JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, TX - Wrapping up a week of docked operations at the International Space Station, space shuttle Atlantis left the space-based outpost this morning to begin its three day journey back home. The shuttle undocked from the station at 11:22 a.m. EDT and, an hour and a half later, fired its engines for a final separation burn and leaving ISS and the Expedition 23 crew a new Russian-built 17,000 pound docking port and stowage module. Atlantis next stop - landing Wednesday morning at 8:48 ET at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. STS-132 MISSION ARCHIVE - VIDEOS, DOCUMENTS, EXECUTE PACKAGES, NASA TV SCHEDULE STS-132 MISSION PHOTO GALLERIES WATCH FREE VIDEOS MAY 23, 2010 - FLIGHT DAY 10 ATLANTIS FLYAROUND TIMELAPSE MUSIC VIDEO • WATCH | DOWNLOAD FAREWELL CEREMONY AND HATCH CLOSING • WATCH | DOWNLOAD FLIGHT CONTROLLER INTERVIEW • WATCH | DOWNLOAD FLIGHT DAY 10 HIGHLIGHTS • WATCH | DOWNLOAD JOINT CREW NEWS CONFERENCE • WATCH | DOWNLOAD ATLANTIS UNDOCKS FROM ISS • WATCH | DOWNLOAD HANDHELD VTR REPLAYS OF UNDOCKING • WATCH | DOWNLOAD MAY 22, 2010 - FLIGHT DAY 9 FLIGHT DAY 9 HIGHLIGHTS • WATCH | DOWNLOAD FD-9 ISS FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE • WATCH | DOWNLOAD MAY 21, 2010 - FLIGHT DAY 8 FD-8 CREW CHOICE DOWNLINK • WATCH | DOWNLOAD FLIGHT DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS • WATCH | DOWNLOAD FD-8 ISS FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE • WATCH | DOWNLOAD SSRMS MOBILE BASE RELOCATION • WATCH | DOWNLOAD SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER CAMERA REPLAYS • WATCH | DOWNLOAD MAY 20, 2010 - FLIGHT DAY 7 FLIGHT DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS • WATCH | DOWNLOAD FD-7 MEDIA INTERVIEWS • WATCH | DOWNLOAD FD-7 ISS FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE • WATCH | DOWNLOAD @Astro_Mike MASSIMINO INTERVIEWS FLIGHT DIRECTOR GINGER KERRICK • WATCH | DOWNLOAD MAY 19, 2010 - 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FLIGHT DAY 9 FLIGHT DAY 9 HIGHLIGHTS • DOWNLOAD FD-9 ISS FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE • DOWNLOAD FD-9 MISSION STATUS BRIEFING • DOWNLOAD MAY 21, 2010 - FLIGHT DAY 8 FD-8 CREW CHOICE DOWNLINK • DOWNLOAD FLIGHT DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS • DOWNLOAD FD-8 ISS FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE • DOWNLOAD FD-8 MISSION STATUS BRIEFING • DOWNLOAD SSRMS MOBILE BASE RELOCATION • DOWNLOAD SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER CAMERA REPLAYS • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #3 COVERAGE, PART 1 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #3 COVERAGE, PART 2 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #3 COVERAGE, PART 3 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #3 COVERAGE, PART 4 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #3 COVERAGE, PART 5 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #3 COVERAGE, PART 6 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #3 COVERAGE, PART 7 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #3 COVERAGE, PART 8 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #3 COVERAGE, PART 9 • DOWNLOAD MAY 20, 2010 - FLIGHT DAY 7 FLIGHT DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS • DOWNLOAD FD-7 MEDIA INTERVIEWS • DOWNLOAD FD-7 ISS FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE • DOWNLOAD @Astro_Mike MASSIMINO INTERVIEWS FLIGHT DIRECTOR GINGER KERRICK • DOWNLOAD FD-7 MISSION STATUS BRIEFING • DOWNLOAD MAY 19, 2010 - FLIGHT DAY 6 EVA #2 OVERVIEW • DOWNLOAD FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS • DOWNLOAD FD-6 ISS FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE • DOWNLOAD sts132_eva2_part1_051910.wmv MAY 18, 2010 - FLIGHT DAY 5 FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS (512 KBPS) • DOWNLOAD FD-5 MEDIA INTERVIEWS - MSNBC • DOWNLOAD FD-5 MEDIA INTERVIEWS - CNN, FOX • DOWNLOAD FD-5 MEDIA INTERVIEWS • DOWNLOAD FD-5 ISS FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE • DOWNLOAD FD-5 MISSION STATUS BRIEFING • DOWNLOAD OBSS HANDOFF, PART 1 • DOWNLOAD OBSS HANDOFF, PART 2 • DOWNLOAD OBSS HANDOFF, PART 3 • DOWNLOAD RASSVET IS INSTALLED ON ISS • DOWNLOAD RASSVET INSTALLATION NASA TV COVERAGE, PART 1 • DOWNLOAD RASSVET INSTALLATION NASA TV COVERAGE, PART 2 • DOWNLOAD RASSVET INSTALLATION NASA TV COVERAGE, PART 3 • DOWNLOAD MAY 17, 2010 - FLIGHT DAY 4 FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS • DOWNLOAD FD-4 ISS FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE • DOWNLOAD FD-4 MISSION STATUS / POST-MMT BRIEFING • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #1 COVERAGE, PART 1 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #1 COVERAGE, PART 2 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #1 COVERAGE, PART 3 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #1 COVERAGE, PART 4 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #1 COVERAGE, PART 5 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #1 COVERAGE, PART 6 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #1 COVERAGE, PART 7 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #1 COVERAGE, PART 8 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #1 COVERAGE, PART 9 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #1 COVERAGE, PART 10 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #1 COVERAGE, PART 11 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE EVA #1 COVERAGE, PART 12 • DOWNLOAD "Houston and Station, from Atlantis, physical separation," shuttle commander Ken Ham called out to the space station and flight controllers in Houston. "Space shuttle Atlantis, departing," Expedition 23 Flight Engineer Tracy Caldwell-Dyson said, ringing the ship's bell in the Harmony module as the shuttle drifted away. "Atlantis, station is now in attitude control," reported Flight Engineer Timothy Creamer, adding his own wishes for a safe landing three days