It’s the final touchdown!
Tearful Nasa salutes space shuttle Discovery
The long and distinguished career of space shuttle Discovery ended on Wednesday at 16.57 GMT when the venerable vehicle touched down at Kennedy Space Centre at the end of its final flight.
Discovery ended its career as the world’s most flown spaceship, returning from orbit for the last time and taking off in a new direction as a museum piece.
After a trip to the International Space Station, Nasa’s oldest shuttle swooped through a few wispy clouds on its way to its final touchdown.
“To the ship that has led the way time and time again, we say, ‘Farewell Discovery’,” declared Mission Control commentator Josh Byerly.
The six astronauts on board went through their landing checklists with the bittersweet realisation that no one would ever ride Discovery again. Speaking to the press shortly after landing, commander Steve Lindsey said: “It was a great day to come back and land in Florida, we’re happy to bring Discovery home.” He added: “As hard as it was to leave the flight deck when we were all done – at least for me it was – we were really focused today on bringing the shuttle home safe. We were really working hard the whole mission and didn’t have a whole lot of time to reflect about that.”
“I did notice when I was on the ramp and walking around afterward as the minutes passed I kind of got more and more sad looking at the vehicle and how healthy it is and wonderful it performed, not just on this flight but the other two flights that I flew on, as well as every other flight. It kind of got sadder for me as the minutes rolled past.”
The agency says of the spacecraft: “It has flown to space more than any other craft, and it has carried more crew members to orbit.
“It has visited two space stations. It launched a telescope that has seen deeper in space and in time than ever before. And twice it has demonstrated the United States’ will to persevere following devastating tragedy, returning America to orbit following the two worst accidents in space history.”
Meanwhile space shuttle Endeavour’s move to its launch pad at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida has been postponed at least 24 hours because of potential lightning and storms in the area.
Managers will meet to assess weather conditions and determine if Endeavour will move out of the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Endeavour’s six astronauts are targeted to launch aboard the shuttle on April 19. The STS-134 mission to the International Space Station is the final scheduled flight for Endeavour before it is retired.
Even after shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis make their final voyages in the coming months, Discovery will still hold the all-time record with 39 missions, 148 million miles, 5,830 orbits of Earth, and 365 days spent in space. All that was achieved in under 27 years.