Spaceflight Now




International Space Station bids goodbye to the shuttle
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 19, 2011;
Updated with news conference quotes


Bookmark and Share

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL--After 37 space station assembly flights over the past 12-and-a-half years, the crew of the shuttle Atlantis undocked from the lab complex for the final time Tuesday in a long-awaited milestone that marks the beginning of the end for NASA's last shuttle mission.


Credit: NASA
 
With pilot Douglas "Chunky" Hurley at the control, Atlantis pulled away from the station's forward docking port at 2:28 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) as the two spacecraft sailed through orbital darkness 243 miles above the Pacific Ocean east of Christchurch, New Zealand.

"Physical separation, Houston," commander Christopher Ferguson radioed as the shuttle pulled away.

A few moments later, space station flight engineer Ronald Garan rang the ship's bell in the Harmony module, saying "Atlantis, departing the International Space Station for the last time."

"Thank you for your 12 docked missions to the ISS and for capping off 37 space shuttle missions to construct this incredible orbiting research facility," he said. "We'll miss you guys. Godspeed, soft landing and we'll see you back on Earth in the fall."

"Thank you, Ron, and to the station commander Andrey Borisenko, we appreciate your hospitality," Ferguson radioed. "What a generation can accomplish is a great thing. It's got a right to stand back and for just a moment, admire and take pride in its work. From our unique vantage point right here perched above the Earth, we can see the International Space Station as a wonderful accomplishment.

"It was born at the end of the Cold War, it's enabled many nations to speak (as) one in space. As the ISS enters an era of utilization, we'll never forget the role the space shuttle played in its creation. Like a proud parent, we anticipate great things to follow from the men and women who build, operate and live there. From this unique vantage point, we can see a great thing has been accomplished. FarewelI, ISS. Make us proud."

After moving to a point about 600 feet directly in front of the orbital laboratory, Hurley paused for about a half hour while the station carried out a 90-degree yaw maneuver, lining up with the long axis of its solar power truss aimed at the shuttle.

"And station, Atlantis, you'll be happy to know you look just as good from the side as you do from the front," Ferguson radioed.

"Thanks, Fergie," Garan replied. "Not sure how to answer that one, but thanks."

"Hey, and that's our good side," quipped station flight engineer Michael Fossum.

The station normally is oriented with the truss oriented at right angles to the lab's direction of travel and departing shuttle's typically loop around the axis formed by the station's pressurized modules before departing. But for this final departure, flight controllers gave the shuttle a different view to provide better photo documentation of the station's extremities.

After the yaw maneuver was complete, Hurley guided Atlantis up and over the space station then down to a point directly behind the lab complex.

"We'll be coming out underneath you and you should have a good view from the cupola," Ferguson radioed. "I'm not sure when we're going to break down the big loop (communications circuit), but if it's anytime soon we just wanted to give you a final goodbye."

"Hey thanks, Fergie, we'll be watching you from the SM (service module) windows," Garan replied. "You guys looked really good on the fly-around from what we can see. Again, thank you so much for all you guys have done for us up here. We really, really appreciate it."

The half-lap fly over began around 3:30 a.m. and ended about 25 minutes later with the first of two rocket firings to leave the area.

"He flew it absolutely perfectly," said shuttle Flight Director Kwatsi Alibaruho after his last shift in mission control. "Everything was by the numbers. After that half-lap fly around when the shuttle was on the back side of the space station, the crew initiated two separation burns, which basically took the shuttle on a trajectory away from and underneath the ISS.

"So a fantastic day today, certainly couldn't be happier with the performance of the crew, performance of the spacecraft, with the performance of the flight control teams, just very pleased with the mission overall. We're looking forward to a good entry and landing on Thursday."

With Atlantis' on-time departure, space shuttles have spent 276 days 11 hours and 23 minutes docked to the station since construction began in 1998, or more than nine months all together. Space station veteran Dan Tani called Atlantis from the lab's mission control center to say farewell.

"Hey Fergie, from the ULF-7 Orbit 1 team in the ISS mission control room here in Houston, we just wanted to let you know it's been a pleasure and an honor to support this, the 37th mission of the space shuttle to the ISS," he said. "We're proud to be the last in a countless line of mission control teams that have had the honor to watch over the ISS while Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis have visited over the last 13 years.

