Posted: Sat, Dec 15, 2001, 10:35 AM ET (1535 GMT)
The crews of the space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station completed preparations Friday for the shuttle's departure on Saturday. Astronauts finished packing the Raffaello cargo module with equipment and garbage to be returned to Earth and detached the module from the station, stowing it in the cargo bay of Endeavour. The shuttle will undock from the station at 11:37 am EST (1637 GMT) Saturday. The undocking was pushed back about a half-hour on Friday to allow time for the shuttle to fire its maneuvering thrusters to guide the shuttle and station away from a piece of orbital debris expected to pass close to the station. Endeavour is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday afternoon, although current weather forecasts call for unfavorable conditions at the landing site for Monday.
