November 16, 2009 - -Space shuttle Atlantis and its six-member crew began an
11-day delivery flight to the International Space Station on
Monday with a 2:28 p.m. EST launch from NASA's Kennedy Space
Center in Florida. The shuttle will transport spare hardware
to the outpost and return a station crew member who spent
more than two months in space.
Atlantis is carrying about 30,000 pounds of replacement
parts for systems that provide power to the station, keep it
from overheating, and maintain a proper orientation in
space. The large equipment can best be transported using the
shuttle's unique capabilities.
