According to a spokesperson for the Russian Mission Control Centre, the orbital altitude of the International Space Station (ISS) has been increased by 5 kilometres.
It's the last spacewalk of the mission for the shuttle Atlantis. Astronauts Rex Walheim and Stanley Love are outside the international space station, starting today's 6-and-a-half-hour spacewalk. The two will spend the day installing an observatory to monitor the sun and another piece of equipment for conducting experiments. They'll also examine a tiny chip on a handrail that was apparently struck by a tiny meteorite. The chip may be where spacewalkers have torn their gloves over the past year or so.
US and European astronauts have embarked on their second spacewalk of the current space shuttle mission. Hans Schlegel is taking part in this outing after being replaced on the first spacewalk when he fell ill. He joins American Rex Walheim on the activity, during which they will install a new nitrogen tank on the International Space Station (ISS).
The STS-122 and International Space Station crews are busy with tasks to activate the European Columbus laboratory. Attached to the Station during a spacewalk on Monday, Columbus hatch was opened for the first time at 15:08 CET this morning. ESA astronaut Léopold Eyharts was the first to venture inside the newest addition to the International Space Station.
An amateur astronomer took a webcam image of the space shuttle Atlantis docking with the International Space Station using a home-made telescope. Martin Lewis, 46, used an 8in reflecting telescope in his garden in St Albans, Hertfordshire, to view the space station when it flew directly over Britain.
Two NASA astronauts ventured outside the space station today and clambered into the shuttle Atlantis's cargo bay, where they spent the day preparing a science lab that was successfully attached to the outpost. NASA mission specialists Rex Walheim and Stanley Love worked almost eight hours readying the $2 billion Columbus lab, the newest addition to the International Space Station. The spacewalk was the first of three planned during a visit by the shuttle Atlantis, which arrived two days ago.
The European Columbus laboratory has completed its voyage to the International Space Station. Columbus was officially attached to the right side of the Harmony module at 22:44 CET this evening. ESA astronaut Leopold Eyharts, who was at the controls of the Station's robotic arm for the final capture and initial berthing of Columbus, reported to Mission Control, "The European Columbus module is now part of the ISS."
Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the International Space Station today. Inside the Shuttles payload bay is the European Columbus laboratory which will be installed on the Station during a spacewalk on Sunday. Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the International Space Station today. Inside the Shuttles payload bay is the European Columbus laboratory which will be installed on the Station during a spacewalk on Sunday.