spacetoday.net: Shuttle attaches cargo module to station

Posted: Fri, Jul 7, 2006, 6:01 PM ET (2201 GMT)
STS-121: Leonardo attached to ISS (NASA)

The crew of the space shuttle Discovery attached a cargo module to the International Space Station on Friday while ground controllers gave to go-ahead for the shuttle to remain in orbit an extra day. The multi-purpose logistics module "Leonardo" was removed from the shuttle's cargo bay and attached to the Unity node on the station Friday morning. Inside Leonardo is over 2,000 kilograms of supplies for the station, including new station experiments and equipment. Leonardo will later be filled with trash and other items no longer needed on the station; the module will be returned to the shuttle's cargo bay near the end of its mission and returned to Earth. Later Friday mission controllers approved plans to extend the shuttle mission by one day, to 13 days. The extra day will allow STS-121 astronauts to perform a third EVA to test heat shield repair techniques, and will provide some additional time to transfer items to and from Leonardo. The shuttle crew is also spending time Friday performing additional inspections of the exterior of the orbiter, looking for any damage to the shuttle's thermal tiles and panels.