2011 A Very Good Year
and a lot of trips to Florida
The last three Space Shuttle missions were STS-133, STS-134 and STS-135. We were lucky enough to have been there when all three blasted off. It was a magic moment when the booster rockets fired and the shuttle lifted off, then the noise and ground vibrations. It was great.
Space Shuttle STS-133
Discovery
February 24, 2011
Space Shuttle STS-134
Endeavour
May 16, 2011
Space Shuttle
STS-135
Atlantis
July 8, 2011
DISCOVERY RETIRED TO SMITSONIAN APRIL 19, 2012
Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle
program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from
August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, flown 149 million
miles (238 million km) in the 39 missions, completed 5,830 orbits, and spent 365 days in orbit over 27 years
gathering more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date.
Discovery became the third operational orbiter to enter service, preceded by Columbia and Challenger. It embarked
on its last mission, STS-133, on February 24, 2011 and touched down for the final time at Kennedy Space Center on
March 9, having spent a cumulative total of almost a full year in space. Discovery performed both research and
International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions. It also carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. Discovery
the first operational shuttle to be retired, followed by Endeavour and then Atlantis.
Space Shuttle Discovery leaving Kennedy Space Center
Space Shuttle Discovery and Enterprise at the Smithsonian
Space Shuttle Discovery at the Smithsonian
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