Space Shuttle Endeavor Undocks, Heads Home

Kennedy Space Center, FL (AHN) – Space shuttle Endeavor disconnected from the International Space Station at 1:24 p.m. EDT and began its journey back to Earth Tuesday afternoon, according to NASA.

In a statement posted on its Website NASA officials said all of the docked mission’s were successfully completed.

This mission depended heavily on robotics.

Endeavor left behind Tim Kopra, who will serve as the newest NASA flight engineer, taking his seat on the flight back to Earth was Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Astronaut Koichi Wakata. He had spent four months as a member of the Expedition 18, 19 and 20 crews, NASA says.

Although there were some concerns that the shuttle had suffered some damage during liftoff, the crew managed to maneuver the shuttle around the space station when they arrived so photographs of every part of the craft could be taken. NASA officials say they do not believe the craft has any significant damage.

The shuttle and its seven-person crew were space linked up to ISS for 11 days. Endeavor is scheduled to land on Friday.

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