Discovery's final trip

Discovery first started its space adventures back in 1984 when it became the third operational orbiter^. it made its final landing on 9 March 2011 with a cumulative total of one full year (365 days) in space; the longest of any spaceship in the world. Incredibly it carried out 5,830 orbits during its lifetime and travelled a distance of 238,539,663 km. I look forward to seeing its replacement ! NASA has offered Discovery to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum for public display and preservation as part of the national collection.

An orbital sunrise brightens this view of Discovery's vertical stabiliser, docking mechanism, remote manipulator system orbiter boom sensor system and payload bay. What a sepctacular view ! just noticed you can see the photographer/astronaught's reflection taking the snap.



Astronaut Michael Barratt watches a water bubble float near him on Discovery's mid-deck. Kudos to these guys up in space, lucky bastards but im sure they are the best suited people for the job.