News From Space!

Atlantis has reached the ISS and is docked to the orbital outpost. NASA reports:

Atlantis Arrives at Space Station, Joint Operations to Begin Soon

Image above: Space Shuttle Atlantis is pictured moments after docking to the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory. Image credit: NASA TV 

Space Shuttle Atlantis and the STS-117 crew arrived at the International Space Station at 3:36 p.m. EDT, delivering a new truss segment and crew member to the orbital outpost.

The STS-117 astronauts and the station’s Expedition 15 crew will conduct pressure and leak checks before the hatches between the spacecraft open. After the crews greet each other, they will quickly begin joint operations.

One of the first major tasks is the station crew rotation. STS-117 Mission Specialist Clayton Anderson will switch places with Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Suni Williams, who will be wrapping up a six-month tour of duty on the station. Anderson is scheduled to stay on the station until he returns to Earth with STS-120 later this year.

Anderson will officially become a member of Expedition 15 when his custom-made seat liner is swapped out with Williams’ in the Soyuz spacecraft docked to the station.

The crews will prepare for Monday’s installation of the Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segment and the first of three scheduled STS-117 spacewalks. The crews will use the shuttle robotic arm to lift the S3/S4 out of Atlantis’ payload bay and hand it off to the station arm.

The S3/S4, which contains a new set of solar arrays, is scheduled to be attached to the station at 11:08 a.m. Monday. Then, STS-117 Mission Specialists John “Danny” Olivas and Jim Reilly will make connections between the station and the new truss segment during the spacewalk, which is set to kick off at 2:53 p.m.

About an hour before docking, Sturckow and Archambault guided the shuttle through a back-flip maneuver that allowed the Expedition 15 crew to photograph the shuttle’s protective heat-resistant tiles. The imagery will be sent to engineers on Earth for analysis.

STS-117 is the 21st shuttle mission to visit the station. Atlantis [is] scheduled to undock June 17 and return to Earth on the 19th.

Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.

Sunday afternoon will see Atlantis dock with the ISS. Will an extra spacewalk be required to repair a torn thermal blanket? NASA reports:

Atlantis to Arrive at Space Station Today

Space Shuttle Atlantis continues to close in on the International Space Station for today’s docking at 3:38 p.m. EDT. Atlantis’ arrival will set the stage for the next phase of the station’s on-orbit construction and a change in the Expedition 15 crew.

The STS-117 crew began rendezvous operations this morning. Commander Rick Sturckow and Pilot Lee Archambault will fire Atlantis’ engines at 1 p.m. to refine the approach to the station.

About an hour before docking, Sturckow and Archambault will guide the shuttle through a back-flip maneuver that will allow the Expedition 15 crew to photograph the shuttle’s protective heat-resistant tiles. The imagery will be sent to engineers on Earth for analysis.

After Atlantis docks, the shuttle and station crews will conduct pressure and leak checks before the hatches between the spacecraft open at 4:58. The two crews will greet each other and quickly begin joint operations.

One of the first major tasks is the station crew rotation. STS-117 Mission Specialist Clayton Anderson will switch places with Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Suni Williams, who will be wrapping up a six-month tour of duty as an Expedition crew member. Anderson is scheduled to stay on the station until he returns to Earth with STS-120 later this year.

Also, preparations will begin today for Monday’s installation of the Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segment and the first of three scheduled STS-117 spacewalks. The crews will use the shuttle robotic arm to lift the S3/S4 out of Atlantis’ payload bay and hand it off to the station arm.

The S3/S4 is scheduled to be attached to the station at 11:08 a.m. Monday. Then, STS-117 Mission Specialists John “Danny” Olivas and Jim Reilly will make connections between the station and the new truss segment during the spacewalk, which is set to kick off at 2:53 p.m.

On Saturday, the crew used Atlantis’ robotic arm and an attached boom extension to check the spacecraft’s underside, nose cap and leading edges of the wings as well as hard to reach shuttle surfaces. The robotic arm cameras took a closer look at an area of insulation blanket on the port orbital maneuvering system pod that pulled away from adjacent thermal tiles. Engineers are analyzing the imagery. Olivas will take additional photographs of the area this morning.

More launch pics here and here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.