{"product_id":"space-shuttle-discovery-flown-payload-bay-liner","title":"Space Shuttle Discovery - Flown Payload Bay Liner","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0709\/1715\/files\/discovery-03-space-shuttle-front-03_1024x1024.png?v=1648473702\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAbove: Front of the Specimen Card\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eWith a career that spanned nearly three decades from 1984 to 2011, the Space Shuttle \u003cem\u003eDiscovery\u003c\/em\u003e (OV-103) accrued more space flights than any other craft in the program. Discovery orbited the Earth 5,830 times, traveling approximately 150 million miles.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis specimen is a fragment from a mission-flown payload liner of the \u003cem\u003eDiscovery\u003c\/em\u003e. Made of fire-resistant beta cloth, this material covered insulation and kept the payload area clean and pristine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNASA disposition paperwork received with this item indicates this particular piece of the payload liner was removed after Discovery’s mission to deploy numerous science instruments (STS-85), which flew on August 7, 1997.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAs pictured below, each hand-cut specimen is housed in an acrylic jar and ships in a classic, glass-topped riker display case. Specimens measure roughly 1x1cm in size though variations may occur. As pictured, some specimens will have black seams while others will be completely white. A small information card is also included, which serves as the certificate of authenticity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0709\/1715\/files\/DISCOVERY-DETAIL-001_1024x1024.jpg?v=1648485133\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMore about Space Shuttle Program and Discovery (OV-103)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAfter the close of the Apollo program, NASA turned its focus from lunar landings to research and observation. The vessel for this new focus would be the Space Shuttle, a multi-use vehicle designed to carry astronauts and scientific equipment to and from Earth's orbit. Due to their reusable design, the orbiters were amazing tools for furthering our scientific understanding of the stars. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eNASA's Space Shuttle program delivered 133 successful missions during its three decades in operation, beginning with \u003ci\u003eColumbia's\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003einaugural mission in 1981 and concluding with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAtlantis' \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ein 2011. Missions involved many vital tasks, such as maintaining the International Space Station, repairing the Hubble Space Telescope, and deploying satellites. Scientific experiments featured heavily in the rotation, using the reusable Spacelab developed by the ESA. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAs noted above, \u003cem\u003eDiscovery\u003c\/em\u003e had a long career spanning nearly three decades from 1984 to 2011. During this time, the orbiter \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eaccrued more space flights than any other craft in the program. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eDiscovery \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eorbited the Earth 5,830 times, traveling approximately 150 million miles. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThe shuttle weighed about 170 thousand pounds, boasting a wingspan of about 80 feet and a length of about 120 feet.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAmong its many missions, the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eDiscovery \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ecarried the Hubble Telescope into orbit (STS-31) and took on the hundredth shuttle mission (STS-92). \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eToday, the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eDiscovery\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e can be found at the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Fairfax County, Virginia. Coincidentally, this is very close to Mini Museum HQ so the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eDiscovery\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e holds a special place in our hearts!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFurther Reading\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMullane, Mike. Riding rockets: the outrageous tales of a space shuttle astronaut. Simon and Schuster, 2007.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLamoreux, James C., James D. Siekierski, and JP Nick Carter. \"Space Shuttle thermal protection system inspection by 3D imaging laser radar.\" Laser Radar Technology and Applications IX. Vol. 5412. SPIE, 2004.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003ePITTS, W., and D. KOURTIDES. \"Ceramic insulation\/multifoil composite for thermal protection of reentry spacecraft.\" 24th Thermophysics Conference. 1989.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eLinton, Roger C., Ann F. Whitaker, and Miria M. Finckenor. \"Space environment durability of beta cloth in LDEF thermal blankets.\" LDEF Materials Results for Spacecraft Applications (1993).\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eHarris, Richard, Michael Stewart, and William Koenig. \"Thermal Protection Systems Technology Transfer from Apollo and Space Shuttle to the Orion Program.\" 2018 AIAA SPACE and Astronautics Forum and Exposition. 2018.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eJenkins, Dennis R. Space shuttle: the history of the National Space Transportation System: the first 100 missions. DR Jenkins, 2001.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eJenkins, Dennis R. Space Shuttle: Developing an Icon: 1972-2013. Specialty Press, 2016.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0709\/1715\/files\/discovery-space-shuttle-back_1024x1024.png?v=1648473724\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAbove: Back of the Specimen Card\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mini Museum","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":70976324436221,"sku":"80-112-0219-201-40","price":49.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/7801\/7533\/files\/add-on-shutte-discovery-02-1000.jpg?v=1785444617","url":"https:\/\/interstellar.market\/products\/space-shuttle-discovery-flown-payload-bay-liner","provider":"Interstellar Market","version":"1.0","type":"link"}