HOUSTON The first visitors to the International Space Station (ISS) in almost one year exited the unoccupied orbital outpost early today and began preparations to undock from it tonight.
At 2:50 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (06:50 GMT), Jim Voss closed the hatch to the U.S.-built Unity module and retreated through the orbiters airlock back into the confines of Space Shuttle Atlantis. Before calling it a day, the astronauts depressurized the orbiters airlock in preparation for undocking.
Voss took special interest in making sure the hatch was secured properly since he along with Susan Helms and Yuri Usachev will comprise the second resident crew aboard the station in early 2001.
On Thursday evening the crew finished delivering supplies to the station and reversed the steps they used to enter and occupy it.
Closing the hatches
Mission commander Jim Halsell and crew began closing each of the five hatches in the outpost. The seven-person crew took care to leave it ready for the next visit in September when a shuttle arrives after the Russian-built Zvezda service module docks in July.
Astronaut Tammy Jernigan visited the station last May and said the crew follows detailed checklists and works with ground controllers to close out the station.
One thing you want to make sure of is that you dont leave anything you dont intend to leave behind," she said. "So you take careful inventory of what needs to come out of the International Space Station. Look around and make sure everything is in good shape for the next crew that will come back in."
Jernigan said securing the hatches on the station are more than just slamming a door in a house.
Clean closure
"As we egressed the station we inspected the hatches, inspect integrity or seals, and got a nice clean closure -- and made sure we could move all the handles to the correct positions," Jernigan said.
Atlantis remains scheduled for undocking tonight at 7:07 p.m. EDT (23:07 GMT). After undocking, the orbiter will fly a half circle around the station to photograph it before backing away.
"Its one thing to take pictures up close tethered to the spacecraft," said Phil Engelauf, lead flight director. "Its another thing to get away some distance and take some good overview photos. Its good documentation prior to the next flight of exactly the configuration that you left it in."
Early Monday morning, Atlantis will return to Earth and land at the Kennedy Space Center about 2:18 a.m. EDT (06:18 GMT).
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