CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 6 (UPI) -- The six crew members of the U.S. space shuttle Discovery climbed back into their spaceship Sunday to get ready for their descent to Earth, NASA said.
The space agency said on its Web site the hatches between the shuttle and the International Space Station were closed at 4:11 p.m. EST. The shuttle had docked with the space station on Feb. 26 and the hatches had been open for 7 days, 23 hours and 55 minutes.
The shuttle and space station crews bid each other farewell before the Discovery crew members ducked back into their vehicle.
"It was a very successful time on board," Discovery commander Steve Lindsey said while thanking station commander Scott Kelly for the hospitality.
Kelly responded in kind.
"We enjoyed having you as guests, we're going to miss you and we're going to miss space shuttle Discovery," Kelly said. "This is the first group of guests I've had in about 150 days since I've been up here.
"Discovery has been a great ship and has really supported ISS more than any other shuttle and we wish her fair winds and following seas."
Discovery's crew will wake up at 3:23 a.m. Monday to a special song with a surprise twist -- "Theme from Star Trek" by Alexander Courage. It was the runner-up in the wake-up song contest.
At 7 a.m. Monday, Discovery will detach from the space station. The shuttle is to land back in Florida where it launched.
