The last U.S. space shuttle departed the International Space Station on Tuesday, ending a 12-year program to build and service the orbital outpost, the primary legacy of NASA's shuttle fleet, Reuters reported. Shuttle Atlantis commander Chris Ferguson and pilot Doug Hurley gently pulsed their spaceship's steering jets at 2:28 a.m. EDT (0628 GMT) to pull away from the station as they sailed about 250 miles (400 km) over the Pacific Ocean. "Thanks so much for hosting us," Ferguson radioed to the station crew. "It's been an absolute pleasure." "We'll miss you guys," replied station flight engineer Ron Garan. "See you back on Earth." Flight controllers at NASA's Mission Control Center sat in reverent silence as they watched the last shuttle pulling away from the station, a $100 billion project of 16 countries that has been assembled and serviced during 37 of NASA's 135 shuttle missions. During their nine-day visit to the station, Ferguson and his crew delivered more than 5 tons of food, clothing, equipment and science experiments, a stockpile intended to bridge a potential year-long gap in U.S. cargo runs to the station. Atlantis' return to Earth, scheduled for Thursday, will conclude the 30-year-old U.S. space shuttle program, with no replacement U.S. spaceships ready to fly. NASA has hired two private firms, Space Exploration Technologies and Orbital Sciences Corp., to resupply the station beginning next year. Russia, Europe and Japan also fly freighters to the station. Astronauts will fly aboard Russian Soyuz capsules at a cost of more than $50 million per person, until and unless U.S. companies are able to offer similar transportation services. Several firms, including Boeing, Space Exploration Technologies and Sierra Nevada Corp. are developing passenger spaceships, but none are expected to be ready until about 2015.
