Shuttle Departs Space Station

Space shuttle Discovery and its crew sailed away from the international space station after getting the place ready for its first permanent residents next year. Although Discovery was linked to the space station for six days, the seven astronauts spent less than 3 1/2 days inside the orbiting complex. They unloaded 2 tons of supplies for the first inhabitants, who are due to move in next March, and also fixed a broken radio, replaced battery packs and installed foam insulation to reduce the noise caused by fans. It was the first docking between a shuttle and the space station.