Atlantis Is Homeward Bound
CAPE CANAVERAL (CBS4) – The space shuttle Atlantis is homeward bound on the last mission of the 30 year old space shuttle program.
Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station early Tuesday. The shuttle slipped away after performing a partial lap around the space station. Ten pairs of eyes pressed against the windows, four in the shuttle and six in the station.
"Godspeed," a space station astronaut called out.
All that remains of NASA's final shuttle voyage is the touchdown, targeted for the pre-dawn hours of Thursday back home in Florida.
As a final salute, the space station rotated 90 degrees to provide never-before-seen views of the complex. Atlantis flew halfway around the outpost, cameras whirring aboard both craft to record the historic event.
Emotions ran high throughout the morning, both in orbit and at Mission Control. The naval ship's bell aboard the space station rang three times as Atlantis slowly backed away, nearly 250 miles above the Pacific.
"Atlantis departing the International Space Station for the last time," space station astronaut Ronald Garan Jr. announced. "We'll miss you guys. Godspeed."
Shuttle commander Christopher Ferguson thanked the six station residents for their hospitality, then added:
"We'll never forget the role the space shuttle played in its creation. Like a proud parent, we anticipate great things to follow ... Farewell, ISS. Make us proud."
Flight controllers savored the dual TV images of the shuttle -- the last ever seen from orbit -- and the station. Mission Control called it the second-best view on Earth.
"It must look pretty spectacular," Ferguson said.
And it did: Atlantis sailing serenely against the black void of space, its payload bay wide open, and the space station, its huge solar wings glowing golden in the sunlight.
"We just want to give you a final goodbye," Ferguson told the station crew just before Atlantis disappeared from sight.
Atlantis spent 8 1/2 days at the space station and left behind a year's worth of supplies, insurance in the event commercial providers encounter delays in launching their own cargo ships.
It was the 37th shuttle mission, over more than 12 years, dedicated to building and maintaining the space station -- the largest structure ever to orbit the planet.
All told, shuttles spent 276 days -- or nearly 40 weeks -- docked to the station. It's now a sprawling complex with multiple science labs -- 13 rooms in all and more than 900,000 pounds of mass, most of that delivered by shuttles.
"So large that some astronauts have even momentarily gotten lost in it -- you can take it from me," said Mission Control communicator Daniel Tani, a former station resident. "Of course, the ISS wouldn't be here without the space shuttle so ... we wanted to say thank you and farewell to the magnificent machines that delivered, assembled and staffed our world-class laboratory in space."
"Get her home safely and enjoy the last couple days in space shuttle Atlantis," Tani told the shuttle crew.
Replied Ferguson: "It's been an incredible ride."
With the retirement of the shuttle fleet, the space station now must rely solely on other countries for restocking, at least until the first privately funded rocket blasts off with a load. That could come by year's end.
Astronaut launches from U.S. soil, however, are three to five years away -- at best. Until then, Americans will continue flying to and from the space station via Russian Soyuz capsules at a hefty price.
Before leaving, the Atlantis crew gave their station colleagues a small U.S. flag that flew on the inaugural shuttle voyage in 1981. The flag is the prize for the first rocket maker that brings Americans back to the station, launching from America.
President Barack Obama described it last week as "a capture-the-flag moment here for commercial spaceflight."
Obama wants private companies taking over Earth-to-orbit operations so NASA can concentrate on sending astronauts beyond. The goals: an asteroid by 2025 and Mars by the mid-2030s.
As for NASA's three shuttles, they will become museum displays.
Atlantis will join Discovery and Endeavour in retirement after this 13-day journey, the 135th for the shuttle program.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
