A Love Letter to Space Shuttle Discovery, The Hardest Working Ship in Space Business (Video)

When it launches this afternoon for the last time, Space Shuttle Discovery will be closing a chapter on space history. The longest-serving spacecraft in history, Discovery was responsible for repairing the Hubble Space Telescope, performing maintenance on numerous satellites, sending the Ulysses robotic probe on its way to the Sun, and of course, helping construct the giant space station. This time, it’s bringing up the last module for the station, and a robot that will be defeating astronauts in numerous arm wrestling contests.

NASA made a video – not a bad one – about Discovery back in November, when it was originally scheduled to launch; the flight was delayed due to various technical problems. (The first Discovery launch in 1984 was also aborted due to system malfunctions.)

• (Watch our documentary on the last night launch of space shuttle Endeavor)

This launch will be the second-to-last scheduled Shuttle launch ever, as NASA prepares to wind down the program. Sure, it is time for a new space ship (we’ll be relying on old Russian ones until NASA or private companies can build our next ones), but it’s a testament to the brilliant people at NASA that this most complex vehicle has been flying for as long as it has.

Forget NASA’s stream; watch the launch live in HD at Spacevidcast, scheduled for 4:50 PM EST, and see Discovery STS-125 launch on May 11, 2009, from the IMAX film Hubble 3D: