Space Shuttle Discovery returned to Earth for the final time this morning. It was a picture perfect landing, a fitting end to a picture perfect mission.
I really didn’t expect to get sentimental, but I was surprised to find a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat as Discovery rolled down the runway for the final time. Perhaps it’s because we’re one step closer to the end, or perhaps it’s just because this was my flight. I put so much time into this flight that it’s hard to think that it’s over. A debrief, a post-flight report, and STS-133 will become a memory.
After a fantastic and very smooth undocking on Monday morning, we arranged a photo of the FDO and Rendezvous teams in MCC. Our two teams work very closely together each mission to get the shuttle safely to the ISS and then safely away — the FDO team handles the free-flight and long-range rendezvous items, and the Rendezvous team handles things from about 40 miles on in. I”m glad we got such a good photo of the combined team.
Sarah, I totally cried when Discovery landed! I also was getting over a cold, so I tried to make people think I was wiping my nose due to the cold, but I definitely had a few tears rolling down my cheek. 🙂