Station Commander Scott Kelly, left, his crew, green shirts, and Discovery's astronauts, blue shirts, gather in the U. S. Destiny lab to bid one another farewell. Photo Credit/NASA TV
The crews of the shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station parted company on Sunday after a heartfelt farewell.
Hatches between the two spacecraft were closed just before 4 p.m., EST, separating Discovery’s six NASA astronauts from the station’s half-dozen U.S., Russian and Italian residents.
Discovery is scheduled to undock from the orbital outpost on Monday at 7 a.m., EST, ending an extended nine-day stay. During their visit, the shuttle astronauts added an equipment module, called Leonardo, attached an external spare parts platform and off-loaded 10,000 pounds of internal supplies.
“It was a pleasure to be here. We appreciate your hospitality,” Discovery commander Steve Lindsey told station skipper Scott Kelly and his crew. “We had a great time, and we will miss you guys.”
Kelly graciously reciprocated, and offered a special tribute to Discovery, which is ending her 39th and final trip to space, her13th voyage to the space station.
“We will miss you,” said Kelly. “Most of all we will miss Discovery. Discovery has been a great shuttle, has really supported the International Space Station. We wish her fair winds and following seas.”
During two spacewalks, the astronauts rounded up a failed thermal control system pump that may be returned to Earth aboard Atlantis this summer and performed other much needed maintenance tasks.
Shuttle pilot Eric Boe will steer Discovery around the space station after Monday’s undocking. Crew mates Mike Barratt, Nicole Stott, Al Drew and Steve Bowen will gather close up photographs of the station, which will be examined later by station engineers for signs of external wear.
With 12 station and shuttle astronauts aboard the same orbiting science laboratory, finding a private moment was a challenge. Station astronaut Catherine Coleman found one in the Destiny laboratory. Photo Credit/NASA TV
Then, the astronauts will survey Discovery’s heat shielding for damage using a camera and laser-tipped inspection boom in the clutches of the shuttle’s robot arm. The photography will be assessed by imagery experts in Mission Control before Discovery’s crew is cleared to return to Earth.
Tuesday, the shuttle crew will test Discovery’s flight control and communications systems.
Discovery’s astronauts plan to descend to Earth on Wednesday, touching down at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 11:58 a.m., EST, Favorable weather is forecast.
After de-commissioning, the 27-year-old spacecraft will be turned over to the Smithsonian Institution for display in the Air and Space Museum in Washington.