February 22, 2016 - Discovery’s Final Flight

Discovery’s Final Flight Launched on the STS-133 mission five years ago this week, the Discovery orbiter is seen on approach to the International Space Station in a photo captured by an Expedition 26 crew member. Discovery’s payload bay doors are open and a portion of the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) Leonardo is visible inside. Discovery transported Leonardo to the ISS for the eighth time during STS-133 when it was installed as a permanent addition, providing 70 cubic meters (2,472 cubic feet) of storage space. STS-133 was the thirty-fifth shuttle mission to the ISS as well as the final flight of Discovery. First flown in 1984 on the STS-41D mission, Discovery completed thirty-nine missions, including thirteen to the ISS, and orbited earth 5,830 times during its 365 days in space.

Image credit: NASA

Weekly Calendar

February 22 - 28, 2016

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

Monday 22

Full Moon 1:20 PM ET

1966: Cosmos 110 launched, sets record for dogs in space (22 days)
1978: First Navstar GPS satellite launched
1996: STS-75 Columbia launched