NASA’S WORKHORSE SHUTTLE
The Space Shuttle Discovery is an orbiter space shuttle from NASA’s Space Shuttle program and is the third of five-built total. The spacecraft takes its name from four of the British exploration ships named the Discovery in 1602. Work on Discovery started in 1979 and was completed in October of 1983. The Discovery flew a total of 39 space missions during its operational life logging a total of 365 days in orbit. The first flight was in 1984 and the final one in 2011. Space Shuttle Discovery was NASA’s workhorse and is now dubbed the worlds most-deployed and the busiest space shuttle.
Discovery is the only shuttle ever to fly one of the Mercury Seven NASA's first astronaut class, which was chosen in 1959.
Discovery was the first American spacecraft to be piloted by a woman. NASA astronaut Eileen Collins piloted the shuttle's STS-63 mission in 1995.
NASA’s space orbiters were all named after historic research or exploration vessels. Discovery takes its name from two ships that loom large in the history of exploration.