Shuttle detaches from space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 15 (UPI) -- The space shuttle Discovery undocked from the International Space Station early Saturday, ending a 9-day visit delivering supplies and a third crewmember.

Discovery's pilot, Navy Cmdr. Mark Kelly, undocked the shuttle at 6:08 a.m. EDT as the crafts were over New Zealand, NASA said.

During the docking, astronauts Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum conducted three spacewalks to perform maintenance on the station and to test heat shield repair techniques. Supplies were delivered and waste was transferred to the shuttle for return.

After disengaging, the shuttle was positioned to remain about 45 miles behind the station while NASA officials reviewed video and analyzed images of it from various angle before clearing it for return to Earth Monday.

The STS-121 mission was the first shuttle to be launched on the Fourth of July and took off with seven crewmembers. It will return with six, after leaving German astronaut Thomas Reiter aboard the space station for a 6-month stay.

The landing is scheduled for Monday at 9:07 a.m. EDT at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.