Endeavour
© APThis picture of the space shuttle was taken as Endeavour on Friday departed the international space station.
Cape Canaveral, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour and its crew of seven on Friday departed the international space station.

It ended a 12-day visit that left the orbiting complex with more modern and deluxe living quarters for bigger crews.

Endeavour pulled away as the two spacecraft soared 220 miles above the Pacific, just east of Taiwan.

With pilot Eric Boe at the controls, Endeavour slowly backed up 450 feet and completed a full lap around the space station. The shuttle is due back on Earth on Sunday.

Cameras snapped in both directions as Endeavour circled the space station.

"You look, as far as we can tell, clean and dry from the top," space station skipper Mike Fincke called out. "And mighty spectacular imagery we got as you flew over the mouth of the Amazon River."

Shortly after the morning undocking, Mission Control advised Endeavour's astronauts to put off their third and final rocket firing to avoid a piece of an old, broken-up Russian satellite. The maneuver was rescheduled for early evening.

At the same time, Mission Control moved up slightly the survey of Endeavour's wings and nose. The astronauts began the inspection early Friday afternoon, using a laser-tipped boom. It is standard procedure to ensure that the shuttle is free of any space-junk hits that could endanger the astronauts during re-entry.

Thanks to Endeavour's delivery and the practically nonstop work of all 10 space travelers, the space station has almost everything it needs to accommodate a larger crew. NASA hopes to double the space station population - currently at three - by mid-2009.

The shuttle spent 11 days, 16 hours and 46 minutes at the space station, the second-longest visit ever.

American astronaut Gregory Chamitoff was headed home after six months in orbit. Taking his place at the space station was Sandra Magnus, who flew up on Endeavour for a 3 1/2 -month stay.