‘Job well done,’ Alpha’s commander tells Endeavour’s crew

The space shuttle Endeavour flew away from Space Station Alpha on Saturday, leaving behind powerful solar wings that already have improved life on the orbiting outpost. The station’s three residents watched as Endeavour and its crew of five undocked more than 230 miles above central Asia. They won’t have any more visitors until late next month, when another shuttle arrives. Their farewell, after just one day together, included hearty handshakes and hugs. The two spacecraft were linked for one week, but the hatches between them had remained sealed until Friday. “Do svidanya,” a shuttle astronaut called out. (That’s Russian for goodbye.) “See you guys,” replied one of the station’s Russian crewmen. Navy Capt. Bill Shepherd, the station’s skipper, and Navy Cmdr. Brent Jett Jr., the shuttle’s skipper, followed the same naval tradition that they observed when the Endeavour crew came aboard on Friday. Jett requested permission to depart Alpha, which Shepherd granted. As Jett saluted and disappeared into a tunnel leading to the shuttle, Shepherd rang a ship’s bell and called out: “Endeavour departing.” Endeavour’s astronauts spent almost all of last week installing new electricity-generating solar wings on the International Space Station and working on wing repairs.The right wing ended up too slack after it jerked open, and two spacewalking astronauts had to go out and tighten two loose tension cables. Their handiwork left Alpha with two perfectly taut solar wings, spanning 240 feet from tip to tip and 38 feet wide. The wings already were providing more than 40 kilowatts of badly needed electricity for the space station.