The Final Launch of Discovery

The Space Shuttle Discovery flew every kind of mission a Space Shuttle could fly in it’s almost 30 years of service. Discovery was the third Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle to fly in space. It entered service in 1984 and flew on 39 Earth-orbital missions, spent a total of 365 days in space, and traveled almost 150 million miles. This NASA video (with captions added by the Museum) captures its final launch on the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station in 2011. Today you can see the Space Shuttle Discovery at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. Plan your visit today: Video courtesy of NASA-TV.