Shuttle leaves station as next ship moves to pad

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Feb 18 (Reuters) - Space shuttle Atlantis sailed away from the International Space Station on Monday, leaving behind a new crew member and Europe's first permanent orbital laboratory.

As pilot Alan Poindexter pulsed Atlantis' steering jets to slip out of its berth at the space station, sister ship Endeavour was being rolled to a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for blastoff on March 11. Endeavour will carry the first part of Japan's research complex, called Kibo.

"We just want to thank you for being a great host," radioed Atlantis commander Stephen Frick to station commander Peggy Whitson as the shuttle was cleared to undock. "We had a great time. We learned a lot. Thanks very much."

NASA hopes to fly six shuttle missions this year, including a servicing call to the Hubble Space Telescope. The agency is under a presidential directive to complete construction of the $100 billion space station and retire the shuttles by Sept. 30, 2010.

Atlantis' nine-day stay at the station got NASA off to a promising start. The shuttle crew delivered and installed Europe's $1.9 billion Columbus laboratory after a six-year delay due in part to the 2003 Columbia accident.

During three spacewalks, astronauts also installed a new tank of nitrogen gas to pressurize the station's ammonia cooling lines and hooked up two science experiments to the outside of Europe's new lab.

"It's a great new room you added on," Whitson told Frick. "Get home safe and thanks."

The shuttle backed away from the station at 4:24 a.m. EST (0924 GMT).

"Atlantis departing," radioed Whitson, ringing the station's bell in a tradition adopted from the U.S. Navy.

Atlantis is due to touch down at the Kennedy Space Center at 9:07 a.m. EST on Wednesday. NASA is staffing both its prime landing site in Florida and its backup runways in California on Wednesday to clear the skies for a U.S. military operation to shoot down a tumbling spy satellite

Aboard Atlantis is returning space station flight engineer Dan Tani, who mission was extended after a fuel sensor problem on the shuttle prompted NASA to reschedule Atlantis' flight from December to February.

During an emotional farewell ceremony with his station crewmates on Sunday, Tani was freshly reminded that his 90-year-old mother, who died in a car accident during his stay in orbit, will not be among the family and friends welcoming him home.

"She was my inspiration," Tani said.

French astronaut Leopold Eyharts took over Tani's post on the station to oversee science experiments on Columbus. He returns aboard Endeavour, which is due to arrive on March 13. (Editing by Eric Walsh)