They also delivered the Quest Joint Airlock, truss segments, solar arrays, and the Columbus laboratory. 19, although NASA hopes to conserve enough power to extend the mission by one day.Atlantis went on to deliver a number of important parts to the International Space Station, including the Destiny Module, which served as the main operating facility for US research payloads. But because of the country's financial crisis, everything beyond this year is in question.Ītlantis is due back on Sept. Russia is supposed to supply more cargo ships and more space station components. That is also when controllers in Houston will take over day-to-day space station operations from their counterparts in Moscow. At that point, the international space station will be larger than Russia's Mir. The high point will be the launch of the U.S. "We made use of the delays to get our hardware ready, and now it's time to show that we can deliver on what we said we were going to do," said Robert Cabana, manager of space station international operations. Space shuttle Discovery must follow with the first piece of space station truss, or framework, before the first permanent residents can move in at the beginning of November.Īltogether, NASA plans eight shuttle flights to the space station over the next year, counting Atlantis' mission. Mufflers and shields eventually will be added in the meantime, everyone inside, Atlantis' crew included, will have earplugs. Despite the extra time, Zvezda failed to meet NASA safety standards for noise and micrometeoroid protection. Until Zvezda's launch in July, more than two years late, space station construction was on hold. They also will install the toilet, set up the treadmill and, during a 6 1/2-hour spacewalk on Monday, lay cable. Wilcutt and his crew will unload thousands of pounds of supplies from Atlantis and a Russian supply ship that already is docked to the space station. Its arrival 1 1/2 months ago nearly doubled the size of the station to a crowded three rooms. astronauts and two Russian cosmonauts will be the first to float into the space station's new Russian-made control module, Zvezda, which means Star. The shuttle should catch up early Sunday. The space station was soaring over Hungary, 6,600 miles away, when Atlantis took off. To his team, he offered this praise: "You all are super." "It's a great day," said NASA's new launch director, Mike Leinbach. What's more, Atlantis' climb to orbit was flawless, "which is kind of phenomenal," observed launch manager Bill Gerstenmaier. It was an auspicious start - this was the first punctual launch for the space shuttle program since John Glenn's return to orbit in October 1998. "We intend to do just that," replied commander Terrence Wilcutt.Ītlantis' 11-day voyage is the first shuttle flight in almost four months and the start of what NASA hopes will be a rapid-fire series of missions to the space station. "Make station into a home," Launch Control urged the astronauts. But the approaching storm stayed far enough offshore, allowing the shuttle to rise from its seaside pad into a cloudy sky at 6:45 a.m. NASA had worried for days that rain might delay the launch. Space shuttle Atlantis and a crew of seven thundered into orbit Friday on a mission to furnish the growing international space station.
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