Air & Space: Spring Break came and went like the era of space travel aboard the Discovery Space Shuttle, now interred at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Chantilly, VA. I went to visit the museum/airplane-relic hangar last weekend. 

Some cool facts about the space shuttle Discovery: Over the course of its career, the shuttle traveled a total 148,221,675 miles over 39 missions into space. It delivered the Hubble Telescope into orbit as well as sending numerous astronauts to repair the telescope for mishaps such as an incorrect lens size. It carried Eileen Collins into space, making her the first woman to do so. Also, the Discovery took four years to build and made its maiden voyage in August 1984 - always a fantastic month to do great things no matter the year. 

There is a grand sense of awe when you walk into the area of the museum where Discovery is situated. Its shabby tiles that compose its exterior make it seem flimsy and fragile…of course, this is a testament to the millions of miles it’s traveled and to places where less than one percent of humans have ever been. Yet, such a worn appearance also displays how incredible the very accomplishment of exiting our atmosphere is let alone the things Discovery helped astronauts do in orbit. 

Just another day learning what humans are capable of.