The Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to lift off Sunday on the first International Space Station construction mission in nearly four years. Following are details of the 11-day STS-115 mission:
- Astronauts: Commander Brent Jett, pilot Chris Ferguson, mission specialists Dan Burbank, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Joe Tanner and Steve MacLean of the Canadian Space Agency.
- Scheduled launch: August 27 at 4:30 pm (2030 GMT) from launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The launch window ends September 13.
- Emergency landing locations in the event of problems at launch: Zaragoza, Spain; Moron, Spain; or Istres, France.
- Scheduled landing: September 7 at 12:02 pm (1602 GMT) at Kennedy Space Center. In the event of bad weather, the shuttle could also land at EdwardsAirForceBase inCaliforniaorWhiteSandsSpaceHarbor inNewMexico.
- Altitude of orbiting ISS: 354 kilometers (220 miles).
- Weight of orbiter with payload at liftoff: 122 tonnes.
- Weight of orbiter with payload at landing: 91 tonnes.
- Payload: 16-tonne truss segment with two solar arrays measuring 73 meters (240 feet) when unfurled.
- Mission summary: Install the new truss segment and the ISS's second set of solar arrays that will double the station's current ability to generate power from sunlight.
- Spacewalks are planned on the fourth, fifth and seventh day of the mission to install the truss segment. TannerandStefanyshyn-Piperwillperform the first and last spacewalks. The second one will be conducted by Burbank and MacLean.
