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by Sheril R. Kirshenbaum     Department: Space

The 14-day mission to the International Space Station ended as Discovery touched down on the 15,000-foot landing strip at 11:15 a.m Saturday morning in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

So what were seven astronauts doing up there for two weeks, 217 orbits, and 5.7 million miles?  The purpose was to add to the construction of the $100 billion space station--now 70 percent complete--and the trip included the delivery of a $1 billion main module for the Japanese laboratory Kibo, meaning 'Hope'.

Part of the mission was additionally to examine the rotary joints that keep the station's solar panels facing the sun.  In 2007, managers noticed unusual vibrations and further investigation revealed damage and metal shavings.  While this trip did not determine the cause of the problem, the crew was assured they would be able to replace bearings and clean up the shavings--possibly during a flight scheduled for November.

Garrett E. Reisman also returned home from the space station after a 95 day stay.  Standing 5'4", he said short astronauts recover more quickly than taller ones in a news briefing, joking "I'm happy that that's finally come in handy for something other than limbo contests."

Before the shuttle program winds down in 2010, ten more missions are scheduled.  Having always dreamed of space travel, I already can't wait to follow Atlantis' flight in October to work on the Hubble Space Telescope!

And with that, the 123rd mission of shuttle program has been completed.

Tags: Discovery, shuttle, space

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