STS-114 Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi of Japan took this photo of Space Shuttle Discovery during the third spacewalk. Credit: NASA

Crew begins preparations for undocking

Undocking from the International Space Station is still a day away, but the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery is already working through a timeline that will lead to its departure.

Mission Control awakened the crew at 10:15 p.m. EDT with "Anchors Aweigh" in honor of Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence, a captain in the U.S. Navy.

Today, the crew is packing the Shuttle for the return to Earth. The Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the Orbiter's Boom Sensor System will be stowed into the payload bay.

Mission Control radioed the Space Shuttle Discovery astronauts Thursday with news that they will not need to make a fourth spacewalk to fix a thermal blanket near the commander's left window. The Mission Management Team made the decision based on extensive analysis.

On Thursday, the Shuttle and Station crews gathered to pay tribute to all of the astronauts and cosmonauts who have given their lives to space exploration

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