Shuttle begins its journey back to Earth

HOUSTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. space shuttle Discovery undocked from the International Space Station at 5:32 a.m. EST Monday -- the first step in its return to Earth.

STS-120 Pilot George Zamka backed the orbiter about 400 feet from the station and performed a fly-around to allow crew members to obtain images of the station in its new configuration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration controllers in Houston said.

Discovery’s first landing opportunity will be at 1:02 p.m. EST Wednesday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

During its stay at the station, which began Oct. 25, the STS-120 crew continued the station's construction with the installation of the Harmony module and the relocation of the station's P6 truss. The shuttle and discovery crews conducted four spacewalks, including one to repair a torn solar array on the station's P6 truss.

Discovery also delivered a new station crew member, astronaut Daniel Tani. He replaced astronaut Clayton Anderson who arrived at the station in June with STS-117. Anderson is returning to Earth aboard Discovery, while Tani is to return with STS-122 later this year.