NASA Transfers Shuttle Discovery to National Air and Space Museum

April 19, 2012

Michael Braukus/Michael Curie
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
michael.j.braukus@nasa.gov / michael.curie@nasa.gov

RELEASE: 12-124

NASA TRANSFERS SHUTTLE DISCOVERY TO NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

Focuses on Bold New Era of Space Exploration

WASHINGTON -- NASA transferred space shuttle Discovery to the
Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum during a ceremony
Thursday, April 19, at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly,
Va.

"Today, while we look back at Discovery's amazing legacy, I also want
to look forward to what she and the shuttle fleet helped to make
possible," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "As NASA transfers
the shuttle orbiters to museums across the country, we are embarked
on an exciting new space exploration journey. Relying on American
ingenuity and know-how, NASA is partnering with private industry to
provide crew and cargo transportation to the International Space
Station, while developing the most powerful rocket ever built to take
the nation farther than ever before into the solar system."

National Air and Space Museum Director, General John "Jack" Dailey
said, "Discovery has distinguished itself as the champion of
America's shuttle fleet. In its new home, it will shine as an
American icon, educating and inspiring people of all ages for
generations to come. The Museum is committed to teaching and
inspiring youngsters, so that they will climb the ladder of academic
success and choose professions that will help America be competitive
and successful in the world of tomorrow."

In this new era of exploration, NASA will build the capabilities to
send humans deeper into space than ever before. NASA is using the
space station as a test bed and stepping stone for the journey ahead.
The agency is changing the way it does business and fostering a
commercial industry that will safely service low Earth orbit, so NASA
can focus its energy and resources on sending astronauts to an
asteroid by 2025 and eventually to Mars in the 2030s.

The space station is the centerpiece of NASA's human spaceflight
activities in low Earth orbit. It is fully staffed with an
international crew of six, and American astronauts will continue to
live and work there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, as they have for
more than 11 years. Part of the U.S. portion of the station has been
designated as a national laboratory, and NASA is committed to using
this unique resource for scientific research.

The station is testing exploration technologies such as autonomous
refueling of spacecraft, advanced life support systems and
human/robotic interfaces. Commercial companies are well on their way
to providing cargo and crew flights to the station, allowing NASA to
focus its attention on the next steps into our solar system.

For more information about NASA, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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