CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Shuttle Atlantis and its five astronauts zoomed along on their high-speed cruise toward the International Space Station Thursday as the three tenants aboard the outpost readied their residence for company like anyone else would do.
They took out the trash.
And when Atlantis arrives at the spiffed-up station Friday, the visiting shuttle crew expects a hearty hatch-opening ceremony that just might get a bit boisterous.
"I know they haven't seen any visitors in quite a long time, so I think it's just going to be big smiles and happy joyous laughter going on among the eight of us," shuttle skipper Ken Cockrell said as Atlantis continued its hot pursuit of the station.
One of the first things over the threshold likely will be a care package for U.S. astronaut Bill Shepherd and his two colleagues - Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev - who have been in orbit now for 100 days.
"We're bringing some chocolate and other kinds of candy, and some notes and gifts from their loved ones at home," Cockrell said.Food and clean clothing also will be dropped off along with some 20 DVD movies to keep Shepherd and company entertained during their off hours on the outpost.
"They have had opportunities to watch movies from time to time," Cockrell said, "and these will be some fresh ones for them."
The orbital house party is scheduled to get underway a little less than an hour after Cockrell eases the shuttle up to the station for a scheduled 11:50 p.m. EST (16:50 GMT) link-up about 200 miles (320 kilometers) above Western Europe.
Coming two days after the shuttle's stunning sunset liftoff from Kennedy Space Center, the docking will set the stage for the prime job at hand: Delivering the U.S. Destiny lab, which will be the scientific heart of the station.
Considered the most important and most expensive U.S. station segment, the $1.38 billion lab is to be mounted atop the outpost Saturday and then wired up by spacewalkers Tom Jones and Robert Curbeam that same day.
Cockrell admitted to being a bit nervous about the complicated task, which calls for the 16-ton lab to be hoisted from the shuttle's cargo bay with a Canadian-built robot arm and then flipped 180 degrees so it can be properly position at the front end of the complex.
"I think there's certainly always butterflies - or at least there's a feeling of wanting to do everything just right," Cockrell said.
"We try not to think of the cost of the lab," he added. "It's certainly nothing that we could pay back we ruin it, so we try to keep that sort of thing out of our minds, and we just concentrate on doing a good job."
The Atlantis crew spent their first full day in space getting ready to do the work ahead.
Mission specialist Marsha Ivins limbered up the ship's 50-foot (15-meter) robot arm while Jones and Curbeam checked out the spacesuits they'll wear during three planned excursions outside the station.
The second and third spacewalks - which are scheduled for next Monday and Wednesday, respectively - will primarily involve mounting a shuttle docking port on the forward end of the lab and stowing a spare communications antenna.
Jones and Curbeam detected a small oxygen leak in a back-up spacesuit being carried along on the mission. Engineers are trying to figure out the problem, but NASA lead flight director Bob Castle said he was 95 percent sure the back-up suit could be pressed into service if need be.
The Atlantis crew also spent some time beaming back images of a sizeable ding on the leading edge of the shuttle's vertical stabilizer - an unusual find not considered to be a serious problem. Apparent ice build-ups described by Cockrell as "little icebergs" also were spotted on the nozzle of one of the shuttle's main engines but those sublimated during the day.
Shepherd and the two cosmonauts, meanwhile, spent their day preparing the station for the arrival of Atlantis. Their main job: Overseeing the undocking a Russian Progress space freighter that was jettisoned from the outpost to clear the way for Atlantis.
Filled with two months worth of trash as well as discarded equipment, the makeshift garbage scow burned up during an intentional and destructive dive back through Earth's atmosphere.
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