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2024 Election Coverage

Shuttle Astronauts Do Back-Flip to Get to Work

The astronauts of the shuttle Discovery spent the third day of their mission moving tons of cargo into the International Space Station. They docked at the station after putting the shuttle through a back-flip. But the astronauts say they first had to overcome a snag: a bad thermostat on a thruster.

Shuttle pilot Mark Kelly and shuttle commander Steve Lindsey say the problem was a tricky one, as they had to ensure that the thruster wouldn't be too cold for accurate control.

NPR's Robert Siegel spoke with astronauts Stephen Lindsey and Mark Kelly from the International Space Station -- orbiting some 200 miles above Earth. In the short time of the conversation, the station passed over Italy, Romania, Ukraine and into southwestern Russia.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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