Toys and Models Orbiter -L Discovery

SPACE SHUTTLE ORBITER DISCOVERY 1/100 SCALE MODEL 14.5" X 9.25" Space Shuttle Discovery was operational from its maiden flight on August 30, 1984, until its final landing on March 9, 2011. The spacecraft takes its name from four British ships of exploration named Discovery, primarily HMS Discovery, one of the ships commanded by Captain James Cook during his third and final major voyage from 1776 to 1779. Prior to its retirement, Discovery was NASA's Orbiter Fleet leader, having flown 39 successful missions in over 27 years of service. The Space Shuttle orbiter was a reusable winged "space-plane", a mixture of rockets, spacecraft, and aircraft. This space-plane could carry crews and payloads into low Earth orbit, perform on-orbit operations, then re-enter the atmosphere and land as a glider, returning its crew and any on-board payload to the Earth. The Space Shuttle Orbiter resembled an aircraft in its design, and was roughly the same size as a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 airliner. WINGSPAN: 9.25 INCHES LENGTH: 14.5 INCHES SCALE: 1/100

The Space Shuttle Orbiter is the Orbital vehicle of the Space Shuttle and is a mixture of rocket spacecraft and aircraft. It is a reusable winged "spaceplane" and it launches crew and payload into Earth orbit and performs on-orbit operations. Individual Orbiters are both named and numbered a similar manner to ships by the NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation system. All Orbiters external structures are very similar though they have minor differences such as new equipment fitted on a rotating basis for maintenance and the newer Orbiters tend to be structurally lighter. The first test Shuttle the Enterprise was designed for testing the Space Shuttle behavior in atmospheric flight. Columbia first launched on April 12 1981 and the first space shuttle to fly into orbit. Challenger first launched on April 4 1983 and the second orbiter to become operational at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discovery first launched on August 30 1984 has flown 33 missions and is still currently operational though Discovery will be retiring in 2010. Atlantis first launched on October 3 1985 has flown 26 missions and is still operational today but will be retiring also in 2010. And the Endeavor first launched on May 7 1992 and has flown 19 missions and still operational but is due to retire also in 2010. The Orbiter s crew cabin has a flight deck mid-deck and utility area. The Orbiter has a large payload bay at about 60 by 15 feet. There are three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) mounted on the Orbiter s aft fuselage in a triangular pattern. The aft fuselage houses three auxiliary power units. The Orbiter structure is primarily made from aluminum alloy although the engine thrust structure is made from titanium alloy. Space Shuttle Orbiters support scientific experiments and observations spacecraft deployment retrieval service and repair assembly of large space structures such as the International Space Station and other- SKU: TAM600