Space Shuttle Travel Bug

This Space Shuttle Travel Bug starts this mission from Dayton, OH—birthplace of aviation, home of the Wright Brothers, bicycles, Milano’s, UD Flyers, Wright State Raiders, WPAFB, Air Force Museum, and all that is good!
The Space Shuttle Travel Bug is on mission to Cape Canaveral, Florida, wants a lift on a space mission, return safely to an earth bound geocache, and continue a journey to other geocaches around the world!
Are you heading in a direction that can support the mission? If so—please give it ride! And as always—please log the Space Shuttle’s adventures when you pick up and drop-off! Please post pictures of this adventure! Many thanks for the lift!

Slacker D of Dresselmania is launching his Space Shuttle Travel Bug!

The Space Shuttle, the most complex machine ever built, is the only space craft with its robust capacity. The shuttle’s capacity enables humans today to build the world’s largest orbiting laboratory, paving the way back to the moon, onto Mars and further into the universe.

Columbia was the first Space Shuttle orbiter to be delivered to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in March 1979. Columbia and the STS-107 crew were lost Feb. 1, 2003, during re-entry. The Orbiter Challenger was delivered to KSC in July 1982 and was destroyed in an explosion during ascent in January 1986. Discovery was delivered in November 1983. Atlantis was delivered in April 1985. Endeavour was built as a replacement following the Challenger accident and was delivered to Florida in May 1991. An early Space Shuttle Orbiter, the Enterprise, never flew in space but was used for approach and landing tests at the Dryden Flight Research Center and several launch pad studies in the late 1970s.

The longest the Shuttle has stayed in orbit on any single mission is 17.5 days on mission STS-80 in November 1996. Normally, missions may be planned for anywhere from five to 16 days in duration. The smallest crew ever to fly on the Shuttle numbered two people on the first few missions. The largest crew numbered eight people. Normally, crews may range in size from five to seven people. The Shuttle is designed to reach orbits ranging from about 185 kilometers to 643 kilometers (115 statute miles to 400 statute miles) high.

The Shuttle has the most reliable launch record of any rocket now in operation. Since 1981, it has boosted more than 1.36 million kilograms (3 million pounds) of cargo into orbit. More than 600 crew members have flown on its missions. Although it has been in operation for almost 20 years, the Shuttle has continually evolved and is significantly different today than when it first was launched. NASA has made literally thousands of major and minor modifications to the original design that have made it safer, more reliable and more capable today than ever before.