NASA - Space Shuttle Discovery Facts

As the space shuttle Discovery launched into space for the last time, here are a few random facts worth knowing.

Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

142,917,535 = Total Miles Travelled

351 = days in orbit, equivalent to 8,441 hours

5,628 = number of orbits

38 = total flights

12 = number of International Space Dockings

Construction of the Discovery commenced on August 27th 1979 and was completed on August 30th 1984

It was named after two famous exploration ships: - 

1. was the vessel used by Henry Hudson in the early 1600s, which was used to explore the Hudson bay.
2. after one of two ships used Captain James Cook during the 1770s, Cook's voyages which included navigating the South Pacific eventually led to the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html