Atlantis' slow, 4.2-mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad began at 1:05 a.m. Riding atop the mobile launch platform and carried by the crawler transporter, the orbiter is attached to its external tank, flanked by two solid rocket boosters. At the pad, the vehicle will be enclosed by the rotating service structure during its preparation for launch. From there the payload for the mission will be loaded into the cargo bay. The launch window for this mission to resume construction of the International Space Station opens Aug. 27.

The STS-115 crew consists of Commander Brent W. Jett, Jr., Pilot Christopher J. Ferguson and Mission Specialists Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper, Joseph R. Tanner, Daniel C. Burbank and Steven G. MacLean, who represents the Canadian Space Agency.

During their 11 days in space, the astronauts will install the integrated P3/P4 truss segment with its two large solar arrays that will provide one-fourth of the total power generation capability of the completed station.



Posted by: Sean    Source

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