By SPA,
Washington : Space shuttle Endeavour and its crew of seven left the international space station Friday, ending a 12-day mission that made the orbiting laboratory more accommodating to bigger crews of researchers.
Shortly after the undocking, Mission Control advised Endeavour’s crew to delay their third and final rocket firing to avoid a piece of an old Russian satellite. The rocket firing was rescheduled for early evening.
Due to Endeavour’s delivery and the work of all 10 space travelers, the space station has nearly everything it needs to accommodate a larger crew. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) hopes to double the space station population—currently at three—by the middle of next year.
The space shuttle dropped off an extra bathroom, kitchen, and bedrooms, as well as a new recycling system designed to produce drinking water.