Station Astronauts Eager for Orbital Houseguests

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are rolling out the welcome mat for seven spaceflyers aboard NASA?s shuttle Atlantis.

The shuttle crew will deliver the new European-built Columbus laboratory to the ISS when it docks Saturday at 12:25 p.m. EST (1725 GMT) on the same day, by coincidence, as station commander Peggy Whitson?s 48th birthday.

?It is tomorrow, so my present is a new module that we?re going to install on board the station,? a smiling Whitson told reporters via space-to-ground video on Friday.

Whitson and Expedition 16 flight engineers Dan Tani and Yuri Malenchenko are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Atlantis? STS-122 crew. Not only are the shuttle astronauts delivering a new space station lab and ferrying Tani?s replacement - European Space Agency spaceflyer Leopold Eyharts - to the ISS, they?re also bringing food.

?It?s all about the sauce. So we?ve made several requests for different sauces to try and spice up the food a bit more,? Whitson said. ?It gets a little old after being up here for several months.?

Fresh tortillas, another hot commodity, are also stowed on board the incoming shuttle, she added.

?I?m also looking forward to a couple of new shirts,? joked Tani.

While Whitson and Malenchenko launched to the ISS last fall for a planned six-month mission, Tani arrived in late October during NASA?s last shuttle flight.

He expected to return home by Christmas, but delays to Atlantis? current mission extended his flight by about two months. Tani is now scheduled to return to Earth with Atlantis? crew on Feb. 18, while Eyharts will stay on until a replacement arrives aboard NASA?s Endeavour orbiter next month.

?I?m really happy to see all of them,? Tani said. ?They?re good friends of ours.?

NASA is broadcasting Atlantis' STS-122 mission live on NASA TV. Click here for SPACE.com's shuttle mission coverage and NASA TV feed. 

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