Space shuttle Atlantis is returning to Earth

NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station on Tuesday morning and began its two-day journey back to Earth.

Atlantis fired its jets and separated from the orbiting station at 2:28 a.m. while it was 316 kilometres above the Pacific Ocean, east of Churchchrist, New Zealand.

Only four astronauts took part in the 12-day mission to deliver supplies to the station.
ernational Space Station for the last time   
The mission ends the U.S. space agency’s shuttle program.

For the next several years all flights — including Canadian Chris Hadfield’s scheduled trip to the space station in 2012 — will be aboard a Russian Soyuz vessel.

Atlantis is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday at 6 a.m., and will go on permanent display afterwards.

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