The US space shuttle Endeavour was on its way back to Earth on Monday after undocking from the International Space Station on its final journey before entering retirement, NASA said. Endeavour’s last mission is the penultimate flight for the 30-year-old US shuttle program, which will end for good after the Atlantis mission to the orbiting research lab, scheduled to begin July 8.The undocking took place at 0355 GMT, when the space station and shuttle was 215 miles (350 kilometers) over La Paz, Bolivia, NASA said.It was followed by a one-lap fly-around of the station to allow the crew to take photos of the space lab. Endeavour fired its jets and began moving away from the station at 4:38 am (0838 GMT), the US space agency reported. The six-member crew of the Endeavour — five US astronauts and Italian Roberto Vittori — bade farewell to three colleagues on board the space station (ISS) and closed the hatches between the shuttle and station at 1123 GMT Sunday.
