Atlantis to undock from ISS, make final flight to Earth

NEW YORK, July 19 (Itar-Tass) - U.S. space shuttle Atlantis undocks on
Tuesday from the International Space Station to fly back to Earth. The
undocking is scheduled for 10:28 am, Moscow time.
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.