Part of doing that means we have to go in and safe the major systems that have hazards," said long-time Discovery flow manager Stephanie Stilson. "We're currently in the process of decommissioning Discovery. Growing up on Floridas West Coast, I remember going out in the front yard, watching night-time Apollo launches. I do not deny that Ive always been a space nerd. NASA will outfit the ship with mocked up propulsion pieces to look "normal" in the museum display before she leaves Florida next year. Dan Winterss 'Last Launch: Discovery, Endeavour, Atlantis' is a wonderful book, a photographic record of NASAs final three Space Shuttle launches. Technicians are in the midst of a multi-month process of safing the Discovery's systems and readying the orbiter for the Smithsonian. There were six Space Shuttle orbiters built Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. The orbiter is launched as a spacecraft, but returns to earth as an un-powered glider. NASA was moving the ship to the nearby Vehicle Assembly Building to enter storage, opening up that hangar to receive Atlantis after the final space shuttle landing next week. Space Shuttle History The Rockwell International Space Shuttle was the first, manned, re-usable spacecraft constructed for NASA. Seeing the stripped down orbiter with a gaping hole in the nose was a harsh reminder that the spaceship's flying days are over. The space shuttle Discovery on Wednesday morning made her first public appearance outside the hangar since being retired, emerging without any main engines, nose thrusters or aft rocket pods. Discovery and Atlantis, the upgrades made it possible for the shuttles to begin routine. This is why the name is spelled in the British English manner, rather than the American English spelling of "Endeavor." This has caused confusion, most notably when NASA themselves misspelled a sign on the launch pad in 2007.Discovery leaves hangar to make room for Atlantis The space shuttle Endeavour may be the baby of NASAs orbiter fleet, but it has an impressive legacy. Bush presented awards to each school The orbiter is named after HM Bark Endeavour, the ship commanded by 18th century explorer James Cook the name also honored Endeavour, the Apollo Command/Service Module of Apollo 15. They were honored at several ceremonies in Washington, D.C., including a White House ceremony where then-President George H.W. The national winners were selected based on the quality of the project submitted with their entries. The national winners were Senatobia Middle School in Senatobia, Miss., in the elementary division and Tallulah Falls School in Tallulah Falls, Ga., in the upper school division. Endeavour was the most popular entry, accounting for almost one-third of the state-level winnersįor example, Utah's state level winner, Nolan Butcher, a sixth grade student from Nibley Park Elementary school located in Salt Lake City Utah, selected Endeavour because some definitions of the word mean to be bold and put forth great effort. Entries included an essay about the name, the story behind it and why it was appropriate for a NASA shuttle, and the project that supported the name. The decision to build Endeavour was favored over refitting Space Shuttle Enterprise on cost grounds.Įndeavour was named through a national competition involving students in elementary and secondary schools. Each time a space shuttle launched, it was called a mission. Doing experiments in space is different than doing them on Earth. The space shuttle was also like a science lab. The shuttle carried large parts into space to build the International Space Station. Structural spares from the construction of Space Shuttle Discovery and Space Shuttle Atlantis, two of the three remaining operating shuttles at the time, were used in its assembly. It took satellites to space so they could orbit Earth. The United States Congress authorized the construction of Endeavour in 1987 to replace Space Shuttle Challenger, which was lost in an accident in 1986. (The other two are Space Shuttle Discovery and Space Shuttle Atlantis.) Endeavour was the fifth and final NASA space shuttle to be built.Įndeavour is currently in the Orbiter Processing Facility being prepared for its next space shuttle mission, STS-127, currently slated to launch as early as from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Space Shuttle Endeavour is one of the three currently operational Space Shuttle orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States.
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