By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Space shuttle Endeavour will undock from the International Space Station (ISS) Saturday after a nine-day mission, US space agency NASA said.
The shuttle, carrying six astronauts, was launched Feb 8 from the Kennedy Space Centre 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.
On Friday, the crew spoke on the phone with US 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 0054 GMT Feb 20, for a return to the Kennedy Space Centre as early as 0320 GMT Feb 22.