Astronauts
at the International Space Station closed up a portable cargo pod Monday and
prepared to pack it aboard the visiting shuttle Discovery for the trip home
this week.
Shuttle
commander Rick Sturckow and his crew sealed the entry hatch to the cargo module - essentially a
moving
van in space - and plan to return it to Discovery's payload bay tonight using
the station's robotic arm.
The
astronauts delivered more than 8 tons of cargo to the station from the Italian-built
supply module and Discovery over the last week. Before closing it Monday,
they filled it with 2 tons of trash and other unneeded gear to be returned to Earth.
"All in all,
it's been a very successful mission," shuttle astronaut Danny Olivas said
Sunday in a televised interview. "I think everybody here is in good spirits and
we are ready to finish up and come home."
Discovery
and its seven-astronaut crew are due to undock from the space station Tuesday
after just more than a week at the orbiting laboratory. Skywatchers in North America have multiple
chances to spot the
shuttle and station from Earth through Wednesday.
Packing
up in space
The
shuttle launched Aug. 28 on a 13-day mission to deliver vital supplies,
science experiment gear and a new crewmember - NASA astronaut Nicole Stott - to
the orbiting laboratory. Three spacewalks were performed to replace a large
coolant tank and upgrade station systems during the shuttle's stay.
The
astronauts plan to pluck the cargo module, called Leonardo, free of the space
station at about 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT) to stow it to Discovery's payload
bay. At about 10:30 p.m. EDT( 0230 Sept. 8 GMT), all 13 astronauts aboard the
linked shuttle and station will hold a farewell ceremony before shutting the
hatches between their spacecraft in preparation for tomorrow's undocking.
Discovery's
astronauts also delivered a $5 million treadmill named after TV
comedian Stephen Colbert during the mission. Colbert won an online poll
earlier this year to have a new space station room named after him thanks to
the help of fans of his Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report."
NASA,
however, opted to name the new module Tranquility - after the Apollo 11 moon
base - to honor the 40th anniversary of the first manned moon landing in July
1969. As a consolation prize, the space agency named the new station treadmill
the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, or COLBERT.
The
treadmill arrived in more than 100 pieces and will be assembled by Stott and
her crewmates in late September after the arrival of a Japanese
cargo ship at the station.
Stott is beginning
a three-month mission to the station as a member of the outpost's six-person
crew. She replaced fellow astronaut Tim Kopra, who will return home on
Discovery to wrap up his own two-month flight in space.
While Stott
is ready to work in space, she's also hoping to spend time gazing at the Earth
and experimenting with painting during her free time.
"I'm going
to try some different things with watercolors and painting, and try and paint
some of the things that I see," Stott said Monday in a televised interview. "I
don't know if it will be all that good, but it will certainly be fun for me to
try."
Discovery
is scheduled to land at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday.
SPACE.com
is providing complete coverage of Discovery's STS-128 mission to the
International Space Station with Managing Editor Tariq Malik and Staff Writer
Clara Moskowitz in New York. Click
here for shuttle mission updates and a link to NASA TV.
advertisement
