Old Space Station Crew Heads Home

Space shuttle Endeavour undocked from the international space station Saturday, bringing home three men who had lived on the orbiting outpost since summer.

Before leaving, astronaut Frank Culbertson gave the new space station residents candy canes and a small fabric Christmas tree decorated with gifts for every day until Dec. 25, intended as a holiday countdown.

“It’s been a great ride, a great trip, and it’s now time to say goodbye,” said Culbertson, who served as the space station’s commander for four months.

The retired Navy captain saluted Russian Yuri Onufrienko, his successor, then floated out of the station and into the shuttle for his long-awaited ride home. Astronaut Daniel Bursch, a Navy officer left behind, rang the ship’s bell and called out in naval fashion: “Expedition Three, departing.”

Onufrienko, Bursch and astronaut Carl Walz make up Expedition Four, the fourth team to live on the space station. They will spend almost six months in orbit, returning to Earth in May on the same shuttle that brought them up.

If Endeavour lands Monday as planned, Culbertson and Russian crew mates Mikhail Tyurin and Vladimir Dezhurov will have spent 129 days in orbit. They moved into the space station in August.

Culbertson later said he was a little sad to leave the space station. He can’t wait to be reunited, though, with his wife and children.

“Just normal everyday things, I think, will be a lot of fun after being in a space station,” he said. “And for me, I think being out in the fresh air will be a wonderful treat.”

Endeavour pulled away as the spacecraft soared 250 miles above Australia. Its departure, heralded by the ringing of the station bell, was delayed so the shuttle could move the orbiting complex away from space junk.

A large chunk of a 30-year-old Russian rocket was supposed to pass within three miles of the space station today--uncomfortably close. NASA had the shuttle pilots steer the station into a slightly higher orbit, creating a gap of more than 40 miles between the outpost and piece of debris.

The extra fuel used in the evasive action forced the shuttle astronauts to shorten their flight around the station for a photo survey.

Before Endeavour moved out of sight, shuttle commander Dominic Gorie called out to the space station inhabitants, “Fair winds and following seas, my friends.”

Endeavour spent eight days at the space station. The shuttle crew dropped off thousands of pounds of supplies and loaded the cargo carrier with thousands of pounds of trash and old equipment for return to Earth.