Atlantis lands successfully after key space mission
Wednesday, 20 Feb 2008 14:40
Atlantis landed successfully in Florida this afternoon
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Atlantis landed successfully at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida this afternoon after a key mission to the expand the International Space Station (ISS).
The space shuttle touched down shortly after 14:00 GMT (09:00 local time) with commander Steve Frick and pilot Alan Poindexter at the controls.
During its nine-day stay at the ISS the STS-122 crew delivered the European Space Agency's (ESA) Columbus laboratory, expanding the orbiting outpost's scientific capabilities.
Mission specialists Rex Walheim, Hans Schlegel and Stanley Love conducted a total of three spacewalks to install and prepare the Columbus module.
They also replaced a used nitrogen tank on the station's P1 truss.
Flight engineer Leopold Eyharts, an ESA astronaut, has joined the team at the ISS, replacing Daniel Tani, who returned to Earth today onboard Atlantis.
European scientists had been eagerly anticipating Atlantis' latest mission, with Daniel Sacotte, the ESA's director for exploration programmes, describing the installation of the Columbus laboratory as "the onset of a new era".
The module will expand the facilities of the ISS and provide scientists around the world with the ability to conduct a variety of experiments.
The next shuttle mission will see Endeavour visit the ISS after a scheduled March 11th launch.
