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.
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