Almost done
Posted Mar 7, 2011 04:30:24 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida – The space shuttle and space station crews have hugged goodbye after more than a week together.
But they saved their most heartfelt farewell for the Discovery shuttle itself.
On its final voyage after nearly three decades, Discovery — the most travelled shuttle ever — will be retired following this week’s return to Earth.
The hatches between Discovery and the International Space Station were sealed yesterday, setting the stage for the shuttle’s departure first thing today.
Space station commander Scott Kelly told the six shuttle astronauts that they will be missed — but Discovery will be missed most of all.
Shuttle skipper Steven Lindsey nodded in agreement, then shook hands with Kelly.
Lindsey noted that all the mission goals were accomplished — the new storage unit carried up by Discovery was installed and unloaded, leaving behind an empty, pristine compartment ready to serve its purpose.
Immediately after undocking, Discovery will fly a victory lap of sorts around the orbiting lab, essentially for picture-taking.
Then the shuttle astronauts will pull out an inspection boom and survey their ship for any signs of micrometeorite damage.
Landing is scheduled for Wednesday.
