Astronauts, Cosmonauts Working Together to Install Russian Module

With a new day comes a new dawn as Atlantis and International Space Station astronauts continue with robotics activities today to add a new module to the orbiting complex.

This image features the space shuttle Atlantis's cabin and forward cargo bay and part of the International Space Station while the two spacecraft remain docked. Image credit: NASA

Today, the crew will be focused on the addition of the Russian Mini-Research Module-1 (MRM-1) to the station. The module, named Rassvet, Russian for “dawn,” will be docked to the Earth-facing port on the Zarya module.

Shuttle Commander Ken Ham and Pilot Tony Antonelli will maneuver the shuttle robotic arm to unberth the module from Atlantis’ payload bay and position it for handoff to the station robotic arm. Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman and Piers Sellers will be at the station arm controls to maneuver MRM-1 to its new position on the Russian segment. Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov will monitor the activities from the Russian segment as the MRM-1 engages into its automated docking sequence for the final attachment to station.

Meanwhile, Mission Specialists Michael Good and Steve Bowen will prepare for the mission’s next spacewalk. They will prepare the suits and gather tools needed for their extravehicular excursion on Wednesday.