CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The 12 astronauts in orbit are getting a little break after staying up late to complete their first job together.
It took longer than usual for the hatches to open between Discovery and the International Space Station, following Saturday’s docking. That put the two crews behind in attaching an equipment platform to the space station.
Late Saturday night, the platform finally was installed. The giant shelf holds a spare radiator. It was delivered by the shuttle.
Mission Control said the astronauts could sleep in Sunday morning. They will spend the day preparing for their first spacewalk, on Monday.
This is the last flight for Discovery. The shuttle will be retired when it returns to Earth in just over a week.