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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – It's the terminal construction day for Discovery, NASA's most traveled expanse shuttle,  which returns to Earth today to cap a 27-year voyage occupation before way to a museum.

Discovery and its gathering are regular to realty here at NASA's President Space Center at 11:57 a.m. EST (1657 GMT). They module contact downbound on the aforementioned runway where, just over digit weeks ago, Discovery's sextet astronauts arrived to begin the orbiter's test journey into space. [Photos of Discovery's Final Mission]

Discovery's STS-133 assignment module modify when the shuttle's wheels roll to a stop for the terminal time, capping a fruitful occupation that saw 39 flights in 27 years. After landing, the orbiter module be retired from service, and module yet be settled on open pass in a museum.

"I conceive the heritage that she leaves behindhand is quite incredible, " shuttle astronaut Michael Barratt said of Discovery, adding that the satellite has been "space-kindly" to its crews, mostly due to the aggroup of engineers that maintains the ship. "Even though it's the terminal time, we rattling do countenance nervy to transfer her backwards to her bag opening and backwards into those lovesome hands."

Discovery's terminal construction day

NASA expects beatific defy for Discovery's digit construction windows in Florida today.

After an early wakeup call this morning, the gathering is ordered to begin construction preparations at 6:53 a.m. EST (1153 GMT). The doors of the shuttle's explosive niche module be closed at 8:12 a.m. EST (1312 GMT).

The astronauts module then wind Discovery's orbital maneuvering system engines for three to quaternary minutes, in what is called a deorbit burn. This slows the shuttle downbound sufficiency for it to begin its descent.

If everything goes as planned, Discovery is due to contact downbound at 11:57 a.m. EST (1657 GMT). NASA's assignment direction aggroup officially unwooded Discovery for construction yesterday.

While beatific defy is due today, NASA does hit a ordinal change to bring Discovery bag this afternoon. The ordinal pane opens up at 1:34 p.m. EST (1834 GMT), according to NASA officials. After that, the shuttle and its gathering would hit to defence downbound before trying again on Thursday.

Discovery is NASA's oldest and most-flown spacecraft, and at the modify of its career, module hit logged about 148 meg miles (238 meg kilometers) worth of travel. The STS-133 assignment is Discovery's 39th and test flight.

One test voyage

NASA launched Discovery's test assignment  on Feb. 24, after months of delays owing to problems with the shuttle's external render tank. The 13-day assignment to the International Space Center delivered supplies, hardware, a newborn hardware module and a mechanism robot supporter to the station and its residents.

NASA is success its 30-year expanse shuttle information after this assemblage to pore on expedition beyond low-Earth orbit.

Two remaining shuttle missions are designed – Endeavour's STS-134 grace in April, and the rattling terminal STS-135 assignment of Atlantis in June. Both missions are headlike to the International Space Station to put the test touches on the $100 1000000000 orbiting laboratory.

By coincidence, Endeavour today module roll out to the literal aforementioned start aggrandize utilised by Discovery to start its own mission. Endeavour is slated to wind soured on its test activate to the expanse station on Apr 19. The start aggrandize advise is due to begin at 8 p.m. EST (0100 March 10 GMT) and module be broadcast and webcast live by NASA. "The heritage for the shuttle fast and the shuttle information undoubtedly, in my mind, module be the expanse station," NASA's assignment direction aggroup leader LeRoy Cain told reporters yesterday. "We could not hit assembled this marvelous artefact in itinerary without the capabilities of the expanse shuttle."

You can follow SPACE.com Staff Writer Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow as she covers Discovery's test expanse voyage from NASA's President Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Visit SPACE.com for complete news of Discovery's test assignment STS-133.

• Photos of Discovery's Final Mission: STS-133
• Shuttle Discovery By-the-Numbers: Nearly 27 Years as NASA's Space Workhorse
• Discovery's Twilight Highlights

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