Banner, STS-133 Mission, "WE' RE BEHIND YOU, DISCOVERY"

This STS-133 mission banner, autographed by the workers who prepared the Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery for its final flight -- and then its delivery to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center -- was hand-delivered to the Museum's curator by the Discovery crew chief when the vehicle was ceremonially transferred to the Smithsonian Institution on April 19,2012. As reusable vehicles, the space shuttle orbiters required a "team of thousands" to prepare them for repeated space flights. The workers associated with the final flight of Discovery wanted to record their affection for the vehicle and their participation in this history by signing this banner. Banners similar in size and composition to this one decorated workspaces, including the vehicle assembly building (VAB) and orbiter processing facilities (OPFs) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.