CAPE
CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's shuttle Atlantis is ready to haul a new European
laboratory toward the International Space Station (ISS) this week, top mission
managers said Tuesday.
Atlantis
and its seven-astronaut crew are poised to launch toward the station with the
European Space Agency's (ESA) Columbus laboratory on Thursday at 4:31 p.m. EST
(2131 GMT) to mark NASA's fourth shuttle flight of the year.
"It's a
very good day for us," said LeRoy Cain, Atlantis' mission management team
chairman, in an afternoon briefing here at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). "The
vehicle is ready, the crew is ready and the flight control team is ready."
Commanded
by veteran
shuttle astronaut Stephen Frick, Atlantis' STS-122 crew will install Columbus, replace one space station crewmember and outfit the orbital lab's exterior with
new hardware and experiments during their planned
11-day mission. If the shuttle's power supply holds out, the mission may be
extended by two days to add an extra spacewalk so astronauts can inspect a
balky ISS solar array joint.
During
their spacewalks, Atlantis' STS-122 crew will wear protective overgloves on top
of their normal spacesuit gloves to prevent the types of slices and cuts seen
by astronauts on previous spacewalks, Mike Suffredini, NASA's ISS program
manager, told reporters.
Aside from
the last-minute repair of three
minor dings on Atlantis' foam-covered fuel tank, the orbiter's launch
preparations have gone smoothly, mission managers said.
"It's been
a very, very smooth, clean countdown," added NASA shuttle launch director Doug
Lyons. "And, of course, we like it that way."
Current
forecasts predict a 90
percent chance of favorable weather conditions at liftoff, with the slight possibility
of low clouds over Atlantis' Pad 39A launch site posing the only threat for the
planned space shot, mission managers said.
NASA's slim
window in which to launch Atlantis and its Columbus cargo to the ISS closes on
Dec. 13, when the angles between the space station's power-generating solar
wings and the sun become unfavorable to support docked operations. If Atlantis cannot
launch this month, NASA would likely stand down until Jan. 2, shuttle officials
have said.
Frick and
his STS-122 crew arrived at KSC on Monday and spent much of today rehearsing
shuttle landings, flying on NASA T-38 jets and undergoing final preflight
medical checks. The ESA's 13-ton Columbus lab, meanwhile, is packed inside
Atlantis' payload bay and ready to fly.
Two members
of the shuttle's crew - veteran spaceflyers Hans
Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts - are ESA astronauts who will help break in
their agency's first permanent manned space laboratory after years of
development and delay.
"We are
extremely excited," said Alan Thirkettle, the ESA's space station program
manager, adding that the European astronauts are eager to open Columbus for business. "We're looking forward to seeing Columbus being where it belongs."
NASA
will broadcast 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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