Touchdown

Bad Astronomy
By Phil Plait
Mar 9, 2011 9:09 PMNov 19, 2019 8:10 PM
discovery_final_touchdown.jpg

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news
 

Today, Wednesday, March 9 at 11:57 a.m. Eastern time, Discovery -- the Orbiter that launched Hubble in to orbit, then serviced it twice; that deployed Ulysses; that was the last Orbiter to dock with Mir; that twice was the first Orbiter in space after another was lost; that served more flight days than any other Orbiter, 365 in total, a solid year; a spaceship built by humans that's logged 238,000,000 kilometers (148 million miles) in space, the most used spacecraft ever built by humans -- set her wheels to Earth one final time. I'd say "Welcome home", but the ground is not a spaceship's home.

1 free article left
Want More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/month

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

1 free articleSubscribe
Discover Magazine Logo
Want more?

Keep reading for as low as $1.99!

Subscribe

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

More From Discover
Stay Curious
Join
Our List

Sign up for our weekly science updates.

 
Subscribe
To The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Copyright © 2025 LabX Media Group