Shuttle Atlantis Crew Returns Home After Successful Mission

June 22, 2007

John Yembrick
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0602

George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468

RELEASE: 07-142

SHUTTLE ATLANTIS CREW RETURNS HOME AFTER SUCCESSFUL MISSION

EDWARDS, Calif. -- The space shuttle Atlantis and its crew are home
after completing a 14-day journey of more than 5.8 million miles in
space. Atlantis' STS-117 mission successfully increased the power
capability of the International Space Station, preparing for the
future delivery of European and Japanese laboratories.

Atlantis' Commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Lee Archambault and mission
specialists Jim Reilly, Patrick Forrester, Steven Swanson, John
"Danny" Olivas and Sunita Williams landed at Edwards Air Force Base,
Calif., Friday at 3:49 p.m. EDT.

Atlantis' crew attached the new S3/S4 solar array truss segment on the
right side of the station's backbone, deployed a new set of solar
arrays, and retracted the Port 6 starboard solar array back into its
box. The station has a new look with two symmetrical solar panels
mounted on each end of the station's truss.

Reilly, Olivas, Swanson and Forrester, with the help of crewmates,
made four spacewalks to complete the construction tasks. They
activated the truss segment and the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint, which
allows the new arrays to track the sun, and helped fold the Port 6
array. During the third spacewalk, the crew repaired a 4-by-6 inch
raised corner of a thermal blanket on the port side Orbital
Maneuvering System pod. Aerodynamic forces during Atlantis' ascent
lifted the blanket.

While the crew worked in space, ground teams were troubleshooting a
problem with Russian computers that help control the station's
attitude. Russian specialists worked closely with teams in the United
States to recover the computer capabilities.

NASA astronaut and station Flight Engineer Clayton Anderson, who
launched with the crew aboard Atlantis, remained on the station. He
is scheduled to return home aboard space shuttle Discovery on a
mission targeted for launch in October. Anderson replaced Williams,
who set a new record for a single, long-duration spaceflight by a
woman with 195 days. She arrived at the station in December 2006
aboard space shuttle Discovery.

STS-117 was the 118th space shuttle flight, the 21st flight to the
station, the 28th flight for Atlantis and the first of four missions
planned for 2007.

Several inspections in orbit revealed no critical damage, and
Atlantis' thermal protection system was declared safe for re-entry on
flight day 13. Weather concerns prevented the crew from returning to
NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., the primary end-of-mission landing
site. In 7-10 days, Atlantis will be transported approximately 2,500
miles from California to Florida on the back of a modified 747 jumbo
jet. Once at Kennedy, Atlantis will be separated from the aircraft to
begin immediate processing for its next flight, targeted for December
2007.

With Atlantis and its crew safely home, the stage is set for the next
phase of International Space Station assembly. Preparations continue
for space shuttle Endeavour's launch, targeted for August, on the
STS-118 mission to deliver the S5 truss segment to the station.

For more on the STS-117 mission and the upcoming STS-118 mission,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

-end-

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