Friday, June 08, 2007

Atlantis in orbit

My misgivings about the repaired external tank on the shuttle Atlantis were, fortunately, all wrong. The STS-117 mission had a perfect on-time liftoff from Kennedy Space Center and was in orbit nine minutes later. On board for this service mission to the International Space Station (ISS) are commander Frederick Sturckow, pilot Lee Archambault, and five other astronauts - one of whom, Clayton Anderson, will be staying on the ISS while Atlantis returns with astronaut Sunita Williams. The 11-day mission, which will add a new segment to the ISS, carries one unusual item - a metal cargo tag reading "Yames Towne." This came from the historic settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, established 400 years ago.

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