Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Peter Suciu covers trends in the world of aerospace and defense. The Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103) would need to be cut into ...

When Space Shuttle Discovery touched down for the last time at Kennedy Space Center Runway 15 on March 9, 2011, it brought to an end a 27-year career of spaceflight. Discovery flew to space 39 times, ...

Col. Eileen Collins was the first woman to pilot and command a NASA space shuttle. Collins commanded the first flight after the 2003 Columbia tragedy, which also experienced a foam-shedding issue.

Texas lawmakers have demanded the Discovery shuttle be moved to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, but daunting technical challenges remain—and Virginia officials have dug in against the move. The ...