Thursday, February 24, 2011

Space shuttle Discovery launches from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on her final voyage to the International Space Station, on February 24, 2011.
NASA

DISCOVERY’S SWAN SONG... At 1:53 PM, Pacific Standard Time today, space shuttle Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on her final voyage to the International Space Station (ISS). Discovery will dock with the ISS this Saturday, February 26, and undock on March 5 before returning to KSC on March 7. Eventually, the orbiter will be moved to her final home at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.

Below are several photos of Discovery when she was constructed at Rockwell International (now Boeing) in Palmdale, California during the early 1980s. The images are courtesy of Space.com.

Assembly is done on Discovery’s forward bulkhead and payload bay.
Boeing

Assembly is done on Discovery's aft bulkhead and port wing.
Boeing

Assembly is done on the lower part of Discovery’s fuselage and her crew cabin.
Boeing

Assembly continues on Discovery’s forward bulkhead, while thermal protection tiles are added to the bottom of one of the orbiter’s wings.
Boeing

Assembly is completed on Discovery at her Rockwell manufacturing facility in Palmdale, California.
Boeing
Posted by Richard Par at 6:24 PM
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