The six astronauts preparing to blast off on the space shuttle
Atlantis Monday have arrived at NASA's Florida spaceport to prepare for launch.
The crewmembers flew to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape
Canaveral, Fla., at 12:35 p.m. Thursday on a modified from a Gulfstream jet
with just four days remaining before their planned launch into space.
"It's a real honor and pleasure to be here,"
commander Charlie Hobaugh said just after disembarking. "This has been
obviously the culmination of at least nine months of us being together as
a crew."
The astronauts are slated to lift off on Atlantis from
Launch Pad 39A on Nov. 16 at 2:28 p.m. EST (1928 GMT) for an 11-day mission to
the International Space Station.
"As we flew in just now we saw the orbiter
on the pad, Atlantis looking bright and shiny," said pilot Barry
"Butch" Wilmore, who will be making his first trip to space.
"This is my second time flying on Atlantis," said
mission specialist Leland Melvin. "It's a great opportunity. We're very
blessed to be here, as well as just to have the opportunity to fly in space."
During their STS-129 mission the spaceflyers plan to deliver
vital spare parts to the station to help prepare for the retirement of the
space shuttle fleet in the next year or so. Three spacewalks are planned.
The astronauts are hoping for clear skies next week, since
they have only a short time range to launch before the shuttle must stand down around
Nov. 19 or 20 due to unfavorable sun angles at the
space station, which can cause heating and power concerns, agency officials
have said.
"It's a beautiful day here in Florida and we're really
excited about Monday coming up," said mission specialist Robert Satcher Jr.
Atlantis' liftoff will be the agency's fifth shuttle launch
of the year — the most in a single year since 2002.
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