Space Shuttle’s Discovery’s final mission – STS 132 flight to ISS

Curtain raiser for the final flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery, and maybe the final space shuttle mission ever.

Photo:Space Shuttle Discovery approaching ISS

Flight STS 133 will the be the space shuttle Discovery’s final mission ever. The mission will transport the Pressurised Multipurpose Module and the fourth ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station (ISS).

We will be updating this page as often as we can as more info about the final flight is released. Prior to the launch, we will be publishing as many photos and videos as we can – this page will turn into a sort of hub around then.

Flight STS 133 could be the final mission of the space shuttle pro gram – possibly, the era of shuttles end with it. Possibly, because there is a chance that a final contingency mission will be required. In that case, there will be a flight which will follow the STS 133 – this will be a LON (Launch on Demand flight) which will take off to fix any problems on the STS 133 Discovery shuttle which could not be fixed by its crew, and if needed to rescue them. Hopefully there will be no such problems for Discovery.

The Space Shuttle Discovery’s final mission will take eight days to complete. It could be extended by a day or two due to weather conditions or other issues as happened often with space shuttles. We do not know if any spacewalks are planned for this mission – we will be updating this page when we find that info.

It is pointless to talk about exact launch dates for the STS 133 mission of Discovery so early – much can change in the six-odd months from now. And even a change in weather can delay the launch of the final mission. But if all goes according to plan – an unlikely scenario, Space Shuttle Discovery till take off on its final mission, and possibly the space shuttle program’s final mission, on September 16, 2010. That wdate will change, of course.

Space Shuttle Discovery STS 133 final flight – crew

The entire crew for the final flight of what could be the space shuttle’s program’s final mission are experienced astronauts. Their training will begin almost an year in advance.

Commander of STS 133 Discovery flight will be Steven W. Lindsey, for whom this will be the fifth space shuttle mission. That is some experience!

Other members of the crew of STS 133 are pilot Eric A. Boe, for whom this is the second space flight; mission specialists Benjamin Alvin Drew, Michael R. Barratt, Timothy L. Kopra, Nicole Stott all of who have flown once before.

We will soon have a separate page for all the crew of STS 133 flight where we would have detailed bios and photos of all the astronauts. Give us some time.