Discovery Set To Land Wednesday

The space shuttle Discovery crew is scheduled to complete a 15-day mission to the International Space Station with a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Wednesday, Nov. 7.

The STS-120 mission began Oct. 23 and delivered the Harmony module to the station, relocated the P6 truss and featured four spacewalks. During the fourth spacewalk, the crew repaired a torn solar array on the P6 truss, enabling them to fully deploy the array.

NASA managers will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting Discovery to return to Earth. Wednesday landing opportunities are at 1:01 p.m. and 2:36 p.m. EST. The backup landing sites at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and White Sands Space Harbor, N.M., will not be activated on Wednesday.

Two hours after landing, NASA officials will hold a briefing to discuss the mission.

After touchdown, the astronauts will undergo physical examinations and meet with their families. Some crew members are scheduled to hold a news conference six hours after returning to Earth.

If weather prevents a Kennedy landing Wednesday, NASA will activate backup landing sites for attempts on Thursday.

Source: NASA