Space Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 | STS-116
Launch Successful
L - -- : -- : -- : --
Instantaneous launch window.
Launch Window
Dec. 10, 2006, 1:47 a.m. - Dec. 10, 2006, 1:47 a.m.
Instantaneous launch window.
Dec. 10, 2006, 1:47 a.m. - Dec. 10, 2006, 1:47 a.m.
STS-116 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Discovery. Discovery lifted off on 9 December 2006 at 20:47:35 EST. A previous launch attempt on 7 December had been canceled due to cloud cover. It was the first night launch of a space shuttle since STS-113 in November 2002. The mission is also referred to as ISS-12A.1 by the ISS program. The main goals of the mission were delivery and attachment of the International Space Station's P5 truss segment, a major rewiring of the station's power system, and exchange of ISS Expedition 14 personnel.
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS). Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011.
Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, gathering more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. Discovery became the third operational orbiter to enter service, preceded by Columbia and Challenger. It embarked on its last mission, STS-133, on February 24, 2011 and touched down for the final time at Kennedy Space Center on March 9, having spent a cumulative total of almost a full year in space. Discovery performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions. It also carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. Discovery was the first operational shuttle to be retired, followed by Endeavour and then Atlantis.
Space Shuttle Details
Date of
Birth: June 2, 1956
Age: 69
Date of
Birth: March 29, 1965
Age: 60
Date of
Birth: Aug. 3, 1964
Age: 61
Date of
Birth: March 18, 1957
Age: 68
Date of
Birth: Nov. 19, 1964
Age: 61
Date of
Birth: March 5, 1962
Age: 64
Date of
Birth: Sept. 19, 1965
Age: 60
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
INFO WIKIA batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
A batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
A pair of Chinese satellites reported to be for "Earth observation technological testing and validation" purposes. Actual usage not known.
A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…
Firefly Alpha's Flight 7 is a test flight and return-To-Flight for the launch vehicle after its April 2025 launch failure. It will test and validate …
EchoStar 25 is a direct broadcast satellite, built on the proven Maxar 1300 series platform, which will deliver content across North America. It will…
A batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Note: Payload and customer identities were not publicly announced. 4th of the BlackSky Gen-3 high resolution Earth-imaging satellites.
Third flight of the KAIROS launch vehicle. 5 satellites will be on board: * TATARA-1R * SC-Sat1a * HErO * AETS-1 * Nutsat-3 (TASA/Taiwan)
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.