This picture shows the solid rocket boosters seperating from Shuttle Atlantis after the launch. Atlantis is now on its way to the ISS.
Courtesy of NASA
Adding on To The International Space Station (Updated!)
News story originally written on February 8, 2001
The Shuttle Atlantis had a perfect launch on February 7, 2001. It lifted off just after 6 p.m. EST, carrying 5 astronauts and the Destiny laboratory to the International Space Station (ISS). The
astronauts scheduled for this mission are Commander
Kenneth Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky, Mission specialists Robert Curbeam,
Marsha Ivins and
Thomas Jones. These astronauts will work with
the 3 men aboard the ISS to connect the Destiny lab to the ISS. It will take 3 spacewalks and use of the shuttle's robotic arm to attach the new lab to the ISS.
The American-built Destiny laboratory will be the research center of the ISS. Experiments will even be done there to aid in finding a cure for cancer and diabetes.
Bill Sheperd, Yuri Gidzenko, and Sergei Krikalev are now in their 4th month aboard the ISS.
This STS-98 mission is scheduled to last just over 10 days.
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