The Endeavour astronauts prepared the shuttle for undocking from the International Space Station Tuesday after five spacewalks to attach a new experiment platform, replace aging solar array batteries and to attach spare parts to the lab's main truss.

Credit: NASA TV

The space station's six-man crew will bid shuttle commander Mark Polansky, pilot Douglas Hurley, Canadian flight engineer Julie Payette, David Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Thomas Marshburn and returning space station flight engineer Koichi Wakata farewell during a brief departure ceremony at 10:23 a.m. EDT.

Hatches between the two spacecraft will be closed a few minutes later and if all goes well, Endeavour will undock from the space station's forward port at 1:26 p.m.

Astronaut Timothy Kopra, who launched aboard Endeavour, will remain behind when the shuttle departs, replacing Japanese astronaut Wakata and joining Expedition 20 commander Gennady Padalka, flight engineer Michael Barratt, cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne and Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk.

Kopra, in turn, will be replaced by NASA astronaut Nicole Stott when the shuttle Discovery arrives in late August carrying supplies and science equipment.

"I'll be the one at the controls of Endeavour (during undocking), so really looking forward to that," Hurley said in a NASA interview. "We'll back out to 450, 500, 600 feet as we work our profile and then we'll start 360-degree fly-around of ISS.

"Generally speaking, it's a chance to survey ISS and it's a chance to get photography of the current configuration. And then once we complete that 360, fuel allowing, of course, we'll start our series of separation burns to get away from ISS and begin our trip home."

Before launch, the astronauts planned to seal hatches between Endeavour and the station the day before undocking. But because the shuttle launch was delayed a full month, hatch closure and undocking were moved to the same day to get Endeavour out of the way before the arrival of a Russian Progress supply ship Wednesday.

As it now stands, the shuttle astronauts will carry out a post-undocking heat shield inspection Wednesday morning and spend the day Thursday packing up before landing Friday back at the Kennedy Space Center.

To ready a shuttle for undocking, "you have to do a series of leak checks, make sure everything is working right and then once you're depressurized the vestibule, then you can start the process of undoing the latches and undocking," Polansky said in a pre-launch NASA interview. "Traditionally, the pilot gets to fly, so Doug will be at the controls. I'm sure he's very excited about that.

"For me it's tremendously exciting because I will have seen three iterations of what a space station looks like and to see how much it changed from my first to my second mission and now from this one where all of the arrays will be out there when we show up and when we leave and all of these modules out there and we'll have left a piece behind that will be visible. Hopefully we'll get some really good high definition images with our camcorder."

Here is an updated timeline of today's activity (in EDT and mission elapsed time; includes revision O of the NASA television schedule):

EDT........DD...HH...MM...EVENT

07/28
03:03 AM...12...09...00...STS/ISS crew wakeup
04:48 AM...12...10...45...ISS daily planning conference
04:48 AM...12...10...45...Leak checks
06:03 AM...12...12...00...EVA prep for transfer to shuttle
07:03 AM...12...13...00...Rendezvous tools checkout
07:33 AM...12...13...30...EVA transfer to shuttle
08:03 AM...12...14...00...PGSC transfer
09:23 AM...12...15...20...Crew meal
10:23 AM...12...16...20...Farewell ceremony
10:38 AM...12...16...35...Hatch closure
11:08 AM...12...16...57...Augustine committee hearing (media channel)
11:08 AM...12...17...05...Centerline camera install
11:53 AM...12...17...50...Group B computer powerup
12:08 PM...12...18...05...Maneuver to undocking attitude
12:14 PM...12...18...11...Sunrise
12:38 PM...12...18...35...ISS in undockling orientation
12:42 PM...12...18...39...Noon
01:08 PM...12...19...05...ISS: PMA-2 prepped for undocking
01:11 PM...12...19...08...Sunset

