Farewell Discovery!The epic voyages of Space Shuttle Discovery now belong to history.The Final magnificent mission of the orbiter and her all-veteran six astronaut crew to the International Space Station (ISS) wrapped up on 9 March 2011 with a safe landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:57 am EST after a nearly flawless flight. Steve Lindsey commanded the STS-133 mission and was joined by pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Alvin Drew, Steve Bowen, Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott. Bowen was a late addition to the crew, having replaced Tim Kopra, who broke his hip in a cycling accident for charity just weeks before the launch and was unable to recover in time to fly. Discovery flew its maiden voyage on 30 August 1984 (see page 203) and was NASA's longest serving orbiter. The STS-133 mission was the 39th and final flight for the illustrious orbiter, which will end up in a Washington museum in late 2011.
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