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Shuttle Endeavour to undock from ISS Saturday

RIA Novosti

19/02/201014:37

MOSCOW, February 19 (RIA Novosti) - NASA's Endeavour space shuttle will undock from the International Space Station (ISS) on February 20 after a 9-day mission, NASA reported on Friday.

The shuttle, carrying a crew of six astronauts, was launched on February 8 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The STS-130 crew comprises commander George Zamka, pilot Terry Virts and mission specialists Nicholas Patrick, Robert Behnken, Stephen Robinson and Kathryn Hire.

Earlier in the day, the crew spoke on the phone with U.S. President Barack Obama, who told them he was "very excited about the possibilities of putting more research dollars into some of these transformational technologies."

The shuttle delivered a third connecting module, the Italian-built Tranquility node and its attached seven-windowed cupola, which was formally opened during a farewell ceremony just hours before the hatches between the space station and the shuttle were due to close.

The shuttle is scheduled to undock at 00.54. GMT on February 20, for a return to the Kennedy Space Center as early as 03:20 GMT on February 22.