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Shuttle Orbiter ''Discovery'' ( Space Shuttle . First flown ''Discovery'' is the third operational space shuttle, and the oldest remaining in service. She has performed both research and International Space Station ( ISS ) assembly missions. The spacecraft takes her name from previous ships of exploration named ''Discovery'', primarily ''..]] ''Discovery'' was the shuttle that launched the '' Hubble Space Telescope ''. The second and third ''Hubble Space Telescope'' service missions were also conducted by ''Discovery''. She has also launched the Ulysses Probe and three TDRS satellites. ''Discovery'' has been chosen twice as the return to flight orbiter, first as the return to flight orbiter after the 1986 ''Challenger'' Disaster in 1988, and as the orbiter for the return to flight mission in July 2005, after the 2003 ''Columbia'' Disaster . ''Discovery'' also carried Project Mercury astronaut John Glenn , who was 77 at the time, back into space during STS-95 on October 29 , 1998 , making him the oldest human being to venture into space. STS-114 MISSION On , marking the first shuttle launch since the February 2003 ''Columbia'' Disaster . Videos taken during the minutes after the launch revealed that a piece of foam insulation came off ''Discovery'''s external fuel tank, although it apparently did not damage the shuttle. After the problem was discovered, NASA suspended all future launches until the problem is solved. During the mission astronauts repaired the suspected damaged spot on an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA). Discovery was set to return on after travelling 5.8 million miles. .]] Discovery landed at the . STS-121 MISSION (SCHEDULED FOR JULY 2006) STS-121 will be the second Return to Flight Testing after the ''Columbia'' accident in 2003. At first, the space shuttle ''Atlantis'' was selected for this mission, but after the external tank foam loss issues with STS-114, the launch has been delayed to July 2006, enabling NASA to select ''Discovery'' for STS-121. STS-121 will also continue the demonstration of heat shield repair techniques. STS-121 will visit the International Space Station with additional supplies using the Italian built Leonardo multi purpose logistics module. With sufficient supplies, the ISS will be able to accommodate a third astronaut. German European Space Agency Astronaut Thomas Reiter will join NASA commander William McArthur and Russian Valeri Tokarev , making the ISS truly international again. FLIGHTS Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' has flown 31 flights, spent 241.95 days in space, completed 3,808 orbits, and flown 98,710,673 miles (158,859,429 km) in total, as of July 2005. ''Discovery'' is set for retirement in 2010. NOTABLE MISSIONS
DECOMMISSIONING OF SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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