Inside the Discovery Shuttle

Go Inside:

The Space Shuttle Discovery

Ever wondered what's inside the Space Shuttle Discovery?

Get ready explorers! Let's take a deep look

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This is an official blue print from NASA. Click a spot to learn more about it.

Go Inside:

The Space Shuttle Discovery

Forward Fuselage& Crew Cabin

This housed the cockpit and crew cabin, where astronauts controlled the spacecraft and lived during missions.

Forward Fuselage& Crew Cabin

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Over 2,200 controls & displays!

The pilot seat on the Discovery shuttle's flight deck allowed the pilot to control and maneuver the spacecraft during missions.

Flight Deck

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Over 2,200 controls & displays!

The pilot seat on the Discovery shuttle's flight deck allowed the pilot to control and maneuver the spacecraft during missions.

Mid Deck

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Up to 7 crew members. Accessed by side hatches and ladders

Over 2,200 controls & displays!

The Mid Deck housed the living quarters for the rew, including sleep stations, galley to eat and a toilet.

Toilet

Sleeping

Eating

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Sleeping - Mid Deck

There was no specific orientation or direction they had to sleep in, since there is no "up" or "down" in zero gravity.

Astronauts used sleeping bags that were attached to the walls to prevent them from floating away in the microgravity environment.

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MiD-Deck Galley

Food packaging had velcro so the packages could be secured to a tray or table in the galley to prevent items from floating away

Food was dehydrated or freeze-dried items. The Galley had dedicated equpment for warming and rehydrating meals.

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Toilet - Mid Deck

The toilet used air flow and suction to pull the waste away from the astronaut and into a storage compartment.

The Discovery shuttle had a Waste Collection System (WCS) installed, with footrests, a lever for flushing, and restraints like seat belts to keep the astronaut secured and prevent them from floating away.

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Air Lock

The airlock had 2 compartments - the crew lock where astronauts suited up, and the equipment lock used for stowing gear and spacewalk equipment

The air lock allowed crew members to exit the pressurized shuttleand conduct spacewalks or extravehicular activities (EVAs) to work on the exterior of the spacecraft.

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MiDFuselage - Payload Bay

The most massive single payload ever launched by the shuttle was the Chandra X-ray Observatory in 1999 at 22,753 kg (50,162 lbs)

The payload bay provided the cargo-carrying space for the shuttle's payloads.

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CanadA arm

The Canadarm was operated by one crew member with assistance from a second crew member monitoring cameras.

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This robotic arm was used to deploy, maneuver, and capture payloads during missions. It was 50 feet long and could extend out from the shuttle's crew cabin into the payload area