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Washington (AFP) Feb 19, 2010 The space shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station late Friday after completing a nine-day mission, which consisted in delivering a module dubbed Tranquility. Endeavour left the station at 7:54 pm EST (0054 GMT Saturday) as it was cruising above the Atlantic Ocean west of Mauritania, NASA officials said. After undocking, shuttle pilot Terry Virts performed a fly-around of the station, enabling his crewmates to conduct a photo survey of the complex. The station is now 98 percent complete by volume and 90 percent by mass, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Weather permitting, Endeavour will landing at Kennedy Space Center at 10:16 pm Sunday. The mission, one of just five remaining for NASA's three shuttles before the program ends later this year after a 29-year run, came as the US space agency re-evaluates its future. Earlier this month, President Barack Obama effectively abandoned a US plan to send astronauts back to the moon by 2020. Constrained by soaring deficits, Obama submitted a budget to Congress that encourages NASA to focus instead on developing commercial transport alternatives to ferry astronauts to the ISS after the shuttle program ends. The ISS, a joint project involving 16 countries, has cost around 100 billion dollars, mostly funded by the United States. Under Obama's new budget, the orbiting research station could see its life extended by five years until 2020. NASA has set the next shuttle mission, by Discovery, for March 18.
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NASA Revises Bdget For Displaying Retired ShuttlesWashington DC (SPX) Jan 18, 2010 NASA has issued a follow-up Request for Information, or RFI, for ideas from education institutions, science museums and other appropriate organizations about the community's ability to acquire and publicly display orbiters after the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program. The original RFI in December 2008 noted that a potential shuttle recipient would have to pay an estimated $42 million ... read more |
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