Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 49F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..
Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 49F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
Updated: April 11, 2026 @ 7:00 pm
The crew of space shuttle Atlantis prepared Friday to depart the international space station after spending the week installing the $1.4 billion science laboratory Destiny.
For space station Alpha commander Bill Shepherd, it will be the second time he'll bid farewell to a visiting shuttle crew. Space shuttle Endeavour went to the space station in early December.
"I guess the hardest part is just seeing crews depart without really having a lot of time to socialize," Shepherd said. "We did a little bit of yakking (Wednesday) night. It was very good."
Atlantis is scheduled to return to Earth on Sunday. Shepherd and his two Russian crewmates -- who have been aboard Alpha since early November -- are to return to Earth in March aboard space shuttle Discovery.
Atlantis will leave behind Destiny, the most expensive and intricate piece of the space station, which is needed before any major research can be performed.
Space shuttle commander Kenneth Cockrell said he and his crew were pleasantly surprised the lab's installation went as well as it did.
"Almost every task that we've done has turned out to be a little easier here on orbit than what we've trained for," he said.<
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Dave Cohen said:
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