Landing preparations are the order of the day for the seven astronauts on space shuttle Discovery, who are planning to conclude a two-week mission with a Wednesday landing at the Kennedy Space Center.

Space shuttle Discovery’s crew left the International Space Station this morning after almost 11 days of joint operations with the Expedition 16 crew. After inspecting the orbiter’s heat shield for any micrometeoroid damage, the astronauts turned their attention to returning home on Wednesday.

All systems are go for this morning’s undocking of space shuttle Discovery from the International Space Station, completing 11 days of joint docked operations that saw the successful delivery of a new pressurized module and the repair of a damaged solar array wing.

Spacefarers aboard Discovery and the International Space Station congratulated one another on a successful docked mission, shared hugs and farewells and closed the hatches 210 miles above the Pacific Northwest at 2:03 p.m. CST. With Dan Tani now a member of the station’s Expedition 16 crew and Clay Anderson now a member of the STS-120 crew, the two teams then began getting ready for Monday’s 4:32 a.m. CST undocking.

The astronauts on space shuttle Discovery got up this morning prepared to complete the final cargo transfers between the two vehicles and bid farewell to the Expedition 16 crew. Farewells are scheduled to begin at 12:28 p.m. CST, followed by hatch closing at 12:43 p.m. CST.

With a few pieces of aluminum and a little bit of wire, Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski today repaired a damaged solar array during a spacewalk that lasted 7 hours, 19 minutes. Parazynski and fellow spacewalker Doug Wheelock left the International Space Station at 5:03 a.m., and spent about an hour and a half riding the station’s robotic arm out to the torn array – about 165 feet down the station’s truss and 90 feet up to the damage.

Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski and Doug Wheelock today will work to repair a torn solar array on the farthest end of the International Space Station’s port truss in the fourth spacewalk of the STS-120 mission. That spacewalk is slated to begin about 5:30 a.m., but could begin as early as 5 a.m. if the crew’s final preparations move quickly as they have for the rest of the mission’s spacewalks.

Space shuttle Discovery and International Space Station crew members today finished preparations for Saturday’s spacewalk to repair a torn solar array. The mission’s fourth spacewalk is set to begin about 5:30 a.m. The astronauts spent the day positioning the station’s mobile transporter and robotic arm at the end of the truss where it will serve as a base and “cherry picker” providing ample reach for the work to free a snag in a solar array panel.

The space shuttle Discovery and International Space Station crews today will focus on reviewing spacewalk procedures and unberthing the shuttle’s Orbiter Boom Sensor System for Saturday’s spacewalk to repair a torn solar array.

The space shuttle Discovery and International Space Station crews spent the day putting together tools and making preparations for Saturday’s spacewalk to repair a torn solar array.