Busy astronauts take time to enjoy final mission of Atlantis
Source: Agencies |
July 15, 2011, Friday
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AFTER a hectic week in orbit, the astronauts on NASA's last space shuttle flight got some time off yesterday to savor their historic experience.
"This is one of the first days we've been able to take a deep breath and appreciate what we're doing up here," said space shuttle Atlantis' commander, Christopher Ferguson.
Until yesterday, the workload in orbit was so intense that the four astronauts had only fleeting moments of realizing "wow, this is really it," astronaut Rex Walheim said in a series of TV interviews.
"But boy, it's going to hit when we land and wheels stop," he added.
The 10 astronauts aboard the linked Atlantis and International Space Station got time to linger over the "all-American meal" of grilled chicken and barbecued beef brisket, complete with baked beans and Hostess apple pie.
NASA urged the public to share in the virtual dinner, publishing the recipes online in advance.
Before kicking back and relaxing, Ferguson said the space station delivery mission was going well and that the back-and-forth cargo hauling was three-quarters completed.
"Atlantis is purring like a kitten," he said. "I think she's about 25 years or so old, but she performs just like a newborn."
Atlantis first rocketed into orbit in 1985. This is its 33rd flight and the 135th shuttle mission. Atlantis will join Discovery and Endeavour in retirement.
The space shuttle delivered nearly 5 tons of food, clothes and other household goods in a giant canister to the space station - an entire year's worth of supplies. NASA wants the orbiting lab well stocked in case private companies fall behind in their effort to take over shuttle supply runs. The first such commercial flight is expected by year's end.
While the unmanned cargo ships are smaller than NASA's shuttles, Ferguson said there are more of them, launching from all over the world. But the craft burn up in the atmosphere after undocking.
"From a return standpoint, bringing things back from the space station and getting them to Earth, we're going to miss the space shuttle," he said.
Atlantis, for instance, will return more than 3,175 kilograms of discarded equipment and trash from the space station, freeing up much needed room. Engineers will take apart some of the broken machinery to see what went wrong and, hopefully, learn from the mistakes.
Atlantis is due to return to Earth on July 21.
"This is one of the first days we've been able to take a deep breath and appreciate what we're doing up here," said space shuttle Atlantis' commander, Christopher Ferguson.
Until yesterday, the workload in orbit was so intense that the four astronauts had only fleeting moments of realizing "wow, this is really it," astronaut Rex Walheim said in a series of TV interviews.
"But boy, it's going to hit when we land and wheels stop," he added.
The 10 astronauts aboard the linked Atlantis and International Space Station got time to linger over the "all-American meal" of grilled chicken and barbecued beef brisket, complete with baked beans and Hostess apple pie.
NASA urged the public to share in the virtual dinner, publishing the recipes online in advance.
Before kicking back and relaxing, Ferguson said the space station delivery mission was going well and that the back-and-forth cargo hauling was three-quarters completed.
"Atlantis is purring like a kitten," he said. "I think she's about 25 years or so old, but she performs just like a newborn."
Atlantis first rocketed into orbit in 1985. This is its 33rd flight and the 135th shuttle mission. Atlantis will join Discovery and Endeavour in retirement.
The space shuttle delivered nearly 5 tons of food, clothes and other household goods in a giant canister to the space station - an entire year's worth of supplies. NASA wants the orbiting lab well stocked in case private companies fall behind in their effort to take over shuttle supply runs. The first such commercial flight is expected by year's end.
While the unmanned cargo ships are smaller than NASA's shuttles, Ferguson said there are more of them, launching from all over the world. But the craft burn up in the atmosphere after undocking.
"From a return standpoint, bringing things back from the space station and getting them to Earth, we're going to miss the space shuttle," he said.
Atlantis, for instance, will return more than 3,175 kilograms of discarded equipment and trash from the space station, freeing up much needed room. Engineers will take apart some of the broken machinery to see what went wrong and, hopefully, learn from the mistakes.
Atlantis is due to return to Earth on July 21.
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