Mission Accomplished, Shuttle Crew Heads Home

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. —  Space shuttle Atlantis and its five astronauts undocked from the international space station on Friday, leaving behind NASA’s first permanent, orbiting laboratory since the 1970s.

Space station Alpha’s commander, Bill Shepherd, expressed his gratitude as Atlantis flew away.

“Alpha would like to salute the crew of Atlantis as you depart for Earth,” Shepherd radioed. “We want to say thanks . . . for bringing aboard a great new capability, the research lab Destiny. We will use it well.”

Atlantis delivered Destiny, a $1.4-billion laboratory that is far more sophisticated than the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s last long-term science workshop in space, Skylab.

The shuttle pulled away 236 miles above the South Pacific near New Guinea, almost exactly where the two spacecraft had linked up one week earlier. The station glowed in the darkness, its giant solar panels shimmering ever more brightly as the spacecraft sped side by side into the dawn.

Shuttle pilot Mark Polansky called Alpha “the most beautiful sight you can imagine.”

“Even at 450 feet, it’s still very large, and you’re able to see it in the backdrop of the Earth. It was just quite breathtaking, really,” Polansky said.

Atlantis’ departure was as smooth as the rest of the mission.

“I’m fearful that it almost looks too easy when we do this,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, deputy program manager.

Atlantis commander Kenneth Cockrell and his crew are due back on Earth on Sunday after 11 days in space. Just 2 1/2 weeks later, Discovery is scheduled to fly to the space station to deliver a fresh crew and bring back Shepherd and his two Russian roommates.

Shuttles will continue heading to Atlantis every month or two for the next five years, as orbital construction goes on. But never again will there be such “a huge step up in terms of new capabilities” as there was on this mission, flight director Andy Algate said.

Destiny serves as the space station’s new nerve center.