This
story was updated at 12:08 p.m. EDT.
HOUSTON - NASA's space shuttle Atlantis undocked
from the International
Space Station (ISS) Sunday carrying a satisfied six-astronaut crew that jump
started construction of the orbital laboratory.
With their
successful delivery of two
expansive solar arrays and a 17.5-ton pair of new portside trusses to the
ISS, Atlantis' STS-115 astronauts left a larger space station than the one they
docked
with on Sept.
11.
"We're
leaving it in an entirely different configuration than it was in when we
arrived," Atlantis
pilot Chris Ferguson told reporters Saturday.
The shuttle
cast off from the ISS just seconds shy of 8:50 a.m. EDT (1250 GMT), but not
before the six STS-115
astronauts - commanded by veteran
spaceflyer Brent Jett - gave hearty farewells, hugs and handshakes with the
space station's three-man Expedition
13 crew.
"It was a
great mission, thanks for all the good work," Expedition 13 flight engineer Jeffrey Williams told Jett as the crew departed.
"We look forward to seeing you back in Houston."
After
undocking, Ferguson flew Atlantis in an orbital loop around the ISS to
provide his STS-115 crewmates - and flight controllers on Earth - their first
wide view of the station's metamorphosis in the last week, which saw the
addition of the $372
million Port 3/Port 4 (P3/P4) trusses and new solar
arrays with a 240-foot (73-meter) wingspan.
"It was
really a spectacular site to see your vehicle while looking down at the Earth,"
Jett told the station's Expedition 13 crew. "It was fun working with you guys
and be safe the rest of your mission."
While
engineers are eager for the new ISS fly-around photography to study the
station's new outline and structure, STS-115 lead shuttle flight director Paul
Dye confessed that, for his part, the pictures alone would be worth it.
"There will probably be as
many cameras as there are available, and as many guys at the windows as there
is space," Dye said Saturday of the STS-115 crew. "I just think it's going to
be gorgeous."
Atlantis is
currently scheduled to land at the Shuttle Landing Facility of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 5:57 a.m. EDT (0957 GMT) on Sept. 20. The
STS-115 mission is NASA's first ISS construction flight since late
2002 and the third shuttle flight since the 2003 Columbia accident.
Orbital
construction success
Today's
undocking marked the end of a busy week of joint operations for Atlantis'
STS-115 crew.
"This mission
has gone extremely well," Jett told ABC News Saturday. "We've
accomplished all of our primary objectives in the construction of the space
station."
The
Atlantis astronauts staged three spacewalks in four days to connect the new
P3/P4 trusses, wire them up with vital power and data connections, unfurl the
new solar arrays and perform other assorted tasks.
"These EVAs
were not easy, and the fact that everybody said that they looked easy is a
compliment to these three other people here and me," STS-115 astronaut and
veteran spacewalker Joseph
Tanner told CBS News, referring to his spacewalking partners Heidemarie
Stefanyshyn-Piper, Daniel
Burbank and Steven
MacLean, of the Canadian
Space Agency. "We appreciate it, thank you very much."
Jett told
reporters that the STS-115
mission was so busy that he and his crew rarely took what few personal
hours they had in the morning and evening to enjoy or reflect on their
spaceflight.
"Mostly,
our pre- and post-sleep for the last couple of days has been spent working,"
Jett said, adding that Saturday was the first morning off the crew had. "We've
been actually using that time to stay ahead [of schedule]."
Heat
shield inspections ahead
Atlantis'
STS-115 astronaut crew still has some work ahead as they prepare for their
Earth return.
On Monday,
the astronauts will again poise Atlantis' 50-foot (15-meter) inspection boom at
the tip of the shuttle's 50-foot robotic arm to scan sensitive heat shield
areas for damage.
Dye said
the survey, which includes a comprehensive look at Atlantis' carbon
composite-lined wing leading edges and nose cap, is an exact mirror of the
STS-115 crew's Sept. 10 inspection
on Flight Day 2. The survey will scan for any signs of damage or impacts
from micrometeorites or orbital debris, he said.
Aboard the ISS, however, Expedition 13 commander Pavel
Vinogradov, Williams and flight engineer Thomas
Reiter still have a busy
few days ahead of them. Early Monday, new Expedition
14 commander Michael
Lopez-Alegria and flight engineer Mikhail
Tyurin will launch
toward the ISS with spaceflight participant Anousheh
Ansari.
Lopez-Alegria
and Tyurin will relieve Vinogradov and Williams, who have lived aboard the ISS
since April, and welcome Reiter into their Expedition 14 ranks.
Later on
Monday, the Expedition 13 crew will discard a trash-laden Progress 21 cargo
ship to make way for the Expedition 14 crew's arrival.
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