture may vary depending on the size of the print ordered to make sure that it fits comfortably Discovery is significant as the oldest of the three extant orbiter vehicles constructed for the Space Shuttle Program (SSP), the longest running American space program to date; she was the third of five orbiters built by NASA. Unlike the Mercury, Gemini, & Apollo programs, the SSP's emphasis was on cost effectiveness & reusability, & eventually the construction of a space station. Including her maiden voyage (launched August 30, 1984), Discovery flew to space thirty-nine times, more than any of the other four orbiters; she was also the first orbiter to fly twenty missions. She had the honor of being chosen as the Return to Flight vehicle after both the Challenger & Columbia accidents. Discovery was the first shuttle to fly with the redesigned SRBs, a result of the Challenger accident, & the first shuttle to fly with the Phase II & Block I SSME. Discovery also carried the Hubble Space Telescope to orbit & performed two of the five servicing missions to the observatory. She flew the first & last dedicated Department of Defense (DoD) missions, as well as the first unclassified defense-related mission. in addition, Discovery was vital to the construction of the International Space Station (ISS); she flew thirteen of the thirty-seven total missions flown to the station by a U.S. Space Shuttle. She was the first orbiter to dock to the ISS, & the first to perform an exchange of a resident crew. Orbiter Reentry & Landing Sequence | Discovery Space Shuttle Blueprint Design Nasa Art Print
