Space Shuttle Discovery Returns Home

Space shuttle Discovery landed at Kennedy Space Center completing its mission to the International Space Station. The STS-119 crew delivered and installed the S6 truss structure, dropped off a new Expedition 18 crew member Koichi Wakata and returned Sandra Magnus after completing her stay as an Expedition 18 crew member.

Commander Lee Archambault leads Discovery’s crew of seven, along with Pilot Tony Antonelli, and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold and Sandy Magnus on mission STS-119.

The STS-119 crew members flew the S6 truss segment and installed the final set of power-generating solar arrays to the International Space Station. The S6 truss completes the backbone of the station and provides one-fourth of the total power needed to support a crew of six.