Image above: Commander Charles Hobaugh on the flight deck of space shuttle Atlantis. Photo credit: NASA TV

Crew checks out shuttle and prepares for docking

On Tuesday, Atlantis' astronauts inspected the space shuttle’s thermal protection system, checked out spacesuits and prepared to dock with the International Space Station.

Much of the day for STS-129 Commander Charles Hobaugh, Pilot Barry Wilmore and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman and Robert Satcher Jr. was devoted to inspection of the shuttle’s heat-resistant tiles and reinforced carbon-carbon surfaces on the wing leading edges and the nose.

Hobaugh, Wilmore and Melvin used the shuttle’s arm and its Orbital Boom Sensor System extension to survey Atlantis’ right wing. Bresnik, Foreman and Satcher checked out spacesuits.

After the right wing scan Bresnik replaced Hobaugh on the survey team for detailed looks at the nose cap, the left wing and other areas while Foreman and Satcher kept working with the spacesuits.

After the inspections were complete and the boom was berthed, Melvin and Bresnik grappled the Express Logistics Carrier 1 in Atlantis’ cargo bay with the shuttle’s robotic arm to get ready for the ELC’s transfer to the station.

Toward the end of their day, crew members extended the Orbital Docking System Ring and checked out rendezvous tools. Atlantis is scheduled to dock with the station a little before 12 p.m. EST on Wednesday.

Atlantis is carrying additional Amateur Radio antennas for the International Space Station (ISS).

Astronauts will install and deploy the antennas during the second spacewalk of STS-129. A ham radio team on the ground will monitor the spacewalk activity via a NASA real-time teleconference call.

The mission also will return station crew member Nicole Stott, KE5GJN, to Earth and is slated to be the final space shuttle crew rotation flight.

See also:
More Ham Radio antennas for the space station