NASA's space
shuttle Atlantis is closing in on the International Space Station and on track
to link up with the orbiting laboratory later today.
Atlantis
and its crew of six astronauts are due to arrive at the space station at about
11:53 a.m. EST (1653 GMT) to deliver tons of vital spare parts and other bulky
gear that only NASA's shuttles can haul.
"We're
ready to get to station tomorrow," shuttle commander
Charlie Hobaugh radioed Mission Control in Houston late Tuesday. "See you
then."
But before
Atlantis can dock, Hobaugh will fly the 100-ton spacecraft through an orbital back
flip about 600 feet (182 meters) below the space station. The maneuver will
allow astronauts aboard the station to snap high-resolution photos of the
thousands of heat-resistant tiles on Atlantis belly as part of a standard heat
shield check.
An early look
at data from a Tuesday inspection of the heat shield panels lining Atlantis'
nose cap and wing edges has found no immediate cause for concern. NASA experts
will continue to analyze that data, as well as the images from today's photo
session, to be sure.
"Preliminarily,
we don't have any significant issues," said LeRoy Cain, head of Atlantis'
mission management team. NASA has kept a close watch on the health of its
shuttles since the tragic loss of shuttle Columbia and its astronaut crew in
2003 due to heat shield damage.
Atlantis launched
Monday and is hauling more than 27,000 pounds (12,246 kg) of cargo to
the space station, including a pair of massive carrier platforms laden with
large spare parts for the orbiting laboratory. The spares, which include huge
gyroscopes, pumps and other gear, will be installed at the station during three
spacewalks planned for the 11-day space mission.
The shuttle
will also ferry NASA astronaut Nicole Stott back home from the
space station.
Stott has
been living aboard the station since late August as part of the outpost's
six-person crew. She will return home on Atlantis and is currently the last astronaut
planned to be rotated on and off the station using a NASA shuttle before the
fleet is retired in the next year or so.
Stott and
her crewmates have been tackling some glitches with the station's systems.
A 150-pound
(68-kg) device used to distill
astronaut urine into pure drinking water is broken and will have to be
returned to Earth on Atlantis. The stations' water processing assembly is also
experiencing problems.
Neither
glitch is expected to pose any concern to Atlantis' week-long stay at the space
station, Cain said.
Mission
Control roused the Atlantis astronauts at 4:28 a.m. EST (0928 GMT) with the
song "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder, a tune specially selected for mission
specialist Bobby Satcher, who is making his first spaceflight.
"We're
looking forward to a good day," Satcher said.
SPACE.com
is providing complete coverage of Atlantis' STS-129 mission to the
International Space Station with Staff Writer Clara Moskowitz and Managing
Editor Tariq Malik based in New York. Click here for shuttle mission
updates and a link to NASA TV.
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