The departure of an unpiloted Russian cargo craft Friday set the stage for the arrival of the next supply ship and a final visit from space shuttle Endeavour.

The ISS Progress 41 cargo craft, filled with trash and other unneeded items, undocked from the Pirs docking compartment at 7:41 a.m. EDT Friday as the International Space Station flew 220 miles over China. Expedition 27 Commander Dmitry Kondratyev monitored the undocking and photographed the Progress through a window in the Russian segment of the station as it slowly backed away from the orbiting complex.

The six Expedition 27 crew members of the International Space Station worked Tuesday toward completing the mission of a cargo ship, continuing scientific research and practicing roles and responsibilities in the event of an emergency.

The crew also noted a milestone in the station’s history: the 10th anniversary of the launch of the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2 aboard space shuttle Endeavour on April 19, 2001.

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 03:53:52 PM CDT

NASA managers announced that space shuttle Endeavour is ready to launch next week on its final flight to the International Space Station following a daylong Flight Readiness Review on Tuesday. Endeavour is scheduled to launch Friday, April 29, at 3:47 p.m. EDT.