Space shuttle Atlantis has covered all the obstacles that were a part of its mission and is now ready to leave the station. The crew faced some problems when the Russian computers aboard the space station crashed, but once some of the systems were up and running and also passed the acid test laid down by Mission control, Atlantis was all set to return Earth.
Atlantis crew ducked into the shuttle and closed the hatch in the anticipation of the undocking at 10:42 a.m. ET Tuesday.
Among the returning crew members is Sunita Williams. She has been in orbit since the last six months. She has just set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman by staying in space for more than 188 days. She stated that it is hard for her to say goodbye to the station, she also said that it also means that progress is being made.
Sunita Williams and Mission control exchanged some songs to mark the day. Williams’ stay was almost extended because of the failure of the Russian’s German-made computers. But finally some faulty lanes came to life. NASA stated that they now feel that the station is back where it is supposed to be. Atlantis crew will also be carrying the computers which did not recover once they crashed.
Via: usatoday
