Atlantis to dock with space station on final flight

The US space shuttle Endeavour on Sunday prepared to undock from the International Space Station and jet back to Earth, wrapping up its final journey before entering retirement, NASA said.Endeavour's last mission is the penultimate flight for the 30-year US shuttle program, which will end for good after the Atlantis mission to the orbiting research lab in July.The six-member crew of the Endeavour bid farewell to three astronaut colleagues on board the space station and closed the hatches between the shuttle and station at 7:23 am (1123 GMT), NASA said.

The US space shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station and headed back to Earth on Monday, wrapping up its final journey before entering retirement, NASA said.Endeavour's last mission is the penultimate flight for the 30-year-old US shuttle program, which will end for good after the Atlantis mission to the orbiting research lab, scheduled to begin July 8.The undocking took place at 0355 GMT, when the space station and shuttle was 215 miles (350 kilometers) over La Paz, Bolivia, NASA said.

Countdown has begun for the final flight of the Endeavour, scheduled to lift off Monday on the American space program's second to last mission to the International Space Station.Astronauts will deliver a potent physics experiment to probe the origins of the universe during the 16-day mission, which will include four spacewalks.The 30-year US space shuttle program formally ends later this year after the last flight of Atlantis, leaving Russia's space capsules as the sole option for world astronauts heading to and from the orbiting research lab.

The US space agency said Friday it is targeting July 8 for the last-ever launch of the American shuttle program, with an Atlantis mission to the International Space Station."NASA's final space shuttle flight is targeted to launch July 8 at about 11:40 am (1540 GMT) from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida," a statement said."Four veteran astronauts will fly aboard shuttle Atlantis to deliver supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station."

Two American astronauts on Monday began the first of two spacewalks at the International Space Station in order to install a permanent module onto the orbiting lab, NASA said.The walk began at 9:46 am Eastern time (1546 GMT), about a half hour earlier than scheduled.Spacewalkers Steve Bowen and Alvin Drew arrived at the ISS aboard the space shuttle Discovery, which launched Thursday on its final mission before becoming the first of three spacecraft to retire this year as the American shuttle program ends.

The shuttle Atlantis has linked up with the International Space Station (ISS) for the final rendezvous of its 25-year career, ahead of a first space walk set for Monday.NASA said Atlantis and its crew of six astronauts successfully docked with the orbiting space lab at 1428 GMT Sunday about 220 miles (350 kilometers) above the South Pacific.Its arrival was not without drama as a piece of debris threatened to force Mission Control to order the space station to perform an emergency maneuver to avoid a collision.

US shuttle Atlantis barreled towards the International Space Station (ISS) carrying six astronauts after lifting off on the final mission for the 25-year-old spacecraft.The shuttle blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida into a clear blue sky on time at 2:20 pm (1820 GMT) on Friday.Several minutes after the launch, Atlantis's twin white solid rocket boosters were separated and dropped into the Atlantic Ocean.The shuttle's three engines propelled the vehicle on its eight-and-a-half-minute climb to orbit, assisted by the two orbital maneuvering system engines.

The US space agency on Tuesday confirmed plans to launch the shuttle Endeavour on its final mission to the International Space Station on April 29.NASA's confirmation came following a flight readiness review meeting at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The 14-day mission, known as STS-134, will include the last spacewalks by a US shuttle crew at the orbiting lab, and will mark the second-to-last flight of the US shuttle program.