Atlantis to undock from ISS, make final flight to Earth

The shuttle's flight back to Earth will take two days. Atlantis remained docked to the ISS for eight days. At a traditional farewell ceremony on Monday before being separated by closed hatches, Atlantis commander Chris Ferguson thanked the commander of Expedition 28, Andrei Borisenko, for Russian hospitality.

The shuttle lifted off on July 8 on the final flight of the shuttle program. Since Atlantis arrived to the ISS on July 10, its crew was engaged mainly in unloading the Rafallo multipurpose logistics module containing about five tons of foodstuffs, clothing and equipment that will ensure the activity of the ISS in 2012.

It takes back to Earth over three tons of garbage and malfunctioning equipment. After the shuttle undocks, the crew of Andrei Borisenko (Roskosmos), flight engineers Alexander Samokutyayev (Roskosmos), Sergei Volkov (Roskosmos), Ronald Garan (NASA), Michael Fossum (NASA) and Satoshi Furukawa (JAKSA) will continue work on board the ISS.

The shuttle carrying the crew of Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley, and mission specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim is expected to land at Cape Canaveral, NASA shuttle landing facility, at 05:57 local time on July 21 (13:57 Moscow time).

The current flight is the 33rd for Atlantis and the last in its history, ending the 30-year-long Space Shuttle Program. Discovery ended its last flight last March, while Endeavour - last May.

Upon retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis will be displayed at Kennedy Space Centre, Florida.