Pirs' rocket jettisoned from space station

The jettisoned Pirs' propulsion segment glowed as it drifted away from the space station.

(CNN) -- The crew of the international space station on Wednesday jettisoned the rocket that delivered a new Russian docking compartment to Alpha.

The spent segment was detached with explosive devices and floated away from the station. Mission controllers expect it to eventually burn up in Earth's atmosphere.

The new docking compartment, called Pirs -- the Russian word for pier -- was launched on September 14 and docked with Alpha on September 16.

The 16-foot long Pirs provides the station with an airlock for use with Russian Orlan space suits.

Meanwhile, the Alpha crew -- U.S. commander Frank Culbertson, Russian pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Russian flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin -- are preparing for their first spacewalk.

Dezhurov and Tyurin are scheduled to leave Alpha through the new Pirs compartment on October 8 to continue hooking up and activating the module.

The space station is orbiting Earth at an average altitude of 240 statute miles (385 km).