main page newsspace newsspace shuttle discovery undocked from the iss.

Space Shuttle Discovery undocked from the ISS.. / April 19, 2010 /

Space Shuttle Discovery on Saturday successfully undocked from the International Space Station. Undocking was broadcast live on NASA TV. She went on schedule and in normal mode.

Shortly after undocking, the shuttle circled the ISS to photograph its outer surface, said Interfax. In the next two days, seven astronauts will check the system «Discovery» and prepare the shuttle for descent from orbit and landing on Earth. Landing the shuttle is scheduled for Monday, April 19, 16:51 Moscow time at the launch site in Florida.

On the ISS crew stayed on the 23rd expedition, consisting of station commander Oleg Kotov, and five flight engineers — Alexander Skvortsov, Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Michael Kornienko, copulation Noguchi and Timothy Creamer. The crew shuttle «Discovery» includes captain Alan Poindexter, pilot James Dutton, and mission specialists Richard Mastracchio, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson, Naoko Yamazaki, and Clayton Anderson.

Launched on April 5 «Discovery» was brought to the ISS hardware and equipment in the cargo module, Leonardo, and a new tank with ammonia, which was installed on the outer surface of the station during the three outputs of astronauts in space. The current shuttle flight to the International Space Station is 33 in a row, said RIA Novosti. Due to the development of resource shuttles and large financial cost to NASA, it was decided to stop flying shuttles by September 2010, after which the U.S. will use Russian missiles to deliver astronauts to the ISS.

Print version