Space Shuttle Endeavour Undocks from Station

(NASA) – The crews of Endeavour and the International Space Station parted company today at 1:26 p.m EDT, with all of the docked mission’s objectives complete.

The Expedition 20 crew on the station lost one crew member and gained another. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Astronaut Koichi Wakata will be returning home on Endeavour after four months as a member of the Expedition 18, 19 and 20 crews. The station’s newest NASA flight engineer, Tim Kopra, arrived aboard Endeavour.

The Progress 34 cargo ship launched Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Carrying 2 ½ tons of food, fuel and supplies for the station crew, the Progress is scheduled to dock to the aft port of the Zvezda service module on Wednesday at 6:16 a.m., one day after Endeavour undocks from the outpost.

The shadow of space shuttle Endeavour can be seen on the International Space Station's solar arrays shortly after undocking. Photo credit: NASA TV