The space shuttle
Discovery
has launched into space for the last time.
Discovery’s
39th and final mission will bring a much-needed cargo storage unit to the international space station.
Discovery
has earned distinction over the years for visiting the Hubble telescope and the Russian space station Mir and for taking famed astronaut John Glenn back into orbit at age 77.
Discovery
was also the first shuttle to fly after the
Challenger
and
Columbia
shuttle disasters. Assuming the mission schedule holds, when
Discovery
returns to earth on March 7, it will have logged just shy of 363 days in flight.
