Atlantis ready to come home

Lead shuttle flight director Mike Sarafin said at a mission status briefing that Atlantis is in good shape and ready to come home.

"Today the crew completed our primary mission objectives," he said. "We've got three very successful spacewalks under our belt."

The crew stowed six old batteries mounted on a cargo carrier in the payload bay. Then the crew took part of the day off. One of the science experiments the crew performed was to measure their spinal growth over the course of the mission in microgravity.

After undocking Sunday the crew will perform an orbital debris inspection, which will be normal even though the first inspection was cut short due to a malfunction of the shuttle's robot arm. Astronauts fixed the arm during a spacewalk.

The crew will continue unloading supplies from the shuttle to the space station. However, a noncritical transfer of oxygen to the space station was cut short due to a malfunction of the transfer system. Some 1,200 to 1,300 pounds of water were transferred to the station.

"The International Space Station is much better off for the crew of Atlantis having been there," Sarafin said.

This is the last scheduled flight of Atlantis. Only two more shuttle missions are scheduled.

Serafin said he plans to be at Kennedy Space Center when Atlantis returns to Earth for the last time Wednesday.

"Atlantis has been a remarkable vehicle," he said. "I look forward to greeting the crew of Atlantis when they get off the ship."