Shuttle to undock from ISS

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HOUSTON - The 10 astronauts aboard the linked space shuttle and space
station wrapped up their joint work on Sunday and got ready to say
goodbye. With the hatches between the two spacecraft scheduled to be
sealed around midday, the crew rushed to finish activating science
racks inside the new Columbus module and packing the shuttle for the
ride home to Earth.

Atlantis plans to undock Monday after a nine-day visit to the
international space station. Astronaut Daniel Tani - in orbit for four
months - will be aboard the shuttle.

Tani expects to have mixed emotions when it comes time to leave. He
moved into the space station in October and had his stay extended two
months because of fuel gauge trouble that bumped Atlantis' flight from
December to February.

"I love living here on the station. It's comfortable. It's fun. It's
exciting. The view, of course," Tani, 47, said Saturday. "But
obviously, I want to get back and see my family."

"I look forward to some odd things," he added. "I'm looking forward to
putting food on a plate and eating several things at once, which you
can't do up here. I'm looking forward to spitting my toothpaste out in
a sink rather than swallowing it."

Tani's mission was marred by the death of his 90-year-old mother. She
was killed in a car accident near Chicago just before Christmas.

He said he's putting together a tip sheet for future space station
residents who might have to deal with a family tragedy while they're
in orbit, essentially ways to improve communication.

Flight director Bob Dempsey said he could not be more pleased with
Atlantis' visit. The two crews installed the new European lab,
Columbus, and conducted three spacewalks to hook it up and do other
space station chores.

"The mission has gone, by many measures of success, extremely
smoothly," he said.

Atlantis and its seven-man crew will land Wednesday at Cape Canaveral,
Fla., or the backup touchdown site in California. NASA and the Defense
Department want them out of harm's way when the military shoots down
an ailing spy satellite.

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