Shuttle Endeavour undocks from ISS for final time

The undocking took place at 03:55 GMT. Endeavour will then spend two days in orbit before its scheduled landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, June 1, after a 16-day mission. After the shuttle's return to Earth, it is due to be retired and moved to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

Endeavour delivered the station's premier science experiment, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer particle detector, and a pallet of spare parts intended to tide over the orbital outpost after the shuttle program ends. The crew conducted four spacewalks during the last mission.

One more shuttle flight is planned: Atlantis is to fly to the station on July 28, after which Russian Soyuz craft will be the only way for astronauts to fly to the ISS. Over the next four year, NASA will pay its Russian counterpart, Roscosmos, more than $1 billion for crew transfer services. Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru