By Bill Harwood
(CBS/AP) The Discovery space shuttle will pull away from the international space station, ending a resupply visit that spanned just over a week.
The shuttle will bring home seven astronauts, departing Tuesday and returning to earth Thursday evening, weather permitting.
The two crews, seven on the shuttle and six on the station, hugged and shook hands as they said goodbye before sealing the hatches between Discovery and space station.
"The most efficient way to do it was close the hatches tonight and undock early in the morning, so you're all prepped and ready to go and all you have to do is open up the hooks for tomorrow," NASA's Tony Ceccacci told a media briefing on Monday.
Undocking is scheduled for 3:26 p.m. EDT. With shuttle pilot Kevin Ford at the controls, the shuttle will pull away directly in front of the space station before kicking off the fly-around maneuver, looping up above the lab complex at a distance of roughly 600 feet, reports CBS News space analyst Bill Harwood.
After a 360-degree photo-documentation fly around, the astronauts will carry out a final inspection of the shuttle's critical nose cap and wing leading edge panels to set the stage for re-entry and landing Thursday.
The inspection should be complete by around 11 p.m. The astronauts plan to spend the day Wednesday packing up and testing the shuttle's re-entry systems. Landing is targeted for 7:05 p.m. Thursday, weather permitting.
NASA was tracking a threatening piece of space junk, a Chinese satellite. It's part of a satellite that was blasted by a missile in 2007. Officials say the shuttle probably will not need to steer clear.
The 13 astronauts accomplished one last major job together before parting company.
A container holding a ton of trash and discarded equipment was moved back aboard Discovery, with the use of a hefty robot arm. The container had been delivered by the shuttle, fully loaded with supplies, and moved onto the International Space Station a week ago.
The space station's new resident, Nicole Stott, said she's looking forward to gazing down at her home state of Florida and the rest of the planet over the next three months. She brought a watercolor kit with her to the station and plans to paint what she sees.
Stott flew up on 'Discovery' as the replacement for Timothy Kopra, who has been in orbit sinc
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Shuttle Undocks from Station, Heads Home
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