Just under a week ago, the crew of mission STS–133 and the Space Shuttle Discovery launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This launch was not just another shuttle mission at NASA, however, as this one marks the beginning of the end for the aging shuttle program.
Upon the safe return of the Space Shuttle Discovery on March 7, the shuttle will be officially retired from use, making it the first of the active shuttles to be decommissioned.
The crew of STS–133, the Space Transportation System will deliver some critical spare parts to the International Space Station, along with the Express Logic Carrier–4 and Permanent Multipurpose Module. The ELC–4 is a platform that provides mechanical mounting, electrical power and command and data handling services for experiments conducted onboard the space station. The PMM is a large pressurized container that will be used to store supplies and waste from the ISS.
In addition to the crew and equipment onboard the Discovery, the mission includes another unique character. Making its way to the ISS to become a permanent resident of the facility is Robonaut 2. R2 will be the first humanoid robot to fly in space, R2 will be monitored by engineers aboard the ISS to see how it operates in the weightlessness of space.
STS-133 will include a pair of spacewalks in order to conduct maintenance on the station and to install the parts carried on the Discovery.
Since the Space Shuttle Program was born on Jan. 5, 1972, the shuttles and their crews have made space accessible to those who are not fortunate enough to experience it firsthand. Since the program's maiden voyage, the Space Shuttle Columbia launched on April 12, 1981, the program has been bringing space a little bit closer to Earth for three decades.
The Space Shuttle Program has had a direct hand in near and deep space exploration as well as the construction, maintenance and crew rotations of multiple orbiting space stations. The crews of Spacelab (a reusable lab carried aboard early shuttle flights), Mir (a Russian predecessor to the ISS) and the ISS found their way into space aboard the orbiters.
The shuttles have not only ferried astronauts into the sky in manned flights–the STS missions have sent many unmanned explorers in orbit around the Earth, and some even into interplanetary travel, the travel between planets of one solar system.
Responsible for multiple tracking and data relay satellites, two defense satellite communication systems and a defense support program satellite for the U.S. Air Force, the Space Shuttle Program has proven to be very beneficial to the advancement of communications across the globe.
In addition to communication satellites, the shuttles have carried various scientific instruments into space including the Chandra X-ray Observatory in high Earth orbit, and the Magellan probe, Galileo spacecraft and Ulysses probe flying interplanetary missions.
Upon the completion of STS-133 and the retirement of the Space Shuttle Discovery, there will only be two remaining active shuttles and two more STS missions. The Space Shuttle Endeavour and STS-134 is scheduled to launch on April 19, and will join Discovery in retirement upon its return.
The final STS mission will launch along with the Space Shuttle Atlantis June 28. The mission will be the 135th flown under the STS program and will bring to an end 30 years of active duty for the orbiters. With Atlantis' retirement, many have called for NASA to look towards a new program for manned space flight.
The planned successor to the STS program was Project Constellation, and its spacecraft Orion and Altair. These proposed craft were to be sent into space riding on the Earth Departure Stage. Project Constellation's main missions would have brought astronauts back to the moon and eventually manned flights to Mars. The Obama administration cancelled the program in 2010 however, saying it would exceed NASA's budget.
Until a new program and vehicle are developed, American astronauts would travel to and from the ISS on board the Russian spacecraft Soyuz. With no current plan to replace the shuttles, a hand full of private companies have unveiled their own plans to build a spacecraft capable of bringing people into space. Ventures such as Virgin Galactic and SpaceX have made significant strides forward in the production of a manned spacecraft.
The future of American manned space flight is uncertain. Will there ever be a new government funded manned space flight program, or will it fall to the private sector to build a new American spacecraft; at this point, no one can predict what will happen.
Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to return to Earth March 8.
