spacetoday.net: ATV undocks from ISS

ATV undocks from ISS

Posted: Sat, Sep 29, 2012, 8:34 AM ET (1234 GMT)
ATV-3 after ISS undocking (NASA)

A European cargo spacecraft successfully undocked from the International Space Station on Friday even, three days after a computer glitch aborted an earlier attempt. The ATV-3 spacecraft, also called Edoardo Amaldi, undocked from the Zvezda module of the ISS at 5:44 pm EDT (2144 GMT) Friday and departed from the vicinity of the station. The spacecraft arrived at the station six months earlier, delivering cargo for the station and also helping maintain the station's orbit. ATV-3 was filled with garbage before undocking, and the spacecraft will burn up in the Earth's atmosphere on October 2. The undocking was previously planned for Tuesday, but a computer problem on the station aborted the docking.