By Irene Klotz
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Feb 27 (Reuters) - Shuttle Discovery astronauts worked alongside the International Space Station crew on Sunday to prepare the orbital outpost for life after the United States retires its three existing spaceships.
NASA is ending its 30-year shuttle program in about six months. Discovery reached the station on Saturday, two days after liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center, for its 39th and final mission.
Sister ships Endeavour and Atlantis are expected make their final flights this spring and summer, respectively.
Sunday was the shuttle crew's first full day at the outpost, a $100 billion project of 16 nations that has been under construction 220 miles (350 km) above Earth for more than a decade.
'Our primary objective is to outfit the station as best we can as we approach the end of the shuttle program,' shuttle commander Steven Lindsey said during an in-flight interview Sunday.
'When you think about when you retire a vehicle usually it's when it's old and dilapidated but Discovery is at the top of her game,' added astronaut Michael Barratt.
'She just performed magnificently getting us up here, and that's pretty much what you need for spaceflight, where technology has to work at its cutting edge and Discovery is still doing that, so I think we're all going to be kind of sad to see it go,' he said.
The United States is retiring the program due to high operating costs and to develop spaceships that can travel to the moon, asteroids and other destinations beyond the station's orbit.
The Discovery crew's work began shortly after arrival at the station. Using a robotic crane, they installed an outdoor stowage platform on the station that will be used to house big spare parts. Another storage room that can be accessed from inside the station is scheduled to be attached on Tuesday.
Astronauts Stephen Bowen and Alvin Drew plan to make a 6-1/2-hour spacewalk on Monday to prepare for the module's installation. Bowen was added to the crew just last month after lead spacewalker Tim Kopra was injured in a bicycle crash.
'There's a lot of things I don't know that I'm trying to catch up,' Bowen said on Sunday. 'But these guys have been training together for so long, they know this mission so well they've been able to pick up the slack that I kind of brought on board. They've got me covered pretty well.'
Discovery is scheduled to spend a week at the station, though NASA is considering adding an extra day to take advantage of an unprecedented photo opportunity. With Discovery's arrival, spaceships from four countries' fleets are parked at the outpost.
A decision on whether to let three station crew members fly around the outpost in a Soyuz capsule to take pictures and video is expected on Tuesday.
After the shuttle's retirement, cargo ships from Russia, Europe and Japan will keep the station stocked with food, water, supplies and science experiments. California-based Space Exploration Technologies and Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp are expected to join the cargo runs next year.
Crew transport already has been turned over to Russia, the only other entity besides China that has the ability to fly people in space. NASA is hoping eventually to buy rides from U.S. companies if any develop the capability.
(Editing by Jane Sutton and Eric Beech) Keywords: SPACE SHUTTLE/ (jane.sutton@thomsonreuters.com; +1 305 810 2688) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Feb 27 (Reuters) - Shuttle Discovery astronauts worked alongside the International Space Station crew on Sunday to prepare the orbital outpost for life after the United States retires its three existing spaceships.
NASA is ending its 30-year shuttle program in about six months. Discovery reached the station on Saturday, two days after liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center, for its 39th and final mission.
Sister ships Endeavour and Atlantis are expected make their final flights this spring and summer, respectively.
Sunday was the shuttle crew's first full day at the outpost, a $100 billion project of 16 nations that has been under construction 220 miles (350 km) above Earth for more than a decade.
'Our primary objective is to outfit the station as best we can as we approach the end of the shuttle program,' shuttle commander Steven Lindsey said during an in-flight interview Sunday.
'When you think about when you retire a vehicle usually it's when it's old and dilapidated but Discovery is at the top of her game,' added astronaut Michael Barratt.
'She just performed magnificently getting us up here, and that's pretty much what you need for spaceflight, where technology has to work at its cutting edge and Discovery is still doing that, so I think we're all going to be kind of sad to see it go,' he said.
The United States is retiring the program due to high operating costs and to develop spaceships that can travel to the moon, asteroids and other destinations beyond the station's orbit.
The Discovery crew's work began shortly after arrival at the station. Using a robotic crane, they installed an outdoor stowage platform on the station that will be used to house big spare parts. Another storage room that can be accessed from inside the station is scheduled to be attached on Tuesday.
Astronauts Stephen Bowen and Alvin Drew plan to make a 6-1/2-hour spacewalk on Monday to prepare for the module's installation. Bowen was added to the crew just last month after lead spacewalker Tim Kopra was injured in a bicycle crash.
'There's a lot of things I don't know that I'm trying to catch up,' Bowen said on Sunday. 'But these guys have been training together for so long, they know this mission so well they've been able to pick up the slack that I kind of brought on board. They've got me covered pretty well.'
Discovery is scheduled to spend a week at the station, though NASA is considering adding an extra day to take advantage of an unprecedented photo opportunity. With Discovery's arrival, spaceships from four countries' fleets are parked at the outpost.
A decision on whether to let three station crew members fly around the outpost in a Soyuz capsule to take pictures and video is expected on Tuesday.
After the shuttle's retirement, cargo ships from Russia, Europe and Japan will keep the station stocked with food, water, supplies and science experiments. California-based Space Exploration Technologies and Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp are expected to join the cargo runs next year.
Crew transport already has been turned over to Russia, the only other entity besides China that has the ability to fly people in space. NASA is hoping eventually to buy rides from U.S. companies if any develop the capability.
(Editing by Jane Sutton and Eric Beech) Keywords: SPACE SHUTTLE/ (jane.sutton@thomsonreuters.com; +1 305 810 2688) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.