Cape Canaveral, Fla. - Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008 — Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew landed at 9:07 a.m. EST Wednesday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, completing a 13-day journey of nearly 5.3 million miles in space.
NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier described STS-122 as one of the program's most successful space station construction missions. That’s because astronauts expanded the size and research capabilities of the International Space Station with the delivery of the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory.
Columbus was designed to support some 500 experiments per year for 10 years, in cell and plant biology, astrobiology, human physiology, fluid and material sciences, fundamental physics, astronomy, remote sensing and technology, according to Science Daily.
"We're focused on completing assembly and moving into the full utilization phase of the station,” Gerstenmaier said. “This mission opens the door for another one of our international partners to join in the important work and science on the space station."
Steve Frick commanded the flight and was joined by Pilot Alan Poindexter, Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Stanley Love and European Space Agency astronauts Hans Schlegel from Germany and Leopold Eyharts from France. Eyharts remained aboard the space station, replacing Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Dan Tani, who returned to Earth on Atlantis after nearly four months on the station. Eyharts will return on shuttle Endeavour's STS-123 mission, currently targeted for launch on March 11, 2008.
The mission included three spacewalks to outfit Columbus with power, data and cooling cables, installation of two science experiments on the lab's exterior, replacement of an expended nitrogen tank on the space station's cooling system, and retrieval of a failed space station control moment gyroscope -— a device that helps control the orientation of the station — for its return to Earth.
The ISS crew took a break from their activities to watch the landing via a live video uplink.
With the shuttle safely on the ground, the U.S. Navy was able to successfully shoot down an out-of-control, 5,000-pound reconnaissance satellite containing toxic hydrazine rocket fuel. "The intercept occurred…We're very confident that we hit the satellite," said Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "We also have a high degree of confidence that we got the tank."
Remaining remnants of the satellite will burn up in the atmosphere and pose little danger to those on the ground, officials said.
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The space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven landed Wednesday morning at Kennedy Space Center.
Photo credit: NASA
A view of the International Space Station as taken from Atlantis. Photo credit: NASA
Six of the seven STS-122 mission crew members pause in front of space shuttle after safely returning to Earth. From left, Leland Melvin, Hans Schlegel, Stanley Love, Rex Walheim, Alan Poindexter and Stephen Frick. Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
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