[sarex] STS-117 Delivers New Crew Member, Truss Segment to Station

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

*STS-117 Delivers New Crew Member, Truss Segment to Station*

image above: The International Space Station is viewed from Space
Shuttle Atlantis prior to docking. Image credit: NASA TV

TO VIEW THE IMAGE GO 
TO:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Space Shuttle Atlantis arrived at the International Space Station at 
3:36 p.m. EDT today, delivering a new crew member and a new component to 
the orbital outpost.

The station’s Expedition 15 crew and its visitors will begin joint 
operations after the hatches open. The station is slated to officially 
receive its newest crew member, astronaut Clayton Anderson, this 
afternoon. Anderson traveled to the station with STS-117 and will swap 
places with Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Suni Williams.

Anderson becomes a member of the station crew when his custom-made seat 
liner is swapped out in the Soyuz spacecraft docked to the station. 
Williams is wrapping up a six-month stay aboard the station. She will 
return to Earth on Atlantis, which is slated to undock June 17.

Also arriving with Atlantis is the Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss 
segments. The S3/S4 contains a new set of solar arrays that will 
increase the station’s power-generation capabilities. The new truss will 
be attached Monday. The STS-117 crew will use the station and shuttle 
robotic arms and conduct spacewalks to install and activate the truss. 
Three spacewalks are scheduled for STS-117’s stay.

+ Read more about Expedition 15 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/index.html>
+ View crew daily timelines 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/timelines/index.html>