In this image from NASA Television, Wednesday, March 25, 2009, shuttle Discovery astronauts hug with international space station astronauts as they depart the ISS. Space shuttle Discovery has left the international space station. The shuttle undocked from the orbiting outpost Wednesday after eight days. Discovery and its crew of seven are due back Saturday.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
In this image from NASA Television, Wednesday, March 25, 2009, shuttle
Discovery astronauts hug with international space station astronauts
as they depart the ISS. Space shuttle Discovery has left the interna-
tional space station. The shuttle undocked from the orbiting outpost
Wednesday after eight days. Discovery and its crew of seven are due
back Saturday.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)

The truss is a high-tech girder structure made up of 11 segments. It provides the backbone for the station, supporting the U.S. solar arrays, radiators and other equipment. After S6 installation, the truss was 335 feet (102 meters) long.

The flight also replaced a failed unit for a system that converts urine to potable water.

Discovery is bringing back five months' worth of experiments from the space station. It is also returning four to five liters of recycled water made from the astronauts' urine and sweat. NASA wants to make sure the water is safe before space station astronauts start drinking it there.

Discovery, with seven astronauts aboard, was launched into space on March 15. It is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 28.




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Editor:Yang Jie