Posted: Mon, Aug 20, 2001, 5:05 PM ET (2105 GMT)
The space shuttle Discovery undocked from the International Space Station Monday morning, preparing to return to Earth with the station's old crew. Discovery undocked from the station at 10:52 am EDT (1452 GMT), circling the station once before moving away. Discovery is returning to Earth with the Expedition Two crew that spent five months at the orbiting outpost; the Expedition Three crew ferried to the station on Discovery are scheduled to spend four months on ISS before being relieved by the next crew. Several hours after undocking the shuttle released Simplesat, a small experimental satellite designed to test the ability to make inexpensive but functional spacecraft using off-the-shelf components. Simplesat will spend five months in orbit taking images using a small telescope before it reenters the atmosphere. Discovery is scheduled to return to Earth with a landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 12:46 pm EDT (1646 GMT) Wednesday.

Related Links:

•  STS-105 mission status report #20
•  Spaceflight Now mission status center
•  SPACE.com article
•  Simplesat web site