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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Shuttle docks with space station | Shuttle docks with space station |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Space shuttle Atlantis has docked at the International Space Station (ISS), where it is to deliver Europe's Columbus science laboratory. | Space shuttle Atlantis has docked at the International Space Station (ISS), where it is to deliver Europe's Columbus science laboratory. |
| But the laboratory's installation has been delayed, as an astronaut who was to spacewalk on Sunday became ill. | |
| The lab is the first part of the ISS the European Space Agency will control. | The lab is the first part of the ISS the European Space Agency will control. |
| The Columbus laboratory cost about $2bn and has room for three researchers in fields ranging from crop breeding to the development of advanced alloys. | The Columbus laboratory cost about $2bn and has room for three researchers in fields ranging from crop breeding to the development of advanced alloys. |
| Routine inspection | Routine inspection |
| Hours after the docking, a Nasa spokesman announced that the spacewalk to attach Columbus to the ISS, originally scheduled for Sunday, was being delayed by 24 hours. | Hours after the docking, a Nasa spokesman announced that the spacewalk to attach Columbus to the ISS, originally scheduled for Sunday, was being delayed by 24 hours. |
| Although no reason was given for the delay, the spokesman also said that Hans Schlegel, the German astronaut who was to have performed the spacewalk, had fallen ill. | Although no reason was given for the delay, the spokesman also said that Hans Schlegel, the German astronaut who was to have performed the spacewalk, had fallen ill. |
| Before docking, the crew guided Atlantis in a back-flip manoeuvre that allowed crew on the space station to photograph the shuttle's protective heat-resistant tiles. | Before docking, the crew guided Atlantis in a back-flip manoeuvre that allowed crew on the space station to photograph the shuttle's protective heat-resistant tiles. |
| COLUMBUS FACTS Total length - 6.8mDiameter - 4.5mVolume - 75 cu mLaunch mass - 12.8tOperation - 3 crewCabin temp - 16-27CTotal power - 20kW Columbus: Sky-high science Building Columbus Installing Columbus Inside Columbus Engineers on Earth will check the images for any possible damage that may have been done to the tiles during lift-off: a routine safety measure since the shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entering the Earth's atmosphere in 2003. | COLUMBUS FACTS Total length - 6.8mDiameter - 4.5mVolume - 75 cu mLaunch mass - 12.8tOperation - 3 crewCabin temp - 16-27CTotal power - 20kW Columbus: Sky-high science Building Columbus Installing Columbus Inside Columbus Engineers on Earth will check the images for any possible damage that may have been done to the tiles during lift-off: a routine safety measure since the shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entering the Earth's atmosphere in 2003. |
| The 7m-long (24ft), 4.5m-wide (14ft), 12.8-tonne laboratory will be manoeuvred into position by the shuttle's robotic arm, and docked to the station's Harmony Node 2 connector. | The 7m-long (24ft), 4.5m-wide (14ft), 12.8-tonne laboratory will be manoeuvred into position by the shuttle's robotic arm, and docked to the station's Harmony Node 2 connector. |
| Esa astronaut Leopold Eyharts will be staying on the station to commission Columbus, a process that should take a few weeks to complete fully. | Esa astronaut Leopold Eyharts will be staying on the station to commission Columbus, a process that should take a few weeks to complete fully. |
| Its installation will mean Esa becomes a full member of the orbital project. | Its installation will mean Esa becomes a full member of the orbital project. |
| Atlantis was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, and is due to return to Earth now on 19 February, a day's extension to the originally planned 11-day mission. | Atlantis was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, and is due to return to Earth now on 19 February, a day's extension to the originally planned 11-day mission. |
| Once the lab is in place, an intensive programme of research in weightless surroundings will begin. | Once the lab is in place, an intensive programme of research in weightless surroundings will begin. |
| The experiments will also help researchers better understand the physiological demands of long-duration spaceflight, something that will be important if humans are ever to colonise the Moon or travel to Mars. | The experiments will also help researchers better understand the physiological demands of long-duration spaceflight, something that will be important if humans are ever to colonise the Moon or travel to Mars. |