Discovery's pad waiting for the final shuttle launch.
A 30-year mission is coming to an end for NASA. Today at 4:50 PM, Space Shuttle Discovery is making its final launch from NASA Launch Pad 39A from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Space Shuttle flights are coming to an end, with Discovery making its 39th launch from the surface of the Earth. Discovery is heading to the International Space Station with a cargo of much-needed equipment and supplies.
“Discovery is a great ship – this is the 39th mission,” said NASA’s shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach of SLS-133. “It’s kind of bittersweet. It’s the end of a 30-year program. We’ve grown to love and appreciate and feel like we’re doing something special for the country, and really the world, and that’s tough. But we’re going to do it right.”
Delayed for various reasons since November, Discovery’s last launch will feature an interesting bit of cargo. That would be the robotic astronaut Robonaut 2, who will be heading to the International Space Station as part of Discovery’s last mission. It’s kind of interesting how the end of an era overlaps with the beginning of a brand new era, isn’t it? Just think, in ten years, there’ll be unmanned space shuttles flying everywhere.
Good luck, NASA. Here’s to a successful last mission for the old warhorse!
Tags: Space Shuttle Discovery, Discovery, NASA, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, Robonaut 2, Space Shuttle Discovery to launch its final mission, Discovery’s final launch, international space station, Mike Leinbach, last flight for the space shuttle, space shuttle discovery retiring, launchpad 39A
