Saturday, February 09, 2008

Live in orbit: Hatch opens, crews meet













Shuttle Atlantis is docked at the ISS, while crews have gone to work.

Click for video.

The crews of Atlantis and the International Space Station met after the hatch opened about 11:40 p.m. EST.

"We are go for (air pressure) equalization. Yah-Hoo!" said ISS flight engineer Dan Tani just before the hatch opened.

The hatch opening happened in a part of the orbit where video could not be received from the ISS. The Atlantis crew was given a safety briefing by ISS Commander Peggy Whitson. After the briefing, the crew will work on a variety of tasks.

The Atlantis crew welcomed by Whitson and flight engineers Tani and Yuri Malenchenko includes Europeans Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts.

On Sunday, the 27,000-pound Columbus module will be moved from the shuttle payload bay and attached to the starboard side of the Harmony mondule.

Earlier during a flip maneuver before docking, astronauts in the ISS focused cameras on an apparent tear in an insulation blanket on the starboard Orbital Maneuvering System pod. The tear appeared to be several inches wide and is located mid-way back on the pod.

Nearly 300 photos were taken.

Tears in the OMS pod blankets have been reported on other missions, and orbiters have re-entered the atmosphere safely. During STS-117, astronaut Danny Olivas made temporary repairs to an OMS pod blanket during a spacewalk.

Click for STS-122 fact sheet.

Click for NASA-TV schedule, which gives a mission timeline.

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