Mission

ISS and STS-127 crews saying a farewell （Image credit: NASA）

On the flight day (FD) 14, the space shuttle Endeavour with the STS-127 crew members including JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) to begin their trip home.

After completing the payload transfer between the ISS and the shuttle, the two crews bid farewell. Then the hatches between the two spacecrafts closed at 0:08 a.m this morning.

Endeavour undocked from the ISS at 2:26 a.m, concluding the 10 days and 23 hours 39 minutes of docked mission at the ISS. Astronaut Wakata had stayed onboard the ISS through 133 days.

After undocking, the pilot flew Endeavour around the ISS. During the fly-around, the crew members took images of the areas they worked on during the mission, including the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo".

Activities for FD15 include:

• Late inspection of Endeavour's Thermal Protection System (TPS) using Space Shuttle's robotic arm (SRMS) and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS)

*All times are Japan Standard Time (JST)