Shuttle Atlantis Leaves Space Station

Via VOANews.com -

Immediately after the separation, space shuttle commander Rick Sturckow, nicknamed C.J., bid the newest crew member of the international space station, Clay Anderson, farewell.

"Thank you ISS," he said. "Have a great remainder of your expedition 15. We will see you back on planet Earth. Copy all Atlantis. Godspeed, CJ. Thanks for everything."

The undocking of Atlantis remained on schedule after a tense few days last week in which six critical computers aboard the space station crashed.

The computers control oxygen and water supply to the crew members and are responsible for orienting the space station's position in orbit. The problem meant the shuttle would have had to extend its 13 day mission to assist the space station if the computers were not brought back on line.

The space station's scientists found that a faulty power switch was responsible for the computer failure and final checks of the restored computers were completed Monday.

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With the undocking of the shuttle, the station will no longer have the shuttle gryo systems to fail back on. If the computers issues return, the space station may not be able to hold its positioning. My fingers are crossed....