232 lines
5.8 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
232 lines
5.8 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
science
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space
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7756718
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-----
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# Atlantis undocks from space station for last time
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## The US space shuttle Atlantis has undocked from the International Space
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Station, bringing to an end its 25-year career.
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![Atlantis undocks from space station for last time][1]
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Atlantis and the International Space Station are pictured docked together in
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space Photo: NASA / GETTY
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6:13PM BST 23 May 2010
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[Comments][2]
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The crews of both spacecraft bade their farewells and closed the hatch closure
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shortly after noon on Sunday, NASA officials said.
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The undocking caps the shuttle's 25-year career during which it has logged
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some 115 million miles. It is due back in Florida on Wednesday.
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Only two more shuttle launches remain - one in September for Discovery and the
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final blast off for Endeavour in November - before the curtain falls on this
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era of human space flight.
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The United States will then rely on Russia to take astronauts to the station
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aboard three-seater Soyuz spacecraft until a new fleet of commercial "space
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taxis" is operational.
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On Friday, Atlantis astronauts Garrett Reisman and Michael Good completed the
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mission's final spacewalk at the station that lasted six hours and 46 minutes.
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## Related Articles
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* [Nasa gives up on silent Mars lander Phoenix][3]
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25 May 2010
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* [Spacecraft to be controlled by artificial intelligence][4]
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13 Feb 2011
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* [Space shuttle Atlantis prepares for final flight][5]
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24 May 2010
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The pair plugged a new ammonia jumper cable into the orbiting space station's
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huge framework and installed two new batteries that store energy collected by
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the station's large solar panels.
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Each battery weighs 375 pounds and measures about the size of a three-foot
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box. The astronauts swapped out another four batteries during another
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spacewalk on Wednesday.
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Batteries usually last five to six years but the ones that were replaced had
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functioned for nine years. The old batteries will be brought back to Earth
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aboard Atlantis.
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During the 12-day mission, Atlantis and its six-member crew unloaded over 12
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tons of equipment, including the communications antenna, power storage
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batteries and a radiator.
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The biggest single element is the five-ton Rassver research module, or MRM-1,
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which will provide additional storage space and a new docking port for Russian
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Soyuz and Progress spacecraft.
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The Rassver - "Dawn" in Russian - was permanently attached to the bottom of
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the space station's Zarya module. It carries important hardware on its
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exterior including a radiator, airlock and a European robotic arm.
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[X][6] Share & bookmark
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][7]
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* Share: [Share][6] [ ][8] [ ][9]
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[Tweet][10]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/7756718/Atlantis-undocks-from-space-
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station-for-last-time.html
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Telegraph
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## [Space][11]
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* ### [News »][12]
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* ### [World News »][13]
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* ### [North America »][14]
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* ### [USA »][15]
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In science
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[![Cosmos Close-Up: wonders of space from our solar system to the edge of the
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Universe][16] ][17]
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### [Cosmos Close-Up][17]
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[![As Nasa calls time on the Mars Rover Spirit mission][18] ][19]
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### [Nasa's Mars rover Spirit][19]
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[![The Milky Way stretches across the night sky behind a rock arch in Arches
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National Park, Utah. Bret Webster uses the night skies of the national parks
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of his home state of Utah as his canvas to create images that highlight the
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relative insignificance of the Earth in the cosmos.][20] ][21]
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### [The Milky Way over the desert][21]
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[![Space shuttle Endeavour's final mission to the International Space
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Station][22] ][23]
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### [Endeavour's final mission][23]
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[![Space Shuttle Endeavour Launches Under Command Of Astronaut Mark Kelly][24]
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][25]
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### [Live: Endeavour's final launch][25]
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[X][6] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][7]
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Share:
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* [ ][6]
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* [ ][8]
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* [ ][9]
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* [Tweet][10]
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* Advertisement
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![][26]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][27] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][28]
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[![Follow The Telegraph on social media][29]][30]
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Advertisement
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Science Most Viewed
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* TODAY
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4. [Mars rover Spirit: How not to get stuck on Mars][34]
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5. [Air France Flight 447 - will all be revealed?][35]
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dark'][39]
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5. [Air France Flight 447 - will all be revealed?][35]
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[EDITOR'S CHOICE »][41]
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### [Gil Scott-Heron: 'A voice for Shakespeare'][42]
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[![Gil Scott-Heron][43]][42]
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Composer, musician, poet and author whose writing provided a vivid commentary
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on the black American experience.
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Advertisement
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