- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Shuttle Discovery returns to Earth after mission completion

Subscribe
The U.S. space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew returned to Earth on Saturday to end the latest construction mission to the International Space Station, NASA said.
WASHINGTON, June 15 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S. space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew returned to Earth on Saturday to end the latest construction mission to the International Space Station, NASA said.

The shuttle landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:15 a.m. EDT (15:15 GMT).

The STS-124 shuttle crew spent 14 days in orbit installing the Japanese Pressurized Module to the space station. The module, which is the heaviest payload delivered to the world's sole orbiter, is the second unit of the massive Kibo laboratory complex. The first unit, an experimental logistics module, was delivered to the ISS in March.

The crew was commanded by Mark Kelly, 44, with Ken Ham serving as pilot. Mission specialists included Karen Nyberg, Ronald Garan, Michael Fossum and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide. Garrett Reisman, who had been on the ISS for three months, also returned to Earth onboard Discovery, NASA said.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала