Discovery ship returned to Earth safely

Weather conditions when the ship landed quite well. Discovery ships landed at the expected time gently. This was the first time an American space shuttle returned to Kennedy's center after the disaster of shuttle Columbia in February 2003.

7 crew members had 15 working days in space. They brought a new module built by the Italians for the station. During the busy 11-day work, the entire crew and engineers at ISS carried out many difficult tasks. They had four space walks, installed a new module and successfully repaired the tear on the solar collector.

The mission on the ISS this time is to pave the way for the installation of Columbus's European science laboratory during the next mission of another shuttle in early December and the Japanese Kibo laboratory, scheduled to be set up in early in 2008.

(Photo: 2news.tv) Discovery engineer Daniel Tani will replace Clayton Anderson on ISS. Anderson returned to Earth on Space Shuttle Discovery after 5 months here.

This trip also left a mark on women in the history of space flights. Mrs. Pamela Melroy - The commander on Discovery ship this time - became the second woman to control the shuttle. On the International Space Station, the astronaut Peggy Whitson will take command. This is the first time in the 50-year history of the aerospace industry that two women commanded on the shuttle and the ISS station at the same time.

After the Disvovery returned to Earth, astronauts on ISS will have much to do. A group of three of the 16 astronauts will need to place the module in a fixed location as well as shape it.

As planned, the space shuttle Atlantis boarded ISS on December 6, but NASA just announced the time for the launch to change: the Atlantis ship will be launched on November 10. NASA hopes to complete the construction of the ISS before the shuttle astronauts return to Earth in 2010.

Lan Dung