Discovery Undocks From Space Station

Shuttle Discovery heads home after ambitious, risky mission

Image Above: The space shuttle Discovery as seen from the International Space Station after undocking. Image credit: NASA TV

The US shuttle Discovery undocked from the International Space Station on Monday, wrapping up a complex mission marked by a daring spacewalk to repair a torn solar array.

After saying goodbye to their space station colleagues and closing the hatches, Discovery crew members smoothly sailed away from the ISS at 5:32 a.m. (1030 GMT) before a scheduled landing set for Wednesday at 1802 GMT in Florida, the US space agency said.

Before heading back to Earth, the shuttle steered by co-pilot George Zamka performed a fly-around to allow crew members to collect video and imagery of the repaired solar antenna on the ISS and to document the latest construction work to the orbiting outpost.

During their 11-day stay at the space station, the Discovery astronauts delivered the Italian-built Harmony module, which will connect US, European and Japanese science labs on the ISS, and installed a massive truss as well as a pair of solar arrays.

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration had made repairing the solar arrays a top priority because without it there was a risk the tear could spread and render the crucial power-generating wing useless.

sources: http://www.nasa.gov/ & http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/