President Barack Obama made a long-distance call to the dozen members of the Discovery and International Space Station crews a little after 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.
“We are always inspired by the images of you guys at work as you put some of the final pieces in place to make the ISS fully operational,” Obama told the space fliers, traveling five miles a second 221 miles above the Earth. “You are setting such a great example with your dedication, your courage, your commitment to exploration. Col. Lindsey, it must be a great honor to be the last commander of Discovery.”
“On behalf of the crew, it’s a real privilege for us to get to fly Discovery on her final mission. We think that when we land, Discovery will have flown in space for 365 days,” said Discovery Commander Steve Lindsey.
The crew members also discussed with the president the delivery of the humanoid Robonaut 2 and international cooperation, exhibited by the presence of vehicles and components from all of the program’s partners.
