Shuttle expected to land today
NEW YORK - Astronauts aboard the shuttle Discovery prepared for a landing today as their 14-day mission to the International Space Station neared its end.
There was a flurry of activity yesterday morning as members of the crew noticed an object floating away from the shuttle into space and saw what appeared to be a small protrusion sticking out of the rudder at the back of the craft. Such objects can be worrisome, since they could indicate a broken part of the shuttle.
In the past, they have simply turned out to be bits of ice or errant plastic bags floating out of the payload bay. Within a few hours, however, specialists on the ground determined that neither issue was a problem.
"We're confident that there's no impact for entry," said Colonel Terry W. Virts Jr., an astronaut serving as the point of contact on the ground for the crew.
Commander Mark E. Kelly of the Navy, the shuttle commander, radioed to the ground shortly after 7:30 a.m. yesterday that the object had been spotted floating behind the aft starboard wing. Kelly also pointed out what he called "a bump" seen sticking out from the trailing edge of the port side of the shuttle's rudder. The crew transmitted video and still images of the object to the ground.
The object floated away after a series of routine prelanding procedures.
