Shuttle Prepares to Return to Earth

Jun 20, 04:29 AM

Current Headlines: HOUSTON -- Hours after undocking from the international space station Tuesday, Atlantis' seven astronauts finished a final inspection of the space shuttle to make sure its heat shield was ready to re-enter Earth's atmosphere.

Atlantis' 13-day mission was scheduled to end with a landing at 1:54 p.m. Thursday, although the weather at Kennedy Space Center looked iffy.

Continuing a tradition, space station commander Fyodor Yurchikhin rang a bell and said "Atlantis departing" as the space shuttle pulled away.

"Have a great remainder of your expedition," Atlantis Commander Rick Sturckow told the two Russian cosmonauts and lone U.S. astronaut remaining at the station. "We'll see you back on planet Earth."

Pilot Lee Archambault steered Atlantis away from the space station and went on a quick trip around the station to photograph the solar arrays the crew installed on the half-built home 220 miles above Earth.

More than an hour after undocking, a piece of debris that looked like a blanket and five tiny flashing particles floated by the space station.

While NASA engineers don't know what the piece of debris might be, the flashing particles could be pieces of ice that are a byproduct of the shuttle's jets, said Cathy Koerner, flight director.

Mike Suffredini, NASA's space station program manager, said initial analysis of the piece of debris doesn't indicate it came from the space station and points to it being a small object.

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