Space Shuttle DISCOVERY, OV-103

Space Shuttle Orbiter OV-103 DISCOVERY was named after two famous ships. One sailed by Henry Hudson in 1610-1611, while searching for the northwest passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean he disovered the Hudson Bay. The other ship was used in the 18th century by Captain James Cook while discovering the Hawaiian Islands and exploring southern Alaska and western Canada.

Orbiter DISCOVERY milestones:


Contract award:                              29 January 1979
Start assembly crew module:                  28 June 1976
Start assembly aft-fuselage:                 10 November 1980
Wings arrive from Grumman at Palmdale:       30 April 1982
Start final assembly:                        03 September 1982
Final assembly complete:                     12 August 1983
Roll-out at Palmdale:                        16 October 1983
Transport from Palmdale to Edwards:          05 November 1983
Delivery to KSC:                             09 November 1983
Flight Readiness Firing (*):                 02 June 1984
First space flight:                          30 August 1984

(*)Flight Readiness Firing was on pad 39A and the duration was 18 seconds.
The Second Flight Readiness Firing was on pad 39B on August 10, 1988 with a duration of 20 seconds.

MISSIONS:

FLIGHT LAUNCH LANDING DURATION STS-41D AUGUST 30, 1984 SEPTEMBER 5, 1984 6 days, 56 min 4 sec. STS-51A NOVEMBER 8, 1984 NOVEMBER 16, 1984 7 days, 23 hrs 44 min. 56 sec STS-51C JANUARY 24, 1985 JANUARY 27, 1985 3 days, 1 hr. 33 min. 13 sec STS-51D APRIL 12, 1985 APRIL 17, 1985 6 days, 23 hrs 55 min. 23 sec STS-51G JUNE 17, 1985 JUNE 24, 1985 7 days, 1 hr. 38 min. 58 sec STS-51I AUGUST 27, 1985 SEPTEMBER 3, 1985 7 days, 2 hrs. 17 min. 42 sec STS-26 SEPTEMBER 29, 1988 OCTOBER 3, 1988 4 days, 1 hr. 11 sec. STS-29 MARCH 13, 1989 MARCH 18, 1989 4 days, 23 hrs 38 min. 52 sec STS-33 NOVEMBER 22, 1989 NOVEMBER 27, 1989 5 days, 6 min. 49 sec. STS-31 APRIL 24, 1990 APRIL 29, 1990 5 days, 1 hr. 16 min. 6 sec. STS-41 OCTOBER 6, 1990 OCTOBER 10, 1990 4 days, 2 hrs. 10 min. 3 sec. STS-39 APRIL 28, 1991 MAY 6, 1991 8 days, 7 hrs. 23 min. 17 sec STS-48 SEPTEMBER 12, 1991 SEPT. 18, 1991 5 days, 8 hrs. 27 min. 51 sec STS-42 JANUARY 22, 1992 JANUARY 30, 1992 8 days, 1 hr. 14 min. 44 sec STS-53 DECEMBER 2, 1992 DECEMBER 9, 1992 7 days, 7 hrs. 19 min. 17 sec STS-56 APRIL 8, 1993 APRIL 17, 1993 9 days, 6 hrs. 9 min. 21 sec. STS-51 SEPTEMBER 12, 1993 SEPT. 22, 1993 9 days, 20 hrs 11 min. 7 sec. STS-60 FEBRUARY 3, 1994 FEBRUARY 11, 1994 8 days, 7 hrs. 9 min. 22 sec. STS-64 SEPTEMBER 10, 1994 SEPT. 20, 1994 10 days, 22 hrs 49 min. 57 sec STS-63 FEBRUARY 3, 1995 FEBRUARY 11, 1995 8 days, 6 hrs. 28 min. 15 sec STS-70 JULY 13, 1995 JULY 22, 1995 8 days, 22 hrs 20 min. 5 sec. STS-82 FEBRUARY 11, 1997 FEBRUARY 21, 1997 9 days, 23 hrs 37 min, 9 sec STS-85 AUGUST 07, 1997 AUGUST 19, 1997 11 days, 20 hrs 28 min. 7 sec. STS-91 JUNE 02, 1998 JUNE 12, 1998 9 days, 19 hrs 54 min. 57 sec. STS-95 OCTOBER 29, 1998 November 07, 1998 8 days, 21 hrs 44 min. 56 sec. STS-96 MAY 27, 1999 JUNE 06, 1999 9 days, 19 hrs 13 min. 57 sec. STS-103 DECEMBER 19, 1999 DECEMBER 27, 1999 7 days, 23 hrs 10 min. 34 sec. STS-92 OCTOBER 11, 2000 OCTOBER 24, 2000 12 days, 21 hrs 43 min. STS-102 MARCH 08, 2001 MARCH 21 ,2001 12 days, 19 hrs 49 min. STS-105 AUGUST 10, 2001 AUGUST 22, 2001 11 days, 21 hrs 13 min.

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