Mon, Jan 24, 2011
Atlantis Will Fly The June Mission To ISS
The Space Shuttle Program baselined the STS-135 mission late
last week, setting a target launch date of June 28. It is NASA's
intent to fly the mission with orbiter Atlantis carrying the
Raffaello multipurpose logistics module to deliver supplies,
logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station. The
mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for
robotically refueling existing spacecraft and return a failed
ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure
mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems.
In late December, the agency's Space Operations Mission
Directorate requested the shuttle and International Space Station
programs take the necessary steps to maintain the capability to fly
Atlantis on the STS-135 mission.
The Authorization Act of 2010 directs NASA to conduct the
mission, and baselining the flight enables the program to begin
preparations for the mission with a target launch date of June 28.
The mission would be the 135th and final space shuttle flight.
Prepping for the next shuttle mission, STS-133, continues in the
Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida
where technicians are making good progress in their work to modify
the stringers on Discovery's external fuel tank. Discovery and its
six astronauts are targeted to launch on the STS-133 mission to the
International Space Station on Feb. 24.
Having been joined by their newest crew member, Steve Bowen,
Discovery's astronauts will review robotics procedures today and
review spacewalk timelines at NASA's Johnson Space Center in
Houston. Bowen, who flew into space on STS-132 in May 2010, will be
the first astronaut to fly on consecutive missions.
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