CAPE
CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA's shuttle Discovery and seven astronauts are set to come
home today after delivering the largest laboratory ever launched to the International
Space Station (ISS).
Discovery
is poised to land here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at 11:15 a.m. EDT
(1515 GMT) to end a 14-day mission that ferried Japan's $1
billion Kibo laboratory and a new crewmember to the space station.
"The mission's coming to an end, but it's going to be good to get home today," said shuttle commander Mark Kelly.
Kelly and
his STS-124 crew launched
to the station on May 31 and spent nine days installing the massive Kibo lab,
a massive cylindrical room the size of a tour bus, and performing three
spacewalks to outfit the new module.
The
astronauts also delivered spare parts for the station's Russian space toilet,
attached an attic-like storage for the Kibo module and tested the new lab's
main robotic arm. Japan's 37-foot (11-meter) long Kibo is the space station's largest
inhabitable room, with a porch-like external platform for experiments slated
to launch next year.
"This was a
big milestone for Japan and the Japanese community," said Japanese astronaut
Akihiko Hoshide, who helped deliver his country's new lab for the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency. "Especially the science community, because we now
have a big lab up there."
Set to land
today with Kelly and Hoshide are shuttle pilot Kenneth Ham, mission specialists
Karen Nyberg, Ronald Garan, Michael Fossum and returning space station
astronaut Garrett Reisman.
Reisman is
coming home after three months of living and working aboard the space station
and was replaced last week by NASA astronaut Gregory Chamitoff during Discovery's
mission.
"I'm
looking forward to being back home, sleeping in my own bed and using my own
toilet," said Reisman, who is also looking forward to seeing his wife Simone
and family. The station's Russian
commode broke down near the end of his stay.
The
homeward bound astronaut also hoped that he'll have a smooth reintroduction to
Earth's gravity after months living without it.
"I've been
very diligent about keeping up with the exercise regimen in trying to keep my
bones and muscles healthy," Reisman said.
Landing
day
Discovery
has two
opportunities to land today, beginning with the 11:15 a.m. EDT (1515 GMT)
target, which has the best weather forecast of the pair.
The weather
is looking very good [Saturday]," said Richard Jones, Discovery's entry flight
director. "We have got a decent shot."
To make the
first landing window, Discovery must fire up its aft-mounted rocket engines at about
10:10 a.m. EDT (1410 GMT) in a brief maneuver to begin the descent back to
Earth. Light winds and a few clouds are expected at the shuttle's Runway 15
landing site, according to NASA's Spaceflight Meteorology Group at the Johnson Space
Center in Houston.
If
Discovery cannot land on the first pass, the next opportunity arises at 12:50
p.m. EDT (1650 GMT), with an engine burn required at 11:46 a.m. EDT (1546 GMT)
to leave orbit. There is a slight chance of rain showers for the second
attempt.
Discovery
has enough supplies to remain aloft until Tuesday, giving mission managers more
leeway to only target the orbiter's primary Florida landing site, which is also
home to its hangar and launch pad.
"I think it
just makes more sense to bring it back home to its place of its origination,"
Jones said.
Mission Control roused Discovery's crew early Saturday with the song "Life on an Ocean Wave" by the Merchant Marine Academy band, a tune selected for all seven of the shuttle's STS-124 astronauts.
"This crew has just done a fantastic job," Jones said. "They've accomplished so much on this mission."
NASA is
broadcasting the Discovery's STS-124 mission live on NASA TV. Click here for SPACE.com's
shuttle mission updates and NASA TV feed.
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