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Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five 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, gathering more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. ''Discovery'' became the third operational orbiter to enter service, preceded by ''Columbia'' and ''Challenger''.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Discovery’s last mission flight to space begun )〕 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,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/2009363/discoverys_final_touchdown_a_success/ )〕 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'' was the first operational shuttle to be retired, followed by ''Endeavour'' and then ''Atlantis''. ==History== The name ''Discovery'' was chosen to carry on a tradition based on ships of exploration,〔 primarily HMS ''Discovery'', one of the ships commanded by Captain James Cook during his third and final major voyage from 1776 to 1779, and Henry Hudson's ''Discovery'',〔 which was used in 1610–1611 to explore the Hudson Bay and search for a Northwest Passage. Other ships bearing the name have included the HMS ''Discovery''〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.space.com/10908-space-shuttle-discovery-names-origin.html )〕 of the 1875–1876 British Arctic Expedition to the North Pole and RRS ''Discovery'', which led the 1901–1904 "Discovery Expedition" to Antarctica.〔 ''Discovery'' launched the Hubble Space Telescope and conducted the second and third Hubble service missions. It also launched the Ulysses probe and three TDRS satellites. Twice ''Discovery'' was chosen as the "Return To Flight" Orbiter, first in 1988 after the loss of ''Challenger'' in 1986, and then again for the twin "Return To Flight" missions in July 2005 and July 2006 after the ''Columbia'' disaster in 2003. Project Mercury astronaut John Glenn, who was 77 at the time, flew with ''Discovery'' on STS-95 in 1998, making him the oldest person to go into space.〔 Had plans to launch United States Department of Defense payloads from Vandenberg Air Force Base gone ahead, ''Discovery'' would have become the dedicated US Air Force shuttle.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/2.pdf )〕 Its first West Coast mission, STS-62-A, was scheduled for 1986, but cancelled in the aftermath of ''Challenger''. ''Discovery'' was retired after completing its final mission, STS 133 on March 9, 2011. The spacecraft is now on display in Virginia at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, an annex of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Space Shuttle Discovery」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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