krpalmer | Back on Earth

Although on a twelve-hour shift at work today, I was able to check and see that space shuttle Discovery landed in Florida right when it was supposed to. Whatever I saw falling off in the live feed during liftoff didn't seem to have been a problem, and the repurposed cargo carrier and the experimental robot have been left at the space station. During the mission, though, I suppose it was sinking in for me that this one is "final" for Discovery in a way it might not yet be for Atlantis, which flew the last mission last year. There's still a little bit left certain to look forward to, of course.