Shuttle Crew Prepares for Departure

Jun 19, 05:00 AM

Current Headlines: By Traci Watson

The troubled Russian computers on the International Space Station passed a last acid test Monday, allowing space shuttle Atlantis to leave the station today.

Atlantis' crew ducked into the shuttle and closed the hatch Monday just after 7 p.m. ET in anticipation of the undocking at 10:42 a.m. ET today.

"It's been a great mission, but all good things come to an end," shuttle commander Frederick Sturckow said in his goodbyes to the three-man station crew.

Station commander and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin called the shuttle's stay "a short time, but very precious time. ... Goodbye shuttle! Have a good safe landing." The shuttle arrived June 10.

Among those leaving on Atlantis was astronaut Sunita Williams, who has lived on the station for the past six months. On Saturday, she set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, 188 days. "I'm sad to say goodbye," Williams told Mission Control on Monday, pausing to fight back tears. "But that means progress is being made."

Williams played a recording of the James Blunt song Goodbye My Lover for Mission Control. Next came a song for her replacement, astronaut Clayton Anderson: Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees.

"I know this is going to be a tough day" for Williams, Anderson said. "I hope I can carry on and do half as well as she did."

Williams' stay was almost extended because of the problems with the Russian's German-made computers, which suffered an unprecedented failure last week. Without the computers, the station could not rely on the Russian jets that usually help keep it in the proper position.

Atlantis was docked to the station at the time, so its jets were able to help. NASA managers were ready to keep Atlantis at the station as long as possible if the computers didn't work well, but early data showed that the computers passed a two-hour test Monday.

First, station engineers on Earth sent commands to put the Russian computers and Russian rocket jets in control of the station's orientation. Next, U.S. computers took control of the Russian jets.

Finally, positioning of the station was handed over to U.S. devices called gyroscopes, working in conjunction with U.S. computers. The station must be precisely angled to ensure its exterior doesn't overheat or get too cold. Philip Engelauf, chief of the flight director's office, said the computers and positioning systems performed normally throughout the test.

"We think we're back where we're supposed to be," he said, though he conceded that there is no "smoking gun" yet for the cause of the problem. Engineers theorize that a change in the station's electrical environment, triggered by the expansion of the station last week, may be to blame.

The shuttle is scheduled to touch down at 1:54 p.m. ET Thursday, weather permitting. Thunderstorms were forecast for the shuttle's landing strip in Cape Canaveral, which could delay the landing or force the spacecraft to land at a backup site in California. (c) Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.