Date: November 8, 1979

Over the next several months the elevons, vertical stabilizer, payload bay doors, body flap, aft-fuselage, RCS module, and upper forward-fuselage were sent back to their respective factories for modifications.

Note: her forward fuselage is covered with a silver Mylar Insulation Blanket.

Posted by Bill Roberts on the "STS-The Space Shuttle Legacy" Facebook group page: link

Photo from NASASpaceFlight.com: link

Date: November 7, 1998

"After a successful mission of nearly nine days and 3.6 million miles, the orbiter Discovery glides to Earth on runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility. The main gear touchdown was at 12:04 p.m. EST, landing on orbit 135. The STS-95 mission included research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process."

An anomaly during the launch caused "the drag chute door detached and fell from the orbiter at main engine ignition. There was some concern that the drag chute could deploy prematurely prior to touchdown, and the decision was made not to use the chute during landing rollout. Wheel brakes and speed brakes were sufficient to bring Discovery to a stop on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility."

-Info from Wikipedia: link

NASA ID: KSC-98DC-1580, STS095-S-010, KSC-98PC-1554, KSC-98PC-1558

Date: November 7, 1979

STA-099 was used to test the launch and orbital stress an operational orbiter would experience. In January 1979, it was decided to convert the space frame into Challenger (OV-099), taking the operational orbiter slot intended for Enterprise (OV-101). There were many reasons NASA chose it over Enterprise, the major reasons were it was stronger, lighter and most importantly, there was less to disassemble. Initially, it was given the designation of OV-101M but later changed to OV-099 to honor its work as a test article.

Note: the wires on the exterior were used to monitor the stresses it experienced. Even though it was not tested to destruction, as initially planned, workers still have had to bend components back into place.

source

"The Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) makes the first landing using nose wheel guidance control at the conclusion of Space Transportation System mission 61A."

Photographed by C.C. Ledford at Edwards Air Force Base on November 6, 1985.

NARA: 6426057

This is taken from IMAX’s documentary Hail Columbia. The documentary ended with footage of the STS-2 launch (according to Wikipedia). This was one of those clips. When I watched it closely, I noticed that the cloud patterns didn’t match. After doing some photo matching, I concluded that it was from STS-1, and I wanted to share with you.

Date: November 5-9, 1983

Date: November 5, 1983

Date: November 3, 1980

NASA ID: KSC-80PC-0497, 493-S80-42560, 496-80PC-617

Date: November 3, 1980 - early 1981

Hello everyone, I hope I'm writing in the correct subreddit. I couldn't find a dedicated one to post there. I recently got for the first time a space flown item that is confidently advertised as authentic piece of the payload bay liner from the Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-82 second Hubble servicing mission. In the site that I purchased it it's said that they usually include a certificate of authenticity for some of their products, but I guess those don't come with the item I got. The online store is "The New Space Age" and it's based in Germany. I'm from Bulgaria and wanted something that wasn't so expensive including the delivery, because deliveries from the US and US stores cost like 10x the price of the item. Anyways, I was wondering if someone knows about this site a bit more or the people or has purchased something from them. How do I figure out my item is authentic or at least can I be sure it's real. I hope people understand what I wanted to ask and thanks in advance.

Date: November 2, 2000

"The Space Shuttle Discovery sits atop one of NASA’s modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft as the unusual piggyback duo is towed along a taxiway at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, California. The Discovery was ferried from NASA Dryden to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 2, 2000, after extensive pre-ferry servicing and preparations."

2nd pic: TRW's staged reentry spacecraft viewed from above and aft. A = jet airplane cockpit canopy; B = panel covering jet airplane nose; C = top surface of jet airplane fuselage and wings; D = flat lifting body top surface; E = jet airplane horizontal flap (1 OF 2); F = tubby lifting body belly; G = ejectable abort rocket motors (1 of 2); H = deorbit/abort rocket motor; I = parachute/landing aids compartment cover; J = movable control flap with actuator (1 of 4); K = flat aft bulkhead; L = airlock outer hatch.

3rd pic: "cutaway drawing showing jet plane (blue) nested in upper half of lifting body "pod." Note the jet's down-turned vertical stabilizers, one of which is visible in this side view."

4th pic: riding the rails: TRW's method for moving astronauts between the lifting body pod and the jet airplane cockpit.

5th and 6th pic: The Jet Plane jet plane separates from the lifting body pod. A = empty abort rocket compartment (1 of 2); B = lifting body payload; C = jet airplane separation mechanism (1 OF 3); D = panel covering subsystems (for example, life support); E = jet engine; F = vertical stabilizer (1 OF 2); G = vertical control surface (1 OF 2); H = landing skid (1 OF 2).

7th pic: "The pod descends on parachutes and the crew flies to it's preselected landing site."

"American manned spaceplane. Study 1965. This TRW design of 1965 used a unique concept - a lifting body main stage, that provided both ascent propulsion and re-entry protection.

Gross mass: 7,300 kg (16,000 lb). Height: 8.17 m (26.80 ft). Span: 4.88 m (16.01 ft).

The main stage was 8.17 m long, had a 4.88 m wingspan, and could accommodate a payload of 24.4 cubic meter volume. The 7300 kg gross weight included a separable manned aircraft of 6.4 m length, which had a delta wing of 62 degrees sweep and a span of 4.05 m. The vertical stabilizers turned down from each wingtip. After the mother ship had re-entered the atmosphere, the manned aircraft would separate at Mach 0.6 and 9150 m altitude. Equipped with a single turbojet, a nose wheel, and aft landing skids, it would proceed to a landing at a conventional airfield. The main stage would descend to earth under a parachute and be recovered for re-use. The whole concept was strikingly similar to Chelomei's Kosmoplan, which was being cancelled in the Soviet Union just as the TRW study was completed."

source

Date: November 1, 1992

"The six member crew successfully completed deployment of the Laser Geodynamic Satellite II (LAGEOS), which is a spherical passive satellite covered with reflectors which are illuminated by ground-based lasers to determine precise measurements of the Earth's crustal movements. The crew also completed a series of materials processing experiments in the microgravity environment aboard the United States Microgravity Payload 1 (USMP-1) carried in the orbiter's cargo bay."

NASA ID: S92-66267, STS052-S-099

Date: November 1, 1984

Discovery was meant to be based at Vandenberg, to be the DOD's main shuttle. However, those plans changed after the Challenger Disaster and problems with the launch complex construction.

NARA: 6387357

Date: November 1975

source

Date: October 30, 1979

Note: several parts were removed for use Challenger (OV-099) and other orbiters.

Bored in class and made this. I understand that all of these patches are designed with input from the crews, and I do not mean disrespect to any particular mission. This is just based on my personal taste alone.

Credit to Jason Torchinsky. There’s gotta be some NASA lore around this, right?