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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