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Atlantis Docks With Space Station
Shuttle Crew Will Install New Russian Compartment and Fresh Batteries; Three Spacewalks Planned
(CBS/AP)
The shuttle Atlantis glided to a smooth docking with the International Space Station Sunday, capping a two-day orbital chase that began with blastoff Friday.
Piloting the shuttle from the aft flight deck, Commander Kenneth Ham deftly guided the 120-ton spacecraft to a picture-perfect docking with the lab's forward port at 10:28 a.m. EDT, as the 1-million-pound shuttle-station complex sailed 220 miles above the South Pacific Ocean, reports CBS News space analyst Bill Harwood.
As they approached, Ham told the six space station residents that their home was "brilliantly glowing."
"It's an absolutely stunning view," he noted.
"Houston and station, capture confirmed," pilot Dominic Antonelli radioed as the shuttle's payload bay docking mechanism engaged its station counterpart.
"Atlantis, station, ISS is in free drift," Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi replied. "And welcome to station."
A few moments later, flight engineer Timothy Creamer rang the ship's bell in the forward Harmony module to formally announce Atlantis' arrival.
Shuttle Crew Will Install New Russian Compartment and Fresh Batteries; Three Spacewalks Planned
(CBS/AP)
The shuttle Atlantis glided to a smooth docking with the International Space Station Sunday, capping a two-day orbital chase that began with blastoff Friday.
Piloting the shuttle from the aft flight deck, Commander Kenneth Ham deftly guided the 120-ton spacecraft to a picture-perfect docking with the lab's forward port at 10:28 a.m. EDT, as the 1-million-pound shuttle-station complex sailed 220 miles above the South Pacific Ocean, reports CBS News space analyst Bill Harwood.
As they approached, Ham told the six space station residents that their home was "brilliantly glowing."
"It's an absolutely stunning view," he noted.
"Houston and station, capture confirmed," pilot Dominic Antonelli radioed as the shuttle's payload bay docking mechanism engaged its station counterpart.
"Atlantis, station, ISS is in free drift," Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi replied. "And welcome to station."
A few moments later, flight engineer Timothy Creamer rang the ship's bell in the forward Harmony module to formally announce Atlantis' arrival.