The shuttle landed for the final time here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 11:57 a.m. EST (1657 GMT), capping a busy 13-day mission to the International Space Station. After 27 years and 39 flights, Discovery's wheels rolled to a stop for the very last time under the warm sun at the Florida spaceport's Shuttle Landing Facility.
During its 27-year operational life, Discovery spent a total of 365 days in space, putting roughly 148 million miles (238 million kilometers) on its odometer in the process.
Discovery is the first of NASA's space shuttles to be retired, but all three will eventually end up on display in a museum somewhere in the country. An intense competition among 29 different institutions has been under way for the limited number of shuttles. NASA will announce the final destinations for Discovery and its two sister ships on April 12 – the 30th anniversary for the shuttle program
I think it's a collossal mistake to retire the Shuttle fleet prior to having it's replacement in service. The Russians have proved all too willing to hold us hostage when we have to rely on them for access. I think the private space ventures have a lot of promise but none are heavy lift and aren't man rated yet.
I agree. I don't believe the shuttle should be retired until there is a replacement to keep us going in space. There is still a lot of life, and capability, in the shuttles. I was going to college in FL when the shuttle program started. Seeing and hearing them takeoff is an awesome memory. They will be missed.
I am agree Mark,it is really sad because right now NASA has no as such replacement of this shuttle and it is retired from NASA. And I don't think there is any technical reason behind this.New kitchen cabinets