The space shuttle Discovery was supposed to blast off on November 1st. It’s now December 21st and according to the latest press release, isn’t going anywhere till February. The soon-to-be phased out orbiter is being removed from the launch pad today and rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center so workers can reinspect the foam insulation on the shuttle’s external tank.
The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off without a hitch this afternoon from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This launch represents the last mission for the orbiter as NASA moves to scrap the space shuttle program, despite the cranky ramblings of NBC space correspondent Jay Barbree, who kept popping up on MSNBC all afternoon to remind each successive host that Atlantis could still be used in an emergency operation. Let it go already Jay!
Photo: Lance Ulanoff
For those institutions interested in purchasing a space shuttle, talk to NASA, they’re selling off the whole fleet, CHEAP and are currently accepting RFIs (Request for Information) They first offered the used spacecraft for $42 million apiece, but no one was biting, so the agency is slashing its prices to $28.8 million each and throwing in a used shuttle engine…plus free shipping! |Daily Finance|
After a mission, the space shuttle routinely lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California and is flown back to Florida. Amazingly, the 200,000 pound orbiter is affixed to the top of a specially-fitted 747 making it quite the spectacle. Here’s some photos of Discovery in Texas, one of several refueling stops on its $1.8 million flight back East.
Photos by Tony Boyer
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