NASA Clears Shuttle Atlantis for Landing

HOUSTON -- NASA mission managers cleared the space shuttle Atlantis for its planned landing next week after finding its protective heat shield sound for the plunge through Earth?s atmosphere.

?Okay, that?s great news Houston!? said Atlantis commander Rick Sturckow after Mission Control relayed the good news. ?Thanks a lot.?

One last, now-standard heat shield survey is scheduled for Atlantis to ensure tiny space rocks or debris have not damaged the shuttle since its June 8 launch.

Saturday?s announcement came one day after NASA astronaut Danny Olivas repaired a torn protective blanket on Atlantis' left engine pod using medical staples and wire pins during a nearly eight-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS). A corner of the blanket ripped loose as the shuttle launched from NASA?s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Earlier in the mission, Atlantis? seven-astronaut STS-117 crew scanned the vital heat-resistant tiles and panels along the shuttle?s wing edges, nose cap and underbelly with a sensor-laden boom to seek out any signs of significant damage. Astronauts aboard the ISS also snapped high-resolution images of the shuttle while it performed a back flip just before docking at the orbital laboratory on June 10.

NASA has kept close watch on the integrity of shuttle heat shields since 2003, when a piece of shuttle fuel tank foam fell free during launch and pierced heat-resistant panels on the Columbia orbiter?s left wing. The damage led to the loss of the spacecraft and its seven-astronaut crew.

As an added safety measure, the STS-117 crew will perform a now-standard second heat shield survey, known as a ?late inspection? and is nearly identical to the first, once Atlantis casts off from the ISS. The survey will scan for any damage sustained by micrometeorites or space junk.

The shuttle is currently slated to undock from the space station on Tuesday en route for a planned June 21 landing, but carries enough supplies to spend one extra day docked at the ISS if needed, NASA said.

Sturckow and his crewmates are in the midst of a planned 13-day mission that has, to date, successfully delivered a new crewmember to the ISS and installed new starboard trusses and solar arrays for the orbital laboratory. The mission is NASA?s first of up to four shuttle flights this year dedicated to space station construction.

NASA is broadcasting the space shuttle Atlantis' STS-117 mission live on NASA TV. Click here for mission updates and SPACE.com's video feed.

• SPACE.com Video Interplayer: Space Station Power Up with STS-117
• STS-117 Power Play: Atlantis Shuttle Crew to Deliver ISS Solar Wings
• Complete Shuttle Mission Coverage