When was space shuttle Discovery retired?

March 9, 2011
The retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle fleet took place from March to July 2011. Discovery was the first of the three active Space Shuttles to be retired, completing its final mission on March 9, 2011; Endeavour did so on June 1.

Where are the retired space shuttles located?

Retired Space Shuttle Locations

• Shuttle Atlantis – Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
• Shuttle Discovery – Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
• Shuttle Endeavour – California Science Center.
• Shuttle Enterprise – Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

Why did NASA retire the shuttle program?

While reentering Earth’s atmosphere, Columbia broke apart, killing the entire crew. All of these factors — high costs, slow turnaround, few customers, and a vehicle (and agency) that had major safety problems — combined to make the Bush administration realize it was time for the Space Shuttle Program to retire.

What space shuttle did discovery replace?

Enterprise
Discovery will replace Enterprise, a prototype orbiter on display at the museum that was used for atmospheric test flights in the 1970s.

What is replacing the space shuttle?

Orion is NASA’s new spacecraft, built to take humans farther into space than they’ve ever gone before. It will carry the crew to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew and provide a safe return to Earth.

Where is the Space Shuttle Discovery on display?

In 2012, Discovery took its final flight to the Udvar-Hazy Center. Enterprise is now on display at the the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. The National Air and Space Museum is home to Space Shuttle Discovery, a magnificent spacecraft that flew almost 150 million miles in space during its 39 missions.

When was the last flight of the Shuttle Discovery?

Penultimate launch of Atlantis. The retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle fleet took place from March to July 2011. Discovery was the first of the three active Space Shuttles to be retired, completing its final mission on March 9, 2011; Endeavour did so on June 1.

Where did all the space shuttles go to retirement?

Orbiters Shuttle Name Shuttle Designation Retirement Destination Enterprise * OV-101 Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, New York Discovery OV-103 Udvar-Hazy Center, Smithsonian Instituti Atlantis OV-104 Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Fl Endeavour OV-105 California Science Center, Los Angeles,

When did discovery fly over National Air and Space Museum?

Visitors, the Museum, and NASA shared thousands of images and lots of video from Discovery’ s fly over the DC area on April 17, 2012 and arrival at the Museum on April 19, 2012. View them here and share your own images and video!