Shuttle Crew Checking Out Shuttle's Thermal Protection System

Today, the shuttle crew performs a final inspection of Atlantis’ heat shield. The crew of six also will pack up spacesuits and have some time off.

Mission Specialists Stephen Bowen and Michael Good will start their day by cleaning up the spacesuits and stowing them.

A blue and white part of Earth and the blackness of space are featured in this image photographed by an STS-132 crew member on the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Atlantis. Credit: NASA

Commander Ken Ham, Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman and Piers Sellers will work on inspection activities. They will again use the shuttle robotic arm and the 50-foot-long orbiter boom and its camera’s to scan Atlantis’ nose and starboard, or right, wing. They will break for lunch and then finish the task by scanning the port wing.