Endeavour undocks from International Space Station
February 20th, 2010 - 11:42 am ICT by IANSLos Angeles, Feb 20 (IANS) Space shuttle Endeavour has undocked from the International Space Station after successfully installing an additional observation deck at the research centre.
The six-member mission left the station Friday and will reach the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida Monday, NASA said in a press release.
As the vehicle parted with the ISS at 7.54 p.m. EST, pilot Terry Virts flew the shuttle to 450 feet in front of the station and then in a circle around the station before beginning the journey towards the earth, Xinhua reported.
The space mission was launched by the NASA Feb 8.
During the nine-day mission, astronauts installed the Tranquility node and a “cupola” with seven windows that will provide a panoramic 360 degree view of the earth, celestial objects and visiting spacecraft.
With the $400-million new equipment added, the station is now 98 percent complete in terms of volume and 90 percent in terms of mass. Four more shuttle visits are scheduled in the next seven months to supply additional equipment and spare parts to the space station, NASA said.
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- Spacewalkers outfit new space station room - Feb 14, 2010
- NASA invites public to tweet their way into space - Feb 06, 2010
- Endeavour heads for space station with new picture window (Lead) - Feb 08, 2010
- Atlantis docks with space station one last time - Jul 10, 2011
- Discovery's last mission extended by a day - Mar 04, 2011
- Astronauts open seven eyelids on International Space Station - Feb 18, 2010
- Space station opens to Tranquility and its picture window - Feb 13, 2010
- US shuttle Endeavour docks with ISS - Feb 10, 2010
- President Obama to meet NASA's Endeavour crew - Apr 23, 2010
- Space shuttle Discovery set to return to Earth for final time - Mar 08, 2011
- Shuttle Endeavour to launch Feb 7 - Jan 28, 2010
- Space shuttle Discovery returns after 15-day mission - Apr 20, 2010
Tags: 360 degree view, additional equipment, astronauts, celestial objects, cupola, international space station, iss, kennedy space centre, nasa, observation deck, seven months, seven windows, space mission, space shuttle endeavour, spacecraft, spare parts, terry virts, tranquility, view of the earth, xinhua