from now. "Hock, I've gotta tell you, you guys were consummate professionals with a great sense of humor, we were so glad to see you, loved working with you. See you soon, brother. Stay safe." "Copy all T.J., and the same comments right back at you, brother," Ham replied. As Atlantis slowly backed away from ISS, pilot Dominic Antonelli took control of the orbiter. After reaching a point about 400 feet below the station, he began a 360-degree flyaround of the orbiting complex to allow the station's condition to be photographed from all sides. The astronauts also photographed the Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft so that Russian flight controllers can assess the condition of thermal blankets and equipment before three station residents ride it for their return to Earth next month. Expedition 23 commander Oleg Kotov, T.J. Creamer and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi are scheduled to end their six-month tour of duty on ISS and return to Earth in nine days following undocking from ISS on June 1. After their departure, Expedition 24 will begin, with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov taking the helm as commander with Flight Engineers, Caldwell-Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko. On June 15, the other half of their crew will blastoff on board Soyuz TMA-19. Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and U.S. astronauts Douglas Wheelock and Shannon Walker will joint them a couple days later after docking with the station. During STs-132, astronauts conducted three spacewalks, adding a backup high-data-rate antenna to the station and a tool platform to Dextre, the robot-like special purpose dexterous manipulator. They removed and replaced six 375-pound batteries on the station's P6 truss segment. The six old batteries are headed back to Earth in Atlantis' cargo bay. 
(Above: The Rassvet MRM-1. Credit: NASA) Rassvet, the Russian Mini-Research Module 1 brought to the station by Atlantis, was installed on the Zarya module by Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Garrett Reisman. The delicate installation involved working in Russian on a computer linked to Rassvet and the station's Russian segment and exacting control of the 58-foot Canadarm2. Both astronauts were in the new cupola, enjoying the luxury of window views to aid arm operation for the first time. The joint operations were a good example of friendship and professionalism, station Commander Oleg Kotov said after summarizing the week's accomplishments in the farewell ceremony. Atlantis Commander Ken Ham responded: “We are one happy shuttle crew … happy because of all of your efforts too. We were a 12-person crew that operated together.” After undocking, Pilot Tony Antonelli flew Atlantis around the station at a distance ranging from about 400 to 600 feet. Crew members took photographs and video of the station with its new module to document its condition. Atlantis did the first separation burn, taking Atlantis away from the station, at 12:37 p.m. Atlantis crew members, Ham, Antonelli and Mission Specialists Reisman, Michael Good, Steve Bowen and Sellers, spent their morning transferring final items from the station and preparing rendezvous tools and other items for their departure. They and the station crew, Kotov and Flight Engineers Alexander Skvortsov, Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Mikhail Kornienko, Soichi Noguchi, and T.J. Creamer, gathered for a crew photo a little after 6 a.m. They subsequently fielded questions from media representatives at NASA centers and in Tokyo. The crews enjoyed a final midday meal together. The crews of space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station said goodbye to each other in a farewell ceremony at 8:10 a.m. EDT before hatches between the two spacecraft were closed at 8:43 a.m., ending 6 days, 20 hours, 25 minutes of joint crew operations. "This is time when we have to say goodbye to our friends, our colleagues, the excellent crew of shuttle Atlantis that did an excellent job performing three EVAs, installing the new Russian module, having good fun, enjoying living on station and working in space," said Kotov. "Well Oleg, we are one happy shuttle crew," Ken Ham replied. "And we are happy because of all of your effort, too. I think through our entire docked timeframe here we were a 12-person crew that operated together. And that was the only way we got everything done. ... So we are happy. But this one is to friends we're going to leave behind, and new friends that we've made, close friends. We've had a great time together. "We are going to close the hatch shortly and we're going to depart," Ham said. "And of course, as always, it'll be a little bit sad. But we'll see you all on the surface of planet Earth again soon." At 11:22 a.m. EDT, space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station. Atlantis spent 7 days, 0 hrs, and 54 minutes docked to the orbiting laboratory. At undocking, the spacecraft were 220 miles above the Indian Ocean, southwest of Australia. At 1:05 p.m. EDT, Atlantis fired its jets to complete the final separation from the International Space Station, setting it on its course for return to Earth Wednesday. On Monday, shuttle crew members will do the standard late inspection of the heat resistant reinforced carbon carbon surfaces using the robotic arm and its 50-foot orbiter boom sensor system extension. A cable snag at the end of the OBSS had prevented a full inspection after launch. Spacewalkers cleared the snag, so the arm should be fully operational Monday. Other imagery and engineering data was used to fill in the gaps in the post-launch inspection. Tuesday will focus on cabin stowage and checkout of Atlantis' reaction control system and its flight control surfaces. Landing at Kennedy Space Center is scheduled for 8:48 a.m. Wednesday. (The Spacearium / SpaceflightNews.net)
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