Discovery Separates from International Space Station

At 8:37 a.m. EST, space shuttle Discovery fired its jets to separate from the International Space Station for the final time, setting it on a course for its return to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:58 a.m. Wednesday.

Ground tracks have been posted for Discovery's landing opportunities: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts133/news/landing.html. The Spaceflight Meteorology Group forecasts "go" conditions at Kennedy for Discovery's planned landing.

At 9:58 a.m. NASA Television will air a video playback of undocking. The "late inspection" of Discovery's heat shield will commence at 11:13 a.m., and today's Mission Status Briefing will air at 1:30 p.m.