posted 04-13-2010 10:58 PM               

STS-132, the 34th shuttle mission to the International Space Station, will deliver the Russian-built mini research module Rassvet and an integrated cargo carrier to the orbiting laboratory. The mission will feature three spacewalks.

Ken Ham will command space shuttle Atlantis' STS-132 crew. Tony Antonelli will serve as the pilot. Mission specialists are Michael Good, Piers Sellers, Steven Bowen and Garrett Reisman.

Atlantis is targeted to launch May 14, 2010 on the STS-132 mission, for its final flight.

Credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis was moved from Orbiter Processing Facility-1 (OPF-1) to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on April 13, 2010. In the VAB, Atlantis will be lifted into a high bay where it will be mated to its external tank and solid rocket boosters.

Credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

posted 04-13-2010 11:19 PM               

On April 5, inside the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, the Russian-built mini research module Rassvet was moved by crane into the payload canister. Two days later, the integrated cargo carrier was similarly installed.

On April 13, the payload canister was rotated into a vertical position and secured on its transporter for its move to Pad 39A on Thursday, April 15.

Credit: NASA/Gianni Woods

Credit: NASA/Gianni Woods

posted 04-14-2010 10:14 PM               

Atlantis was hoisted and attached to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters on April 13 and April 14 in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Rollout of the shuttle stack to Launch Pad 39A is planned for April 19.

Credit: NASA/Cory Huston

Credit: NASA/Cory Huston

Credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

posted 04-21-2010 04:26 AM               

The STS-132 crew arrived by T-38 jets at the Kennedy Space Center April 20 in preparation for their countdown dress rehearsal later in the week. Their ride to orbit, space shuttle Atlantis, was poised to roll to Pad 39A on Wednesday, weather permitting.

Credit: collectSPACE/Robert Pearlman

Credit: collectSPACE/Robert Pearlman

Credit: collectSPACE/Robert Pearlman

posted 04-22-2010 02:52 PM               

Space shuttle Atlantis moves to launch pad for final planned flight

Space shuttle Atlantis held the spotlight late on Wednesday night into early Thursday morning as it rolled out of Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) in Florida, on its way to the launch pad for what is planned as its last flight.

Credit: collectSPACE/Robert Pearlman

Credit: collectSPACE/Robert Pearlman

posted 05-05-2010 03:20 PM               

Atlantis is "go" for May 14 launch

Launch of space shuttle Atlantis on its last planned mission, STS-132, is officially set for May 14 at 2:20 p.m. EDT.

NASA managers made the decision at the end of Wednesday's Flight Readiness Review at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

posted 05-07-2010 11:44 AM               

STS-132: Behind the Scenes, Vol. 1.

Mike Massimino helps answer the one question he and other astronauts get asked most often: "How do you 'go' in space?"

Mike catches up with STS-132 Mission Specialists Steve Bowen and Piers Sellers as they get some "refreshers" on the use of shuttle Atlantis' "Space Potty." (Training includes an "alignment camera.")

Bowen, Sellers and their four crewmates are scheduled to launch aboard Atlantis for the International Space Station on May 14.

The workings of a space toilet, on "STS-132: Behind the Scenes."

posted 05-10-2010 05:56 AM               

Space shuttle Atlantis to fly final flight with booster segment from maiden mission

When space shuttle Atlantis lifts off later this week on what NASA has planned to be its final flight, helping to launch it will be a rocket booster segment that first flew 25 years ago on the orbiter's maiden mission.

The aft dome on the left solid rocket booster scheduled to loft Atlantis' STS-132 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) Friday, May 14, first launched STS-51J, the orbiter's first flight to space, on Oct. 3, 1985.

The almost quarter-century reunion between Atlantis and its reusable solid rocket booster's casing is just one of the historical connections between the orbiter and its launch system. Including STS-132, 18 of Atlantis' 32 flights are represented by the boosters' segments, underscoring the legacy that NASA's fourth-to-fly orbiter will leave after it is retired...

posted 05-11-2010 07:41 AM               

Atlantis' astronauts arrive in Florida

The astronauts who will fly space shuttle Atlantis' final planned mission arrived at their Florida launch site late Monday, four days ahead of their scheduled liftoff.

Credit: NASA TV

Commander Ken Ham led his STS-132 mission crewmates to a 6:49 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) landing on the Shuttle Landing Facility here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the same runway where he will ultimately land Atlantis for the spacecraft's last time.

The astronauts came to Florida from the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, flying in four T-38 training jets. They are due to launch Atlantis' final mission Friday, May 14, at 2:20 p.m. EDT (1820 GMT).

"We are ready to launch," Ham told reporters gathered at the landing strip. "We've completed every bit of training we can and we're confident."

"Look for a good show on Friday," he added.

Credit: collectSPACE/Robert Pearlman

posted 05-12-2010 06:45 AM               

Launch countdown under way for STS-132

The countdown to launch space shuttle Atlantis on its final planned mission officially began at 4 p.m. EDT Tuesday, ticking backward from the T-43 hour mark.

"Teams at the Kennedy Space Center and at other centers around the country have been working very hard to get this vehicle ready to fly, and I am happy to report everything is going quite well at [Pad 39A]," NASA Test Director Steve Payne said Tuesday. "Atlantis, crew and launch team are ready to go and looking forward to a beautiful launch Friday afternoon."

Technicians closed Atlantis' payload bay doors Tuesday afternoon. A few experiments will be added to Atlantis' mid-deck about 28 hours prior to launch.

Liftoff is scheduled for May 14 at 2:20 p.m. EDT. According to Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters, weather is expected to be favorable, with a 70 percent chance of good conditions. The primary weather concern for Friday is the possibility of a low cloud ceiling. Partly cloudy and generally dry conditions will dominate the afternoon hours throughout the week.