CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis and its astronauts delivered a sparkling new lab to the International Space Station yesterday but had to delay installation for a day because of a crew member's medical problem.
This image from NASA TV shows the shuttle Atlantis maneuvering into position yesterday to dock with the International Space Station as they passed more than 200 miles above Australia.
|
One of the two spacewalking astronauts who was to help install the $2 billion European science lab, Columbus, was pulled from the job because of a condition that is not life-threatening. The installation won't take place until tomorrow.
NASA officials would not say why German astronaut Hans Schlegel, 56, was being replaced, but Atlantis' commander, Stephen Frick, requested a private medical conference with flight surgeons shortly after reaching the space station.
“I will just say it's not going to impact any of the objectives of this mission,” said John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team. “It will cause us to rearrange a few activities.”
Shannon declined to elaborate, citing medical privacy. Schlegel's status for the second spacewalk of the mission was uncertain, he said.
Schlegel, a two-time space flier, was supposed to venture outside with American Rex Walheim on the mission's first two spacewalks. Mission specialist Stanley Love was supposed to go out with Walheim on the third spacewalk.
The two crews were scheduled to unload Columbus and attach it to the station today. Just a few hours after the station and the shuttle linked up, Mission Control informed the astronauts about the delay.
It was a rare and unsettling change in plans for NASA, which typically prepares for every aspect of a shuttle mission – particularly spacewalks – for months and even years.
The delay in installing Columbus and carrying out the first spacewalk prompted NASA to add a 12th day to the mission. Yet another day could be added. NASA had hoped to spend an extra day at the space station to help set up the science lab.
The two spacecraft linked up as they passed more than 200 miles above Australia. About an hour later, the 10 space travelers – seven shuttle astronauts and three station residents – threw open the hatches, laughing and shouting.
Just before docking, Atlantis did a 360-degree back flip so station commander Peggy Whitson and her crew could photograph the shuttle's thermal shielding. Nearly 300 photos were beamed to Earth so engineers could look for any signs of launch damage.
Mission Control requested extra pictures of a torn thermal blanket on Atlantis' right orbital maneuvering system pod, near the tail. The small tear was along a seam and occurred during the launch, flight director Mike Sarafin said.
Engineers were analyzing the tear and whether it posed a hazard for re-entry at flight's end. The exact size of the peeled-up section was unknown, but it appeared to be smaller than one that required spacewalking repairs last June.
“It's probably not that big of an issue, but we're off looking at it,” Sarafin told reporters.
