Shuttle leaves station today


The Discovery astronauts prepared for undocking today, working through a busy timeline of packing and experiment sample transfers from the space station to the shuttle. After a final joint meal with their space station colleagues, the combined crews will hold a brief farewell ceremony around 1 p.m. before closing hatches for the shuttle's departure at 3:53 p.m. EDT.

Joining the shuttle crew for the trip home will be outgoing space station flight engineer Sandra Magnus, who is wrapping up a four-month stay in space. Her replacement, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, will remain behind in her place with Expedition 18 commander Mike Fincke and flight engineer Yury Lonchakov.

Fincke and Lonchakov plan to return to Earth on April 7 aboard the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft that carried them into orbit last October.

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