The space shuttle Atlantis launched on a mission to visit the International Space Station Monday afternoon, reports the Associated Press.
Atlantis’ blastoff was the fifth successful launch of 2009, following three other visits to the station and — on Atlantis’ previous flight — a final overhaul of the Hubble Space Telescope. Five more trips are planned next year to finish more than 10 years of station construction, after which about 7,000 Kennedy Space Center employees face layoffs.
Atlantis’ 11-day mission is designed to deliver large spare parts and bring home a station flight engineer. The shuttle is scheduled to dock with the orbiting research outpost just before noon Wednesday about 220 miles above Earth.
Over the next several days, analysts will review launch images and more pictures to be taken from the station as the shuttle approaches and performs a back flip to expose its belly to cameras.
Once the two spacecraft are linked, the Atlantis crew will immediately begin to install the first of two large pallets of spare parts outside the station. They include: two steering gyroscopes, a group of tanks and pumps for the station’s cooling system and a hand for a robotic arm.
The mission is one of the last five that will be undertaken by the space shuttle program before its retired.
The shuttle is scheduled to return home the day after Thanksgiving, carrying an additional crewmember. Nicole Stott is nearing the end of her three-month stay in orbit and will be the last long-duration station resident to fly on a shuttle.
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