Atlantis undocks for flight home

The undocked shuttle looks back at the space station

The Atlantis orbiter has undocked from the International Space Station (ISS).

The space shuttle moved away from the platform at 1442 GMT in preparation for a return to Earth on Thursday.

During its stay, the ship's crew fixed a new power segment to the ISS, dealt with a major computer crash, and repaired a thermal blanket on Atlantis.

The construction work completed by astronauts clears the way for Europe's Columbus module to be despatched to the station later this year.

The laboratory is Europe's key contribution to the $100bn (£50bn) space station project.

Before undocking, mission controllers on Earth declared themselves happy that the big computer glitch that hit the platform during the week had been resolved - if not entirely understood.

The malfunction shut down the rocket-steering system the station needs to correct its alignment in space so that solar wing panels can track the Sun for power. For a while, Atlantis was required to use its thrusters to maintain the platform's orientation.

Computer concern for Europe

"There were a lot of things to overcome, but despite those surprises, we managed to do what we always do and meet our mission objectives," flight director Holly Ridings was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

"The International Space Station is in very, very good shape."

Atlantis arrived at the station on Sunday, 10 June. Its primary goal was to install a new set of solar wings and associated power systems.

The ship also dropped off a new ISS crew member - US astronaut Clay Anderson.

He replaces Sunita Williams, whose more than six months in space set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman.

Atlantis is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1754 GMT on Thursday.