Space Shuttle Discovery Ends Its Last Mission

1:19 pm EST March 9th, 2011 | Science | 7 Comments

discovery

Sad to see, yet, proud of what we as a nation can accomplish.

The shuttle Discovery braved the hellish fire of re-entry for the last time Wednesday and glided back to Earth to close out the space plane’s 39th and final voyage, an emotion-charged milestone marking the beginning of the end for America’s shuttle program.

Dropping through a partly cloudy sky, the commander, Steven W. Lindsey, and Col. Eric A. Boe of the Air Force guided Discovery through a sweeping left overhead turn, lined up on Runway 15 and floated to a picture-perfect touchdown at 11:57 a.m. Eastern time to wrap up an extended 13-day space station assembly mission.

As it coasted to a stop under a brilliant noon sun, Discovery’s odometer stood at some 5,750 orbits covering nearly 150 million miles during 39 flights spanning a full year in space — a record unrivaled in the history of manned rockets.

“And Houston, Discovery, for the final time, wheels stopped,” Mr. Lindsey radioed flight controllers in Houston.

NASA: Still the best.

Topic: ,

Related Posts

«
»

7 Responses to “Space Shuttle Discovery Ends Its Last Mission”

  1. Jaim says:
    March 9, 2011 at 8:10 pm

    Should’ve been retired 10 years ago. The shuttles haven’t accomplished anything since the 1980′s and have been a major drag on the next phase of space exploration.

  2. jrfunkenstein says:
    March 9, 2011 at 11:22 pm

    And the U.S. hitchhiking into space era begins.

  3. Jaim says:
    March 10, 2011 at 12:50 am

    Good. The current Soyuz is cheaper and safer than the shuttle.

  4. doctorpsycho1960 says:
    March 10, 2011 at 3:11 pm

    I feel bad about USAstronauts riding in Soyuz capsules, but until we can build something better, they should.

    Just as I steadfastly defended people who bought imported cars in the 1970s, since I thought the best thing we could do for our domestic auto industry was to NOT reward them for failure.

  5. timmy says:
    March 10, 2011 at 7:06 pm

    Has anybody thought about outsourcing to China?

    (*crickets*)…

  6. jrfunkenstein says:
    March 11, 2011 at 5:17 am

    ‘Sort of like you guys did when you jammed Obamacare down the country’s throat, right? ‘

    Agreed, but that only makes the reality of how far NASA has fallen behind other nations in technological advancements that much more evident.

  7. jrfunkenstein says:
    March 11, 2011 at 5:18 am

    Oops; was actually responding to Jaim’s comment: ‘Good. The current Soyuz is cheaper and safer than the shuttle.’