Shuttle astronauts bid farewell to space station crew

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The seven astronauts of the US shuttle Discovery bid farewell Tuesday to their three colleagues at the International Space Station after a busy mission to install Japan's first space laboratory.

The hatches between the two spacecraft were shut at 2042 GMT after the six US astronauts and their Japanese counterpart floated back inside the shuttle ahead of their departure Wednesday morning.

Discovery will undock from the orbiting outpost at 1142 GMT Wednesday following a 10-day mission that expanded the station with the addition of Japan's bus-sized Kibo lab.

The shuttle also brought a new crew member to the station, Greg Chamitoff, who replaced fellow American astronaut Garrett Reisman, who is returning to Earth aboard Discovery after a...