After an eight-day stay, Discovery detached from its bay at the orbiting laboratory on schedule at 1953 GMT, as they passed 217 miles (350 kilometers) above the Indian Ocean.

"Houston, we have a physical separation," said a member of the shuttle crew, according to a broadcast of the maneuver on NASA TV.

The shuttle and its crew of seven astronauts are on course to return to Florida's Kennedy Space Center at 1:43 pm (1743 GMT) on Saturday, if weather conditions at the base remain favorable.

Before leaving behind the ISS, the shuttle crew were to move their craft 200 meters (yards) away to take photos and record film of the orbiting outpost.

Discovery docked at the ISS on March 17, two days after its launch. One of the mission's biggest tasks was to deliver the last set of solar arrays, which were successfully unfurled Friday.

The ISS now has four solar panels, two per wing, containing 32,800 cells that convert sunlight into electricity.

They will boost the outpost's full power generation from 90 to 120 kilowatts, providing the power the space station needs to carry out scientific experiments aboard Kibo and the European Columbus laboratory.

Related Links
Shuttle at NASA
Watch NASA TV via Space.TV
Space Shuttle News at Space-Travel.Com

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Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) May 01, 2009
Top NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the STS-125 mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope during Thursday's executive-level Flight Readiness Review at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and determined the shuttle's equipment, support systems and procedures are ready for flight.