Barcode: 0 89195 56373 6
Case pack: 24 Pieces per carton
Box Size: 7.3" x 3.7" x 3.5"
Features:
- Highly detailed
- True to 1/400
- Highly collectible
- High quality diecast construction
- New stand for vertical display
The third Space Shuttle to foray into space was Discovery (designated OV-103),
its maiden flight occurring on 30 August 1984. A contract for construction of
Discovery was awarded to Rockwell International in January 1979 and it rolled
out in October 1983. Interestingly, it was 3,120kg lighter than Columbia thanks
to construction savings realized after building the three earlier Shuttles.
In its 27-year lifespan, Discovery completed 39 successful missions for NASA.
Among its accomplishments was spending a cumulative total of 365 days in space,
placing the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit, and launching the Ulysses Probe.
It traveled 238 million kilometers through space, in the process orbiting Earth
5,830 times. After such a stellar career, it was thus fitting that Discovery
should be the first Space Shuttle to enter retirement, something that occurred
on 9 March 2011.
As part of Dragon’s re-launch of the complete Space Shuttle fleet in 1/400
scale model form, the third item to be released is Discovery. The actual model
portrays the spacecraft as it appeared during STS-124, a flight to the International
Space Station (ISS). This mission blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center
on 31 May 2008 and returned to Earth on 14 June. On its 35th flight, Discovery
delivered to the ISS the Pressurized Module of the Japanese Experiment Module
(JEM) as well as an associated robotic arm. The model is finely detailed and
is impressive as it’s attached to the enormous External Tank (ET) and two Solid
Rocket Boosters (SRB). For convenient display, the whole assembly comes with
its own stand. Space fans can now launch their own journey of Discovery with
this fully finished model!
