Discovery One

Discovery One

Discovery launching an EVA pod
First appearance	2001: A Space Odyssey
Affiliation	United States
General characteristics
Registry	XD-1
Auxiliary craft	EVA Pods
Propulsion	Cavradyne Plasma Propulsion Engines
Power	Nuclear reactor
Mass	5,440 tonnes
Length	140.1 m
Width	16.7 m
Height	17 m

United States Spacecraft Discovery One is a fictional spaceship that appears in The Space Odyssey series, including the motion pictures 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: The Year We Make Contact. It is a nuclear-powered interplanetary spaceship operated in part by the HAL 9000 (heuristic algorithmic computer) artificial intelligence.

This spaceship is founded on solidly conceived, yet unrealized science. One major concession was made in its appearance for the purpose of reducing confusion, and this was to eliminate the huge cooling "wings" which would be needed to radiate the heat produced by its hypothetical thermonuclear propulsion system. The producer and director Stanley Kubrick thought that the audiences might interpret the wings as meaning that the spacecraft was intended to fly through an atmosphere.

The Discovery One was named after Captain Robert Scott's sailing ship RRS Discovery, which was launched in 1901. Writer Arthur C. Clarke used to visit this ship when it was moored in London. It shares its name with a real spacecraft, the Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103).

In the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, the Discovery One is described as being about 460 feet (140 m) long (the 2010 movie mentions 800 feet) and powered by a nuclear plasma drive. 275 feet (84 meters) of tankage and structure separate the spherical part of the spaceship where the crew quarters, the computer, flight controls, small auxiliary craft, and instrumentation are located. In the crew's centrifuge, the crewmen would have enjoyed Moon-like gravitational conditions. This would be where they spend most of their time, and where the three hibernating astronauts rested in their compartments. The piloting, navigation, and other occasional tasks could take place in the zero-gravity .