Shuttle Discovery to Leave Space Station Today Posted on March 25th
Astronauts
aboard the International Space Station are packing up their spacecraft
Wednesday as the shuttle Discovery prepares to head home after delivering new
solar wings to the outpost.
Discovery astronauts
will bid adieu to the International Space Stations three-man crew and undock
later today after a landmark eight days of construction to complete
the orbiting labs power grid and backbone.
We leave
with a sense of accomplishment, Discovery skipper Lee Archambault radioed
Mission Control late Tuesday. Its been a great docked timeframe and we look
forward to whats next.
If all goes
well, Discoverys seven astronauts will get the glimpse of their orbital
handiwork later this afternoon, when they undock from the space station at
about 3:53 p.m. EDT (1953 GMT). Shuttle pilot Dominic Tony Antonelli will be
at the helm to guide Discovery in a victory lap while his crewmates snap
photographs.
The
astronauts delivered the space stations fourth
set of solar arrays, anchoring their 16-ton girder support to the outposts
starboard side. With the addition, the station now has eight solar wings in all
two per array - with four wings on each side.
I think I
should have time to enjoy the view if everything is working correctly, Antonelli
told reporters before flight. Ill be right there at the window when that
happens, so Im looking forward to that.
The new
solar arrays boosted the stations power grid by 25 percent, leaving the
outpost capable of generating enough electricity to power a neighborhood of 42
average size homes. The space station will need
that extra power to support its planned shift to six-person crews- double
the current size - later this year.
We want to
thank you for bringing the space station up to full power, Mission Control
told the astronauts Tuesday.
The
homestretch
Archambault
and his crew launched March 15 on a 13-day mission to
deliver the solar wings and a critical replacement part for the stations
urine recycling system to prime the station to support more science and larger
crews. Both systems appear to be working well, and the astronauts will collect
about four liters of water samples recycled through the urine processor later
for the trip home.
Three
spacewalks were performed by the astronauts, who spoke
with U.S. President Barack Obama about their mission on Tuesday.
They are expected to shut the hatches between Discovery and the space station
at about 12:53 p.m. EDT (1653 GMT).
Id like to
say that the crew of Discovery were the best houseguests weve ever had, the
stations Expedition 18 commander Michael Fincke told Mission Control.
Expedition 18 is very thankful to this great crew.
Like the
space station, Finckes Expedition 18 crew changed with Discoverys arrival.
The shuttle
brought up Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, Japans first long-term resident
of the station, to join the Expedition 18 crew. Wakata replaced NASA astronaut
Sandra Magnus, who is returning to Earth aboard Discovery after living in space
for four months. He will join Fincke and Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov for
about a week and then stay aboard to serve aboard the next station crew, which
is due to arrive on Saturday.
Its a bit
sad that Sandys leaving and Ill be saying goodbye to the [shuttle] crew,
Wakata radioed Mission Control Tuesday night. Thats a kind of sad feeling,
but Im also feeling ecstatic and looking forward to working with Yury and
Mike.
Wakatas
next crewmates, Expedition 19 commander Gennady Padalka of Russia and NASA
astronaut Michael Barratt, are due to launch Thursday aboard a Russian Soyuz
spacecraft with American
billionaire Charles Simonyi, who is paying about $35 million for his second
trip into space.
The new
station crew is due to arrive at the space station on Saturday a few hours
before Discovery is slated to land in Florida.
SPACE.com
is providing continuous coverage of STS-119 with reporter Clara Moskowitz and
senior editor Tariq Malik in New York. Click here for mission
updates and SPACE.com’s live NASA TV video feed.
- Video
- Meet the Expedition 19 ISS Crew - Video
- Discovery’s STS-119 Night Launch - Easy
Skywatching: See the Shuttle and Space Station