NASA's Shuttle Atlantis Begins Mission to the Space Station

June 8, 2007

John Yembrick
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0602

Tracy Young
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468

MEDIA ADVISORY: 07-135

NASA'S SHUTTLE ATLANTIS BEGINS MISSION TO THE SPACE STATION

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The space shuttle Atlantis and its
seven-member crew lifted off Friday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center
at 7:38 p.m. EDT to continue construction of the International Space
Station.

Shortly before launch, on behalf of the entire crew, Atlantis'
Commander Rick Sturckow thanked the teams that help make this launch
possible, and then added, "See you in a couple of weeks."

During the 11-day mission, designated STS-117, the crew will add a new
structural component to the station, deploy a new set of solar arrays
and retract an existing array. Similar construction work was
conducted on the previous two shuttle missions.

The mission will deliver and install the 17.5 ton S3/S4 truss
segments. This latest addition to the station's backbone will extend
the right side of the truss and includes a new set of solar arrays.
When unfolded, the 240-foot arrays provide additional power to the
station in preparation for the arrival of new science modules from
the European and Japanese space agencies. The crew also will retract
a solar array to allow for the rotation of the new arrays to track
the sun.

The station's newest resident also is traveling aboard Atlantis.
Astronaut Clayton Anderson will join the Expedition 15 crew. Sunita
Williams, who has been aboard the station since December, will return
to Earth with the Atlantis crew. Anderson is scheduled to return to
Earth on space shuttle Discovery's STS-120 mission in October.

Atlantis' crew is Sturckow, Pilot Lee Archambault and mission
specialists Patrick Forrester, Steven Swanson, John "Danny" Olivas,
Jim Reilly and Anderson.

Atlantis originally was targeted for launch in March, but a hail storm
damaged foam insulation on the shuttle's external fuel tank and
forced managers to roll the spacecraft off the pad to make repairs.

For the latest information about the STS-117 mission and its crew,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

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