01:26 PM...12...19...23...UNDOCKING

01:27 PM...12...19...24...Initial separation
01:27 PM...12...19...24...ISS holds attitude
01:28 PM...12...19...25...ISS: PMA-2 depress
01:31 PM...12...19...28...Range: 50 feet; reselect -X jets
01:33 PM...12...19...30...Range 75 feet; low Z
01:45 PM...12...19...42...Sunrise
01:55 PM...12...19...52...Range: 400 feet; start fly around
02:04 PM...12...20...01...Range: 600 feet
02:06 PM...12...20...03...Shuttle directly above ISS
02:13 PM...12...20...10...Noon
02:18 PM...12...20...15...Shuttle directly behind ISS
02:29 PM...12...20...26...Shuttle directly below ISS
02:41 PM...12...20...38...Separation burn No. 1
02:41 PM...12...20...38...Sunset
03:09 PM...12...21...06...Separation burn No. 2
03:09 PM...12...21...06...Post-undocking PGSC reconfig
03:23 PM...12...21...20...Group B computer powerdown
04:03 PM...12...22...00...Video playback of undocking
04:13 PM...12...22...10...Evening planning conference
04:53 PM...12...22...50...Undocking video playback
06:00 PM...12...23...57...Mission status briefing
06:33 PM...13...00...30...ISS crew sleep begins
07:03 PM...13...01...00...STS crew sleep begins
08:00 PM...13...01...57...Daily highlights

Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: NARRATED ANIMATION OF UNDOCKING AND FLYAROUND PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 13 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: FIFTH AND FINAL SPACEWALK COMPLETED PLAY
VIDEO: SECOND CAMERA PUT ON JAPAN'S EXPOSED FACILITY PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST TELEVISION CAMERA INSTALLED BY SPACEWALKERS PLAY
VIDEO: CASSIDY RE-WIRES STATION ELECTRICAL CABLES PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 12 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: INTERNATIONAL NEWS CONFERENCE WITH ASTRONAUTS PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 12 ACTIVITIES PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 11 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: INTERNATIONAL MESSAGE FROM SHUTTLE AND ISS CREWS PLAY
VIDEO: INDY, CBS NEWS AND MEMPHIS MEDIA INTERVIEWS PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 10 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: DELIVERY PALLET RETURNS TO SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: LAST OF THE OLD BATTERIES STOWED AWAY PLAY
VIDEO: SIXTH AND FINAL NEW BATTERY IS PLUGGED IN PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS RESUME WORK WITH BATTERY CHARLIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 9 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: MORE INTERVIEWS WITH LAS VEGAS, HOUSTON AND FOX PLAY
VIDEO: NORTH CAROLINA, MAINE AND ORLANDO TV INTERVIEWS PLAY
VIDEO: COMMUNICATIONS PACKAGE PUT ON SCIENCE DECK PLAY
VIDEO: X-RAY ASTRONOMY PAYLOAD INSTALLED ON STATION PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 9 ACTIVITIES PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: EARLY END TO SPACEWALK NO. 3 DECLARED PLAY
VIDEO: SECOND FRESH BATTERY PUT INTO STATION TRUSS PLAY
VIDEO: FIRST OF THE NEW BATTERIES INSTALLED PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS REMOVE FIRST OLD BATTERY PLAY
VIDEO: CHRIS CASSIDY PREPS JAPANESE EXPERIMENTS PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 3 PLAY

VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING UPWARD PLAY
VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING INBOARD PLAY
VIDEO: LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY
VIDEO: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING UPWARD PLAY
VIDEO: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING INBOARD PLAY
VIDEO: RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: CREW ANSWERS PUBLIC'S QUESTIONS FROM SPACE PLAY
VIDEO: EXPOSED FACILITY RECEIVES EXPERIMENT CARRIER PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE EXPERIMENTS UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 7 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: REPLACEMENT COOLING PUMP PUT ON STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SPARE COMMUNICATIONS ANTENNA TRANSFERRED PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKER HOPS ABOARD STATION ARM PLAY
VIDEO: WOLF AND MARSHBURN BEGIN EVA NO. 2 PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 6 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 6 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: CANADIANS IN SPACE PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PALLET HANDED OFF TO SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: CARGO CARRIER UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE BAY PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 5 ACTIVITIES PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: UPDATE ON ENDEAVOUR'S HEAT SHIELD CHECKS PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE OUTDOOR SCIENCE PLATFORM ATTACHED PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION ARMS HANDOFF SCIENCE DECK PLAY
VIDEO: JAPAN'S EXPOSED FACILITY UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: THERMAL COVER JETTISONED FROM THE KIBO MODULE PLAY
VIDEO: HELMET-CAMERA VIEWS AS KOPRA CLIMBS TO SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO: TIM KOPRA EMERGES FROM AIRLOCK FOR EVA NO. 1 PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO: OVERVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 4 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 1 PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED TOUR OF ENDEAVOUR'S PAYLOAD BAY PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE CREW WELCOMED ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR DOCKS TO THE SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS' ONBOARD CAMCORDER FOOTAGE PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE FLIES OUT IN FRONT OF STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR PERFORMS 360-DEGREE BACKFLIP PLAY
VIDEO: BEAUTIFUL VIEWS OF ENDEAVOUR APPROACHING PLAY
VIDEO: STATION CAMERA CATCHES ENDEAVOUR'S "TI BURN" PLAY
VIDEO: NARRATED PREVIEW OF RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW ANIMATION OF HEAT SHIELD INSPECTIONS PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THE FULL STS-127 LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: VAB ROOF PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PRESS SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: BEACH TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PLAYALINDA BEACH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: BANANA CREEK VIP SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD FRONT CAMERA PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: WEST TOWER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 070 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA 071 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-1 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-2 PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: CAMERA CS-6 PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR BLASTS OFF! PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: STS-127 POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: FOOTAGE OF FUEL TANK AFTER JETTISON PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS REACH PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS FOR LAUNCH PAD PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS DON SPACESUITS FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: WEATHER SCRUBS LAUNCH AGAIN PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES AT PAD 39A ON MONDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS ON MONDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS SUIT UP ON MONDAY PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: THUNDERSTORMS SCRUB SUNDAY'S ATTEMPT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW DEPARTS QUARTERS ON SUNDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS SUIT UP ON SUNDAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: NARRATED SUMMARY SHUTTLE'S PREPARATIONS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: NARRATED SUMMARY PAYLOADS' PREPARATIONS PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: LIGHTNING STRIKES POSTPONE ENDEAVOUR LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S STATUS REPORT ON THE COUNTDOWN PLAY
VIDEO: COUNTDOWN PREVIEW AND WEATHER BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS RETURN TO CAPE FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: NO LEAKS FOUND DURING SPECIAL TEST PLAY
VIDEO: EXPLANATION OF THE HYDROGEN LEAK AND THE REPAIR PLAY

VIDEO: POST-SCRUB NEWS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: FIRING ROOM UPDATE WITH LAUNCH DIRECTOR PLAY
VIDEO: SCRUB NO. 2 DECLARED DUE TO HYDROGEN LEAK PLAY

VIDEO: SUNDAY'S UPDATE FROM MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM PLAY
VIDEO: LEAK POSTPONES SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR LAUNCH PLAY

VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF SUN SETTING OVER PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO: ANOTHER TIME-LAPSE OF GANTRY RETRACTION PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF LAUNCH PAD TOWER ROLLBACK PLAY

VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH MARK POLANSKY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH DOUG HURLEY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS CASSIDY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH JULIE PAYETTE PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH TOM MARSHBURN PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH DAVE WOLF PLAY

VIDEO: THE STS-127 MISSION PREVIEW MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: JAPANESE SCIENCE FACILITIES ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: COUNTDOWN BEGINS TICKING FOR SATURDAY'S LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: LAUNCH COUNTDOWN PREVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: GET TO KNOW ENDEAVOUR'S ASTRONAUTS PLAY

VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS PRACTICE EVACUATION OF SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW BOARDS SHUTTLE FOR PRACTICE COUNT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS SUIT UP FOR DRESS REHEARSAL PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW INSPECTS CARGO IN THE PAYLOAD BAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TRAINING SESSIONS AT LAUNCH PAD AND BUNKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: INFORMAL CREW NEWS CONFERENCE AT LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW SETS LAUNCH DATE PLAY

VIDEO: PAD 39A GANTRY ENCLOSES SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ROLLAROUND MOVES ENDEAVOUR TO PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR IS HAULED OFF LAUNCH PAD 39B PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF SHUTTLE'S LAUNCH PAD SWITCH PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: THE STS-127 MISSION OVERVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW BRIEFING ON MISSION'S SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: PAD 39B AND ITS LAST SPACE SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR'S SUNRISE ARRIVAL AT PAD 39B PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: MIDNIGHT ROLLOUT FROM ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR HOISTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CRANE ROTATES ENDEAVOUR VERTICALLY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR MOVES TO ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ORION AND ARES ROCKET PROGRESS REPORT PLAY
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