Crews Remove Leonardo from Station

After dealing with a balky set of bolt controllers, the combined crew of space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station removed the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module from its station port Thursday.

The crew then used the station’s robotic arm to maneuver the module into position above Discovery’s payload bay. Leonardo will remain in this “low hover” position overnight, and the crew will spend about an hour and a half finishing the job of using Canadarm2 to latch it in the shuttle’s cargo bay on Friday.

Leonardo brought about six tons of material to the station and will return to Earth in Discovery’s cargo bay with about 2.5 tons from the station.

This is the final roundtrip to the station for the 21-foot-long, 15-foot-diameter Leonardo. Once back on Earth, the module will be reconfigured with increased shielding on the outside for the STS-133 mission in September when it will be left on the station as a permanent module.