Space Shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station at 8:50 a.m. EDT Sunday, ending STS-115’s successful stay and setting the stage for future assembly missions. Now, the STS-115 crew members will turn their attention to returning to Earth.
Atlantis delivered the P3/P4 integrated truss to the station on Sept. 11. The STS-115 and Expedition 13 crews used the shuttle and station robotic arms to attach the truss to the orbital outpost. Then, STS-115 astronauts conducted three spacewalks in four days to prepare the truss and its solar arrays for operation.
After Atlantis undocked, Pilot Chris Ferguson performed a 360-degree fly-around of the station to allow his crewmates to collect imagery of the newly-expanded station.
On Monday, the crew will use the robotic arm and boom sensor system to conduct an inspection of Atlantis’ heat shield. The purpose of the post-docking inspection is to look for damage from space junk and micrometeoroids.
Atlantis is scheduled to touch down at 5:57 a.m. Wednesday at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Image Credits: NASA
Post from : http://www.heliospheric-labs.com/blog/news.php
Atlantis Undocks from Station and gets ready to return on Wednesday
Atlantis delivered the P3/P4 integrated truss to the station on Sept. 11. The STS-115 and Expedition 13 crews used the shuttle and station robotic arms to attach the truss to the orbital outpost. Then, STS-115 astronauts conducted three spacewalks in four days to prepare the truss and its solar arrays for operation.
After Atlantis undocked, Pilot Chris Ferguson performed a 360-degree fly-around of the station to allow his crewmates to collect imagery of the newly-expanded station.
On Monday, the crew will use the robotic arm and boom sensor system to conduct an inspection of Atlantis’ heat shield. The purpose of the post-docking inspection is to look for damage from space junk and micrometeoroids.
Atlantis is scheduled to touch down at 5:57 a.m. Wednesday at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Image Credits: NASA
Post from : http://www.heliospheric-labs.com/blog/news.php
Atlantis Undocks from Station and gets ready to return on Wednesday