Space Shuttle Atlantis Begins Tenth Mission To The International Space Station

By Cliff Lethbridge

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL (July 12, 2001) - Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully began the 10th mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with a launch from Launch Pad 39B at 5:04 a.m. EDT today. Although the launch was officially delayed about a month to allow troubleshooting of the ISS robotic arm, today's launch occurred on schedule with no delays. STS-104 marks the 24th flight of Atlantis and the 105th flight of the Space Shuttle program.

A crew of five astronauts will be aboard Atlantis for a planned 11-day mission. Landing is targeted for the Kennedy Space Center. The main payload is the Joint Airlock Module, which will be attached to the starboard side of the ISS Unity Module. The module will allow astronauts and cosmonauts to perform spacewalks from ISS independent of the Space Shuttle. To date, spacewalks from ISS could only be performed through the Space Shuttle airlock. Three spacewalks are planned during the mission in support of the Joint Airlock Module installation.

For More Information:

NASA STS-104 Mission Press Kit

NASA STS-104 Mission Status Reports

Copyright © 2001 by Spaceline, Inc.