Atlantis docks with space station

[Guest Glenn]

Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20 ... 02,00.html

 

THE US space shuttle Atlantis has successfully docked with the International Space Station, completing the first leg of its mission to boost the station's energy generating capacity.After completing a tricky backflip to allow the ISS crew to take pictures of the orbiter's underbelly, Atlantis Commander Brent Jett slowly aligned the spacecraft with the docking port and achieved a perfect link-up at about 8.48pm (AEST).

 

"Houston station, capture confirmed," he radioed back to mission control.

 

The astronauts will enter the station for the first time about 9.55pm (AEST), to be greeted by its crew.

 

The two crews will quickly begin preparations for tomorrow's installation of a truss that will support new solar panels and for the first spacewalk, officials said.

 

The crews will use the shuttle's robotic arm to pass the truss to the station arm at about 12.45am (AEST) tomorrow.

 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration says the 11 day mission to boost power on the ISS entails the most complex work ever undertaken at the nearly eight-year-old, half-finished orbiting laboratory.

 

It comes after a nearly four year hiatus due to the February 2003 Columbia disaster.