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Atlantis departs the space station BY WILLIAM HARWOOD STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION Posted: September 17, 2006 The shuttle Atlantis undocked from the international space station today, closing out a successful visit to attach a new set of solar arrays and clearing the way for launch of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft early Monday carrying the lab's next commander, a fresh flight engineer and a space tourist. Atlantis' docking system was disengaged on time at 8:50 a.m. and powerful springs pushed the shuttle, tail toward Earth and cargo bay facing the station, straight away as the two spacecraft sailed 220 miles above the Pacific Ocean southeast of Australia. Shuttle pilot Chris Ferguson piloted Atlantis through a slow, looping fly around of the international space station after undocking, beaming back spectacular video of the orbital lab complex with its new solar arrays gleaming against the blue-and-white backdrop of planet Earth. It was the first 360-degree shuttle-station fly around of the post-Columbia era and the first since 2002 to show the station with a significant new addition: the P3/P4 solar array truss carried aloft and installed by Atlantis' crew. Streaking through space at 5 miles per second 220 miles above the heartland of America, the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway, the new array gave the outpost a distinctly asymmetrical look, positioned at right angles to its other major set of solar panels, the P6 array. P6 provided power for the early stages of station assembly in a temporary position atop a truss on the Unity module. Next year, if all goes well, it will be moved to its permanent position adjacent to the P4 arrays on the left end of the station's main power truss. "Hey Jeff, we completed the fly-around," shuttle commander Brent Jett called as the shuttle began moving away. "I just wanted to let you know we got a lot of great pictures, it was really a spectacular sight to see your vehicle from above, looking down on the Earth. So hopefully, we'll get to send some of those to you over the next couple of days and we'll see you back on Earth in a little while." "Yeah, we'll look forward to seeing those," station flight engineer Jeff Williams replied from the lab complex. "I think we got some pretty good pictures and video of you guys in the fly around as well, especially underneath with the Earth in the background. So those pictures will be on the ground when you get there, waiting for you. It was a great mission, thanks for all the good work, enjoyed the time together and look forward to seeing you back in Houston." "Yeah, we really appreciate it," Jett replied, "it was fun working with you guys. Be safe the rest of your mission." "You bet. So long now."
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STS-115 patch The official crew patch for the STS-115 mission of space shuttle Atlantis to resume orbital construction of the International Space Station. Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide  Expedition 18 patch & pin  The official embroidered patch and lapel pin for the International Space Station Expedition 18 crew is now available to from our stores.U.S. STORE: PATCH | PINWORLD STORE: PATCH | PINAres patch  The Ares Project will develop two new rockets to launch astronauts back to the Moon under NASA's Vision for Exploration. The Ares 1 will employ a single space shuttle solid rocket booster to loft the Orion crew capsule. The gigantic Ares 5 will haul the equipment and cargo needed for such lunar voyages. This is the Ares emblem.U.S. STORE Apollo patches  The Apollo Patch Collection: Includes all 12 Apollo mission patches plus the Apollo Program Patch. Save over 20% off the Individual price. U.S. STORE Columbus mission patch  The official astronaut embroidered patch of Atlantis' STS-122 mission that launched the Columbus science lab in February is available to U.S. customers from our store.U.S. STOREViking patch  This embroidered mission patch celebrates NASA's Viking Project which reached the Red Planet in 1976.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Shuttle pin  This lapel pin features the official crew emblem for the STS-121 space shuttle mission. The emblem depicts Discovery docked to the International Space Station.Choose your store:U.S. Apollo 7 DVD  For 11 days the crew of Apollo 7 fought colds while they put the Apollo spacecraft through a workout, establishing confidence in the machine what would lead directly to the bold decision to send Apollo 8 to the moon just 2 months later.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide From the NASA Archives  This three-disc DVD contains rare footage from the pioneering Gemini space missions of the 1960s and an original hour-long documentary.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide |
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