Space shuttle Atlantis descended to a smooth landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:48 a.m. EDT Wednesday, concluding the successful STS-132 mission to the International Space Station.
Atlantis undocked from the station Sunday after spending 7 days and 54 minutes docked to the orbiting laboratory. STS-132 was the 34th shuttle mission dedicated to station assembly and maintenance.
Atlantis undocked from the station Sunday after spending 7 days and 54 minutes docked to the orbiting laboratory. STS-132 was the 34th shuttle mission dedicated to station assembly and maintenance.
Image above: The newly-installed Rassvet Russian Mini-Research Module-1 is pictured with space shuttle Atlantis performing its flyaround of the International Space Station just after undocking. Credit: NASA
The third of five shuttle missions planned for 2010, this was the last scheduled flight for Atlantis. The mission delivered the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the station. Also known as Rassvet ("dawn" in Russian), the module provides additional storage space and a new docking port for Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft.
› Read more about the STS-132 mission
International Space Station Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineer Alexander Skvortsov opened the hatch of the Mini Research Module-1, named Rassvet, Thursday.
The 11,000-pound module was attached to its permanent home on the Russian segment of the station May 18.
The new module will host a variety of biotechnology and biological science experiments and fluid physics and educational research. Rassvet contains a pressurized compartment with eight workstations, including a glove box to keep experiments separated from the in-cabin environment; two incubators to accommodate high- and low-temperature experiments; and a special platform to protect experiments from onboard vibrations.
Attached to its exterior is an experiment airlock that will be used on another Russian laboratory module set for delivery in 2012.
The 11,000-pound module was attached to its permanent home on the Russian segment of the station May 18.
The new module will host a variety of biotechnology and biological science experiments and fluid physics and educational research. Rassvet contains a pressurized compartment with eight workstations, including a glove box to keep experiments separated from the in-cabin environment; two incubators to accommodate high- and low-temperature experiments; and a special platform to protect experiments from onboard vibrations.
Attached to its exterior is an experiment airlock that will be used on another Russian laboratory module set for delivery in 2012.
For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
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