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| Image above: The STS-117 and Expedition 15 crewmembers
gather for a group portrait during a joint crew press conference in
the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station while Space
Shuttle Atlantis was docked with the station. Image credit: NASA |
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Expedition 15 close hatches - Atlantis set to undock Tuesday
The STS-117 crew bid farewell Monday to the Expedition 15 crew before
the hatches closed at 6:51 p.m. EDT between Space Shuttle Atlantis and
the International Space Station.
Attention now turns to Atlantis’ undocking from the station 10:42
a.m. Tuesday.
The STS-117 crew members are wrapping up a stay in which they continued
the on-orbit construction of the station with the installation of the
Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segment. The crew installed the truss
June 11 and conducted four spacewalks to activate the S3/S4 and assist
in the retraction of solar array on the Port 6 truss. During the third
spacewalk, the crew repaired an out –of-position thermal blanket
on the left orbital maneuvering system pod.
Atlantis also delivered a new station crew member, Flight Engineer Clayton
Anderson, KD5PLA. He replaced astronaut Suni Williams, KD5PLB, who is
the new record holder for a long-duration single spaceflight for a woman.
She arrived at the station in December with STS-116.
Before Atlantis begins the journey home, Commander Rick Sturckow and
Pilot Archambault will perform a fly-around to allow crew members to collect
video and imagery of the station and its newly expanded solar wings.
Atlantis is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center, Florida at 1:54
EDT Thursday.
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