The NASA Mission

The NASA Vision
To improve life here,
To extend life to there,
To find life beyond.

The NASA Mission
To understand and protect our home planet,
To explore the universe and search for life,
To inspire the next generation of explorers
...only NASA can.

Discovery Resupplies Station

Discovery astronauts are using the Leonardo logistics module today to begin the transfer of equipment and supplies to the International Space Station. The shuttle docked to the orbital outpost on Thursday, bringing a new crewmember, Thomas Reiter, to the Expedition 13 crew.

The shuttle crew will also conduct more inspections of Discovery's heat shield today.

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Space Shuttle Discovery (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the space shuttle fleet belonging to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). First flown in 1984, Discovery is the third operational space shuttle, and the oldest remaining in service. Discovery has performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions.

The spacecraft takes its name from previous ships of exploration named Discovery, primarily HMS Discovery, the sailing ship that accompanied famous explorer James Cook on his third and final major voyage. Others include Henry Hudson's ship Discovery which he used in 1610–1611 to search for a Northwest Passage, and RRS Discovery, a vessel used for expeditions to Antarctica in 1901-1904 by Scott and Shackleton (and still preserved as a museum). The shuttle shares a name with Discovery One, the spaceship from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Discovery was the shuttle that launched the Hubble Space Telescope. The second and third Hubble service missions were also conducted by Discovery, and she is currently scheduled to perform the 5th one sometime in 2008. 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.