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New theory addresses frozen Earth paradox
HOUSTON, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The crew of space shuttle Discovery conducted a final inspection of the spacecraft's heat shield Wednesday during initial landing preparations.
STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein and astronaut Nicholas Patrick used the shuttle's robotic arm and boom extension sensor system to check the heat shield for any space junk or micrometeoroid hits that might have occurred while the orbiter was docked at the International Space Station. The shuttle began its journey back to Earth after undocking Tuesday evening.
The astronauts Wednesday night were to deploy two small, low-power satellites from the shuttle's payload bay.
The microelectromechanical mini-satellite is designed to observe larger spacecraft by testing the function of small camera systems and gyroscopes.
The Radar Fence Transponder is a U.S. Naval Academy student experiment that uses picosatellites to test the Space Surveillance Radar Fence.
Mission controllers in Houston said the shuttle is scheduled to land at 3:56 p.m. EST Friday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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