The following are snapshots of Nasa’s Space Shuttle Discovery, which recently completed a successful 13-day cargo run and construction mission at the International Space Station (ISS). This was its 39th and final spaceflight mission in a 27-year flying career. The shuttle touched down at its Kennedy Space Center home base in Florida at 11.57EST, with commander Steven Lindsey at the controls.
Overall, Discovery accumulated 365 days in orbit over the 39 missions carried out and will now be prepared for display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The decision by the United States to end the 30-year-old shuttle program is due to the high costs associated with operating the program and a bid by the government to free up funds so as to begin work on new spaceship’s that can travel as far as the moon, asteroids and other destinations that are beyond the station’s orbit.
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