"From this room, we've watched and supported as the shuttle has enabled the station to grow from a humble single module that was grappled by the shuttle's arm, to a stunning facility that is so large some astronauts have even momentarily gotten lost in it. You can take it from me. Of course, the ISS wouldn't be here without the space shuttle, so while we have the communication link up for the last time, we wanted to say thank you and farewell to the magnificent machines that delivered, assembled and staffed our world class laboratory in space.

"So Fergie, Chunky, Sandy and Rex, get her home safely, and enjoy the last couple of days in space shuttle Atlantis."

"Hey Dan ... we do appreciate those great words," Ferguson said. "It's been an incredible ride, and I think on behalf of the four of us, we're really appreciative that we had the opportunity to work with you and we're extremely fortunate to have taken part in this pivotal mission."

With the station undocking behind them, Ferguson, Hurley, Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim carried out a final heat shield inspection, looking for any signs of damage that might have occurred since a similar inspection the day after launch. They will test the shuttle re-entry systems Wednesday, pack up and set their sights on re-entry Thursday and landing back at the Kennedy Space Center around 5:56 a.m. Good weather is expected.

The Atlantis astronauts left a flag behind on the space station that was first carried into orbit aboard the shuttle Columbia during the first shuttle mission in 1981. The flag will remain in place until U.S. astronauts, launched on new commercial spacecraft, retrieve it later this decade, a gap of uncertain duration.

Before Atlantis undocked, Tani tried to put that in perspective during a morning chat with space station flight engineer Ronald Garan.

"Today is the 36th anniversary of the undocking of the Apollo from the Soyuz at the end of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program mission," Tani said from mission control in Houston. "The Apollo landing, which was two days later just like shuttle's, marked the beginning of the gap during which time the U.S. did not have any manned launches. That gap was closed five years and nine months later with the launch of (Columbia on) STS-1. So that's our mark to beat -- five years and nine months. We'll start the clock."

"All right, we just (started) our clock," Garan replied. "Thanks."

The inspection of the shuttle's reinforced carbon carbon nose cap and wing leading edge panels is a standard feature of post-Columbia shuttle missions. As always, the shuttle's Canadian-built robot arm used an instrumented boom to scan the nose cap and wing leading edge panels, which experience the most extreme heating during re-entry.

In yet another bittersweet milestone for NASA, the inspection marked the final use of the 50-foot-long robot arm, a technological marvel that gave the shuttle its unique ability to precisely position spacewalking astronauts, to deploy and retrieve satellites like the Hubble Space Telescope and to assemble the International Space Station.

Over the past three decades, experiencing virtually no technical problems, the robot arm deployed or retrieved seven satellites, assisted in 115 spacewalks, delivered 30 space station components and grappled 72 payloads. Shortly after today's heat shield inspection, the arm was powered down for the last time, bringing Canada's hugely successful contribution to the shuttle program to a close.

Alibaruho's team in mission control ended their final shift around 6:30 a.m. Entry Flight Director Tony Ceccacci and his team will take over Wednesday to prepare for landing.

"Thanks for hanging with us for this week and a half or so, it's really been fantastic working with you," Ferguson radioed. "We promise we'll finish up in style here and see you back at JSC in a couple of days."

"Hey thanks, Fergie, as you mentioned it's the very last MCC shift for virtually all of us here, and we've got lots of words we'd love to say and we'll save then until you're safely back home," replied astronaut Steve Robinson in mission control. "We'll just say we're proud of you, we're proud of NASA, we're proud of our nation. Safe travels, and see you back home."

"That was great, Stevie Ray, thanks so much," Ferguson said. "You know, when you walk out the door of MCC there, turn around and make a memory."

"Safe flight home, Atlantis," Robinson said.

The astronauts went to bed at 1:59 p.m. Wakeup is expected at 9:59 p.m.


Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: MODULE RETURNED TO SHUTTLE BAY PLAY
VIDEO: RAFFAELLO DETACHED FROM STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ROBOT ARM GRAPPLES CARGO MODULE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 10 HIGHLIGHTS REEL PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 9 HIGHLIGHTS REEL PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS REEL PLAY
VIDEO: PRESIDENT OBAMA CALLS THE ASTRONAUTS IN SPACE PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION CREW NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: PHILLY TV AND RADIO AND REUTERS INTERVIEWS PLAY
VIDEO: CBS NEWS RADIO, PHILLY TV AND THE AP INTERVIEWS PLAY
VIDEO: FRIDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS REEL PLAY
VIDEO: CHICAGO, OAKLAND AND PHILLY TV INTERVIEWS PLAY
VIDEO: FOX NEWS RADIO AND ST. LOUIS TV INTERVIEWS PLAY
VIDEO: THURSDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS REEL PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: WEDNESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS REEL PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: FINAL SHUTTLE-ERA SPACEWALK CONCLUDES PLAY
VIDEO: PROTECTIVE COVER PUT ON VACANT DOCKING PORT PLAY
VIDEO: FIXING SNAGGED WIRE ON ZARYA GRAPPLE FIXTURE PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKER GOES SIGHT-SEEING HIGH ABOVE EARTH PLAY
VIDEO: SATELLITE SERVICING DEMONSTRATOR GIVEN TO DEXTRE PLAY
VIDEO: ROBOTIC REFUELING MISSION MOVED TO THE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALKERS SWAP POSITIONS ABOARD ROBOT ARM PLAY
VIDEO: PUMP STOWED IN ATLANTIS BAY FOR RETURN TO EARTH PLAY
VIDEO: STUNNING VIEWS OF ASTRONAUT RIDING ROBOT ARM PLAY
VIDEO: FAILED PUMP FREED FROM STORAGE BOX PLAY
VIDEO: SPACEWALK NO. 1 GETS UNDERWAY PLAY
VIDEO: STEP-BY-STEP PREVIEW OF SPACEWALK PLAY
VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS REEL PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: RAFFAELLO MODULE CONNECTED TO STATION PLAY
VIDEO: CARGO-DELIVERY MODULE UNBERTHED FROM ATLANTIS PLAY
VIDEO: ROBOT ARM GRAPPLES MODULE IN SHUTTLE BAY PLAY
VIDEO: MONDAY MORNING FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS REEL PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: ATLANTIS CREW WELCOMED ABOARD STATION PLAY
VIDEO: DOCKING OF SHUTTLE TO STATION AS SEEN LIVE PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE ARCS OUT IN FRONT OF SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO: ATLANTIS PERFORMS THE 360-DEGREE BACKFLIP PLAY

VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS REEL PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO: SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY


VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS REEL PLAY
VIDEO: THE FULL STS-135 LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE ATLANTIS BLASTS OFF! PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: GO INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: THE POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE 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: PAD FRONT CAMERA PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD CAMERA 070 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD CAMERA 071 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: LAUNCH REPLAY: WEST TOWER PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: COUNTDOWN PREVIEW AND WEATHER FORECAST BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE AT LAUNCH SITE PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS FERGUSON PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH DOUG HURLEY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH SANDY MAGNUS PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH REX WALHEIM PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAM BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: THE STS-135 MISSION OVERVIEW PRESENTATIONS PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW BRIEFING ON MISSION'S SPACEWALK PLAY
VIDEO: THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: CREW CHATS WITH PRESS AT LAUNCH PAD PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR PRACTICE COUNT PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: HEAR FROM ATLANTIS' CREW DURING ROLLOUT PLAY
VIDEO: ATLANTIS ARRIVES ATOP LAUNCH PAD PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CROWDS WITNESS FINAL SHUTTLE ROLLOUT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ROLLOUT FROM VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: HOISTING ATLANTIS TO TANK AND SRBS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ORBITER GOES VERTICAL PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: SLING CAPTURES ATLANTIS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ATLANTIS LEAVES PROCESSING HANGAR PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ORBITER TRANSPORTER PICKS UP ATLANTIS PLAY | HI-DEF

SUBSCRIBE NOW



MISSION STATUS CENTER