Astronauts this evening have successfully maneuvered the Leonardo cargo module back into shuttle Discovery's payload bay, roughly an hour before the shuttle and International Space Station crews were scheduled to say goodbye. A farewell ceremony is scheduled to start at 10:29 p.m., after which Discovery's seven astronauts will float back into the shuttle and close the hatch behind them.
You can watch it live here. Just click on the NASA TV still image at right to launch a viewer. Meanwhile, NASA officials said tonight that they are again tracking space junk that could swing close to the station early Wednesday, after the shuttle's departure.
The debris comes from a weather satellite China destroyed during a 2007 missile test. It's size was uncertain. The debris could make close approaches during two orbits around 3:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. But preliminary tracking indicates it could miss the station by 15 to 30 miles, so an no avoidance maneuver may be necessary.
"The tracking passes are looking very favorable," said lead flight director Tony Ceccacci, and "trending toward not being a problem." Tracking will be more accurate by Tuesday morning.
Discovery's crew includes mission commander Rick "C.J." Sturckow, pilot Kevin Ford and mission specialists Pat Forrester, Christer Fuglesang, Jose Hernandez, Tim Kopra and Danny Olivas.
Kopra replaced Nicole Stott, who will stay on the station for the next three months as a flight engineer on Expeditions 20 and 21. Stott remains on the station with commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, Roman Romanenko or Russia, Bob Thirsk of Canada, Frank De Winne of Belgium and Mike Barratt of the United States.
Discovery is scheduled to undock from the station at 3:26 p.m. Tuesday ahead of a Thursday return to Kennedy Space Center.
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