STS-133 (ISS assembly flight ULF5) was the 133rd mission in NASA's Space Shuttle program; during the mission, Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station. It was Discovery's 39th and final mission. The mission launched on 24 February 2011, and landed on 9 March 2011. The crew consisted of six American astronauts, all of whom had been on prior spaceflights, headed by Commander Steven Lindsey. The crew joined the long-duration six person crew of Expedition 26, who were already aboard the space station.
The STS-133 mission patch is based upon sketches from the late artist Robert McCall; they were the final creations of his long and prodigious career. In the foreground, a solitary orbiter ascends into a dark blue sky above a roiling fiery plume. A spray of stars surrounds the orbiter and a top lit crescent forms the background behind the ascent. The mission number, STS-133, is emblazoned on the patch center, and crewmembers' names are listed on a sky-blue border around the scene. The Shuttle Discovery is depicted ascending on a plume of flame as if it is just beginning a mission. However it is just the orbiter, without boosters or an external tank, as it would be at mission's end. This is to signify Discovery's completion of its operational life and the beginning of its new role as a symbol of NASA's and the nation's proud legacy in human spaceflight.]
About a month before lift-off, one of the original crew members, Tim Kopra, was injured in a bicycle accident. He was replaced by Stephen Bowen.
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