Shuttle Leaves Mir, and Last American to Live Aboard Craft

Space shuttle Endeavour uncoupled from Mir and disappeared into the void Thursday, leaving behind astronaut Andrew Thomas for a 4 1/2-month stay that will be the last by an American.

On board Endeavour was David Wolf, headed home after four tough months aboard the Russian space station. He will return to Earth on Saturday.

“This has been an amazing experience. It’s been one of the hardest of my life, and I think Andy can expect the same,” Wolf said before the two crews parted company.

Endeavour backed away from Mir as the two spacecraft zoomed 240 miles above Kazakhstan in darkness. The astronauts and cosmonauts pressed up against the windows, photographing each other’s vessels, as the shuttle slowly circled the station from 240 feet out. Then, with a final thruster firing, Endeavour was gone.

Just 23 minutes before Endeavour undocked from Mir, a new space station crew lifted off from Kazakhstan. The three men--two Russians and a Frenchman--will arrive at Mir on Saturday.

During the five days that Endeavour and Mir were docked, the crew members moved a new air conditioner, a spare computer and 200 gallons of fresh drinking water into Mir.

Thomas, the seventh American to live on Mir, will conduct experiments and help with station chores until another shuttle arrives for him at the end of May.

The 46-year-old Australian-born engineer will spend virtually his entire mission with the two Russians en route to Mir. He will have a lot to prove.

His soon-to-be commander already has criticized him for his poor command of Russian. And the deputy chief of Russia’s Mission Control chastised him for complaining that his emergency spacesuit was too tight; the suit had to be altered.

Meanwhile, senior officials from 15 countries signed agreements Thursday formalizing cooperation for the planned construction of a permanent international space station, beginning this summer.