Crew Begins Unloading Leonardo

The crew has begun to unload the Leonardo Multi Purpose Logistics Module and transfer 17,000 pounds of science racks and other supplies into the International Space Station, a job that will take several days. Space shuttle Discovery Mission Specialist Clayton Anderson and Expedition 23 Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi opened the hatch to the “moving van” at 7:58 a.m. EDT. Astronauts this morning also conducted an interview with news outlets. Rick Mastracchio and Anderson will begin the “campout” protocol at 11:16 a.m. in preparation for the mission’s first spacewalk at 1:41 a.m. Friday. The station crew goes to sleep at 12:21 p.m. today, followed by Discovery’s crew at 12:51 p.m.