Mission complete, astronauts ready for home
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - June 10, 2008 When asked Monday what he was looking forward to most about
returning to Earth this weekend after three months in space, he
summed it up in two words: Simone Francis.
"She was furious with me for embarrassing her like that,"
Reisman said with a laugh Tuesday. "But the truth is that when I
look out the window at the planet and I look down at all the people
down there, I'm usually just thinking about just one of all those
billions of people. And that's definitely what I'm looking forward
to seeing the most."
A few minutes later, a TV interviewer told Reisman it was "the
most romantic answer I think I've ever heard about what you miss
most on Earth."
Reisman was going to be on the shuttle side of the hatches later
Tuesday, following their closing at the international space
station. He moved into the space station in March and was replaced
by astronaut Gregory Chamitoff, who flew up on Discovery for a
six-month stay.
"This is a hand-over between one Jewish astronaut and another,
so we're pretty excited about that," Chamitoff said.
Chamitoff, 45, an aeronautics researcher, took up some bagels to
share with Reisman - they were made by Chamitoff's family in
Montreal - as well as a few mezuzahs that he's flying for friends.
He said he can't install the mezuzahs, religious objects attached
to the entrances of Jewish homes, because "we can't decorate the
space station as we like."
Reisman, 40, a mechanical engineer, spent the past week showing
Chamitoff the ropes and gave him his phone number in case he needed
to ask something. "He's probably going to change his number,"
Chamitoff said, laughing.
Discovery is scheduled to pull away from the space station on
Wednesday, ending a nine-day visit that was highlighted by the
installation of a brand new Japanese lab.
Flight director Matt Abbott said the mission has gone "just
phenomenally well" and noted that "the one thing that will make
me happier is when we get Discovery and the crew safely on the
ground."
Before returning home, Discovery's astronauts will pull out the
laser-tipped inspection boom that they retrieved from the space
station, and survey their ship's wings and nose cap. Engineers on
the ground will be looking for any damage from debris generated
during the May 31 launch or from micrometeorites in orbit.
Abbott said there is no reason to suspect any problems, based on
all the photography and data collected. The laser survey normally
is conducted the day after liftoff, but Discovery didn't have room
for the inspection boom because of the giant Kibo lab that filled
its payload bay.
Discovery is due back on Earth on Saturday.
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On the Net:
NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov
