Shuttle Crew Avoids Debris, Prepares for Return
By VOA News
10 September 2009
Astronauts on the U.S. space shuttle Discovery steered past a piece of mystery space debris Thursday and are now preparing for a trip home.
NASA says Discovery astronauts carried out an evasive maneuver to dodge the orbiting debris, which had moved close enough to the shuttle to raise concerns. NASA believes the unidentified object came dislodged during a Saturday spacewalk, which took place while the shuttle was linked to the International Space Station.
Meanwhile, the space agency says rainy weather on the forecast at the Florida landing site could jeopardize Thursday evening's planned touchdown. NASA says the shuttle crew has enough supplies to remain in orbit until Sunday, if necessary.
The astronauts have wrapped up a 13-day mission that included dropping off almost 8,000 kilograms of equipment to the space station.
NASA has planned six more shuttle flights before retiring the fleet next year. After that, Russian and private space programs will be used to deliver supplies to the space station.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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