SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
*Expedition 15 Awaits Arrival of Atlantis, New Crew Member*
Space Shuttle Atlantis is pictured separating from its external tank moments after reaching orbitImage above: Space Shuttle Atlantis is pictured separating from its external tank moments after reaching orbit. Image credit: NASA TV
TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
With the successful launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis, the stage is set for changes at the International Space Station and for its crew.
Atlantis blasted off from Kennedy Space Center, Fla.’s Launch Pad 39A at 7:38 p.m. EDT Friday to begin a two-day chase of the station. The STS-117 mission will continue the on-orbit construction of the station with the delivery and installation of the Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segments. Also traveling with STS-117 is a new Expedition 15 crew member, astronaut Clayton Anderson, who will replace Flight Engineer Suni Williams. At launch time, the station was flying above the southern Indian Ocean southwest of Australia.
+ Read the most recent information about the STS-117 mission http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov and Williams will make final preparations for STS-117’s arrival. Docking is set for 3:36 p.m. Sunday. Anderson and Williams are scheduled to switch crews later that day.
The addition of the S3/S4 to the station is scheduled for Monday. The segment contains a new set of solar arrays that will increase the station's power-generation capabilities. The STS-117 crew will use the station and shuttle robotic arms and conduct spacewalks to install and activate the truss. Three spacewalks are scheduled for STS-117’s stay.
Atlantis is slated to undock from the station on June 17, the day after Williams breaks the record for the longest spaceflight ever by a woman. The record, 188 days and 4 hours, is currently held by NASA astronaut Shannon Lucid.
+ Read more about Expedition 15 http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/index.html + View crew daily timelines http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/timelines/index.html