US shuttle Endeavour prepares for return trip to Earth

Washington (ANTARA News) - After five successful spacewalks, the seven-member crew of the US space shuttle Endeavour prepared Monday to undock from the International Space Station and begin their trip back to Earth.

Astronauts spent their final hours at the ISS wrapping up transfers of equipment and supplies between Endeavour and the station, and checking out the tools needed for undocking and subsequent activities, officials said.

The undocking is scheduled for 7:56 pm EDT (2356 GMT) and begin its journey back to Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Looking back at the mission during a press conference late Sunday, Endeavour commander Dominic Gorie qualified it an all-around success.

"We've done awesome," Gorie pointed out. "Every spacewalk was a win, every robotic op (operation) was a win. We've got a couple more to go with the undocking and the landing, but we've got a great winning team."

Two astronauts from the Endeavour -- mission specialists Robert Behnken and Mike Foreman -- on Sunday attached a 50-foot sensory boom to the outside of the International Space Station.

Space station flight director Dana Weigel said the spacewalk, often referred to by National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials as an EVA, or an extra-vehicular activity, had set a new record.

"This was five EVAs, which was more than we've done on any station mission," the flight director was quoted by AFP as saying.

Endeavour, whose mission at the ISS is the longest ever, is scheduled to return to Earth on Wednesday.

The spacewalkers also successfully installed an experiment on the outside of the European Space Agency's laboratory, which the astronauts had failed to complete during the third spacewalk on March 17. (*) end