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Crews to return February 4 for launch

Image right: The seven astronauts who will fly aboard space shuttle Atlantis during missions STS-122 are Rex Walheim, from left, Leland Melvin, commander Stephen Frick, Alan Poindexter, Leopold Eyharts, Stanley Love and Hans Schlegel. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

With the replacement of a faulty external electrical connector behind them, most of the crews preparing space shuttle Atlantis for launch will get the weekend off and return Monday to begin the final stretch of tasks before the countdown begins for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-122 mission.

The first of two in-depth reviews of the mission ended Friday with no signs of impediments leading up to the launch of Atlantis on Feb. 7. The session was conducted via video teleconference and included program-level officials in NASA's space shuttle program.

A second meeting, known as the executive-level Flight Readiness Review, is scheduled for Wednesday and will brief NASA executives about the spacecraft and its European-built Columbus laboratory payload. Those officials will have an opportunity to the official launch date. The targeted launch time on Feb. 7 is 2:45 p.m. EST. The meetings are standard for the days leading up to launch of a space shuttle mission.

Modifications to the external connector on Atlantis' external fuel tank were one of the subjects of Friday's session. The modifications were made to a replacement connector in the engine cutoff sensor system after a faulty connector likely caused two launch postponements in December.

Atlantis will carry the Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station. The shuttle and space station crews will use robotic arms and a series of spacewalks to attach the lab to the orbiting facility and set it up for space research.