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player ready...For the first time in nearly a year, a crew of astronauts is flying toward the international space station with supplies and equipment packed aboard shuttle Atlantis.
The ship should be in position to dock at the station early Sunday, drawing closer to the outpost with each orbit around Earth.
Atlantis started its 10-day mission Friday in a predawn launch from Kennedy Space Center with six astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut on board.
Led by the shuttle’s commander, James Halsell, the crew is to make repairs, install new equipment and drop off supplies.
They will be the first people aboard the station since a crew on shuttle Discovery delivered goods last June.
“The space station is in good shape awaiting Atlantis,” said Bob Cabana, NASA’s deputy station manager for international operations.
“Everything is on track.”
Atlantis’ crew will spend most of Saturday checking the shuttle’s docking systems and getting ready for their arrival. They are expected to park at the station around 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
Once inside, their most important job is to replace four worn-out batteries in the Russian Zarya module. The batteries provide electrical power while the station is in darkness; its solar panels cannot generate power.
The crew also plans to transfer about 2,000 pounds of goods such as water, clothing and exercise equipment for future station residents.
Astronauts Jim Voss and Jeff Williams are to make a 61/2-hour spacewalk starting late Sunday to work on two cranes needed for later construction and to replace a broken communication antenna.
Atlantis also will boost the station’s orbit about 26 miles so it can be in position for the expected July arrival of a long-delayed Russian component.
That piece, the Zvezda service module, is critical because it provides a propulsion system and Spartan living quarters for early crews. NASA officials say Atlantis’ mission will prepare the station for the long-awaited component.
Beyond that, they hope the flight reinvigorates the $60-billion station project that has been stalled by the launch delays and surrounded by uncertainty over Russia’s commitment to the endeavor.
“I think people ought to stop doubting and start believing, because we’re launching,” Cabana said.
“I’ve been telling folks they better be prepared when the service module launches in July, because we’re going to be busy. I’m confident that we’re on track and we’re going to make this happen.”
Friday’s shuttle launch was NASA’s second this year. Atlantis was grounded three straight days in April by bad weather, but conditions were pristine Friday when the ship thundered from its launch pad at 6:11 a.m.
With a dazzling sunrise as a backdrop, the shuttle left a thick contrail that lit up pink, blue and yellow in the morning sky.
“They say that good things come to those who wait, and we waited for a while on this one, but the satisfaction is immense,” said launch director Dave King after the liftoff.
“What a beautiful time of day to launch.”
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Atlantis is due back at Kennedy Space Center on May 29.