HOUSTON --
Astronauts aboard NASA's shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station
(ISS) said Tuesday that their joint mission is going well, despite a busy pace
and a few minor glitches.
"We
couldn't be happier with the mission so far," veteran spaceflyer
Rick Sturckow, commander of Atlantis' STS-117 mission to the ISS, told CBS
News during a series of interviews on NASA TV. "It's going really great."
Since their
arrival at the ISS Sunday, Sturckow and his six STS-117 crewmates have
swapped out one astronaut on the station's Expedition 15 crew, installed a
17.5-ton addition to the orbital laboratory's starboard framework and, on
Tuesday, unfurled a new
pair of new solar arrays.
"That put a
pretty good chunk of our mission behind us," Sturckow told CBS.
Aboard the
ISS and Atlantis, the astronauts have worked through a false fire alarm,
attitude control issues stemming from a Russian computer system glitch, and
will later repair
a torn heat shield blanket on the orbiter. But the issues have not kept the
STS-117 astronauts from continuing their mission to deliver new starboard solar
arrays and trusses to the ISS.
"When we
first saw it, I don't think we were too concerned and we're still not," Struckow told KTSM TV in El Paso, Texas of Atlantis'
damaged thermal blanket and added that the planned repair is worth it. "The
shuttle's an expensive piece of gear and it's right to
protect it."
Today, STS-117 mission specialists Steven Swanson and Patrick Forrester are due
to stage the second of four planned spacewalks to outfit the station with the
new trusses and solar wings.
Astronaut
Clayton Anderson, who launched towards the ISS aboard Atlantis to join the
station's Expedition 15 crew, said he was awed by the station as he learns the ropes
from fellow spaceflyer Sunita
Williams.
"Just
looking out the window at the station, with Sun shining off the arrays and
seeing all the vistas that we can see, it's just incredible for me," said
Anderson, adding that Williams has been offering him sage advice about life
aboard the ISS. "She's been trying to teach me all the tricks of the trade and
where all the cubby holes on the station are, so it's fun."
Anderson is
replacing Williams as an Expedition 15 flight engineer. Williams, who has lived
aboard the ISS since December 2006, will return to Earth aboard Atlantis.
"I'm really
going to miss it," Williams said of the ISS. "It's a wonderful place to work
and a wonderful place to live."
Atlantis
mission specialist Danny Olivas, who is making the first spaceflight and
spacewalks of his astronaut career during the STS-117 mission, said the shuttle's
June 8 launch into space outclassed any amusement park ride on Earth.
"It's
really a tremendous feeling. A lot of shaking, a lot of vibration, it was just
really awesome," Olivas told television reporters from his hometown of El Paso,
Texas, adding that the liftoff and his first
spacewalk on Monday made some deep personal impressions. "I think I've
burned some very memorable memories into my brain. I'm not going to lose those
for some time."
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.
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