spacetoday.net: Atlantis undocks from ISS

Atlantis undocks from ISS

Posted: Tue, Jun 19, 2007, 8:39 PM ET (0039 GMT)
STS-117: shuttle after undocking

The space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station Tuesday morning as its mission winds down. Atlantis undocked from the ISS at 10:42 am EDT (1442 GMT), nearly nine days after arriving at the orbiting outpost. The shuttle performed a loop around the station before pulling away. Shortly after undocking shuttle cameras showed a piece of debris floating away from the station; officials said they weren't sure if the object was from the shuttle or station but believed it was simply a chunk of ice. Atlantis will complete the STS-117 mission with a landing currently scheduled for Thursday at 1:54 pm EDT (1754 GMT) at the Kennedy Space Center, weather permitting.