Hot on Facebook

Man Tries to Order Priciest Starbucks Drink Ever Total cost: $23.60 »

Discovery Leaves Space Station, Heads for Home

By Will McCahill, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 8, 2009 6:51 PM CDT

(Newser) – The shuttle Discovery detached from the International Space Station today and began its journey home to Earth, Space.com reports. The 13-day mission help resupply and repair the station; the seven crewmembers are scheduled to return to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at 7:05pm Thursday.

This image provided by NASA shows the International Space Station's robotic arm grabbing cargo from Discovery, Aug. 31, 2009. (AP Photo)

In this image from NASA video, the crews from Discovery and the space station say goodbye before the hatches between the shuttle and station closed yesterday. (AP Photo)

This image provided by NASA, taken by a spacewalking astronaut, shows Discovery's cockpit. (AP Photo)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

You Can Orbit Earth, Thanks to Teacher

600 International Space Station shots take you from soup to nuts

(NEWSER) - What a world, what a world. Now anyone can (virtually) fly over the earth, thanks to an ingenious US science educator who has spliced together 600 publicly accessible photos snapped from the International Space Station. James Drake merged them in a minute-long video that leads the viewer over the world. The super popular video, posted on YouTube, starts over the Pacific, travels across North and South America, and enters daylight near Antarctica. Cities from San Francisco to Mexico City can be spotted. The photos were downloaded from the NASA website The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth , which has been storing outer space shots since the Mercury missions, notes the Daily Mail . More»

Discovery Astronauts Bottling Outer Space

Bottle will remain sealed, hit museums

(NEWSER) - The Discovery crew will leave the International Space Station today for the first of two spacewalks—and one of their missions is to capture a sample of space in a metal bottle. The bottle will be given to Japan's space agency, which says it will remain sealed and make the museum rounds to provide "a conduit between humans and space." The astronauts will also put some finishing touches on the space station, the Christian Science Monitor reports. More»

Robonaut Joining Space Station Crew

'A giant leap forward for tinmankind'

(NEWSER) - International Space Station astronauts won't need to worry about the newest crew member hogging the oxygen or clogging the toilet. Robonaut 2 will become the first humanoid robot in space when he heads to the station this week on the space shuttle Discovery's final mission, AP reports. "R2" will be put through a series of tests before being put to work helping astronauts with chores inside and outside the station. More»

Up for Grabs: Free* Space Shuttle *$29M Postage & Handling Required

Museums vie for soon-to-be-retired spacecraft

(NEWSER) - NASA is preparing to give away its space shuttle fleet to institutions willing to cough up $28.8 million per spacecraft for cleaning and transportation. Atlantis will be retired after returning from its final mission today and some two dozen museums and other institutions around the country are vying to get their hands on it or its sister ships Endeavor and Discovery when they follow it into retirement later this year, CNN reports. More»

Discovery Lands Safely in Fla.

Shuttle made rare pass over Heartland

(AP) - Space shuttle Discovery is back on Earth. The shuttle and its seven astronauts landed at Florida's Kennedy Space Center this morning, an arrival delayed by rain that popped up right before daybreak. But the sky cleared and Mission Control was able to bring Discovery home. Rain also thwarted yesterday's tries. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Discovery Leaves Space Station, Heads for Home

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Florida • space shuttle • Earth • Kennedy Space Center • International Space Station • landing • Discovery space shuttle • Discovery • Earth orbit

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

You Can Orbit Earth, Thanks to Teacher

600 International Space Station shots take you from soup to nuts

Discovery Astronauts Bottling Outer Space

Bottle will remain sealed, hit museums

Robonaut Joining Space Station Crew

'A giant leap forward for tinmankind'

Up for Grabs: Free* Space Shuttle *$29M Postage & Handling Required

Museums vie for soon-to-be-retired spacecraft

Discovery Lands Safely in Fla.

Shuttle made rare pass over Heartland

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

Discovery Leaves Space Station, Heads for Home

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Florida • space shuttle • Earth • Kennedy Space Center • International Space Station • landing • Discovery space shuttle • Discovery • Earth orbit

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

You Can Orbit Earth, Thanks to Teacher

600 International Space Station shots take you from soup to nuts

Discovery Astronauts Bottling Outer Space

Bottle will remain sealed, hit museums

Robonaut Joining Space Station Crew

'A giant leap forward for tinmankind'

Up for Grabs: Free* Space Shuttle *$29M Postage & Handling Required

Museums vie for soon-to-be-retired spacecraft

Discovery Lands Safely in Fla.

Shuttle made rare pass over Heartland

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?