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Atlantis Docks With Space Station

Posted Feb 9, 08 11:43 AM CST in Science & Health 

(Newser) – Space shuttle Atlantis docked flawlessly with the international space station today, the AP reports. Atlantis is delivering a $2 billion lab eagerly awaited by European scientists. Before docking, the shuttle performed a giant backflip so station crew members could take images of the shuttle's thermal shield. NASA engineers will examine them to make sure all is well.

Such check-ups have become routine after the shuttle Columbia disintegrated, killing all seven of its astronauts. But NASA insists the scrapes on Atlantis are “not a show-stopper.” The Columbus lab marks a greater European role in space exploration, the AP says. Stalled by station redesigns and shuttle groundings, the facility cost $2 billion and took 23 years to complete.

Sources Associated Press, AFP

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The space lab Columbus, flying now aboard the space shuttle Atlantis, will be installed today on the International Space Station. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)   (Associated Press)
The space shuttle Atlantis lifts off early Thursday afternoon Feb. 7, 2008 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The 11-day mission includes delivering the Columbus module to the international...   (Associated Press)
In this image taken from video provided by NASA TV, international space station Astronaut Peggy Whitson, the station's first female commander, is seen speaking to ground controllers on her 48th birthday,...   (Associated Press)
The space shuttle Atlantis leaves the launch pad during lift off Thursday Feb. 7, 2008, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)   (Associated Press)
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NASA • International Space Station • European Space Agency • Atlantis Space Shuttle • Columbia Space Shuttle • Columbus laboratory


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