Atlantis prepares for return to Earth

In a routine familiar to travellers on Earth, shuttle astronauts were spending this morning packing their things, indulging in their surroundings for one last day and making sure their vehicle is ready for the ride home.

In preparation for tomorrow’s landing at the Kennedy Space Center after 11 days in space, the Atlantis crew checked flight controls, similar to those on an aeroplane, and test-fired small jets that are used to guide the shuttle.

The commander and pilot used simulations to practice their landing skills.

They participated in a conference call with two other spacecraft also currently in orbit.

“It’s a little crowded in the sky this morning,” said Jeff Williams, a resident of the international space station, from which the shuttle undocked on Sunday after delivering and installing a solar-panel addition.

“We were wondering if we had to hire some more air-traffic controllers for the increased traffic up here,” responded Michael Lopez-Alegria from the Russian Soyuz capsule that launched from Kazakhstan on Monday. He is part of Expedition 14, which will take over from Williams’ crew.

During the 10-minute conversation, while the space station and shuttle hovered over Australia and the capsule over the Black Sea, the astronauts reminisced about their time together, the times to come and the latest drama in the cosmos.

An oxygen generator overheated on Monday, causing much alarm and adrenaline flow on Earth and in space. Space station crew members pulled an alarm and donned protective gear after smelling the generator overheat.

It was spreading smoke and a burned-rubber smell and leaking potassium hydroxide, an irritant that is used to power batteries. Nasa said the leak was not life-threatening and the crew cleaned up the spill.

“We heard you had a little incident yesterday but I guess everything’s all right,” Atlantis commander Brent Jett joked to Williams. “We’re sorry you guys had to go through that but, yeah, we’re kind of glad we weren’t there and we want you all to know that we didn’t touch the Elektron.”

Twelve astronauts in space at once isn’t a record, said Nasa spokesman Pat Ryan. The cosmos has hosted 13 astronauts at once three times, most recently in 2001, Ryan said. Still, he added, it is very infrequent that three different spacecraft are concurrently in space.

During their mission, the Atlantis astronauts officially resumed construction of the international space station after a four-year hiatus. The 35-metre-long solar wings they added will generate power for the space station once it’s rewired during the next mission, slated to launch in December.

Progress on the orbiting lab halted after the Columbia disaster in 2003, when the space shuttle disintegrated while re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.

Since that incident, Nasa has implemented several safety procedures, including yesterday’s inspection of the shuttle using a robotic arm with a TV camera and a laser-imagery system attached to the end.

Nasa is now studying those images for any damage that might jeopardise the shuttle’s de-orbit, scheduled to begin at 4.57am local time (9.57am Irish time) tomorrow.

The astronauts are due to land about an hour later, at 5:59am local time (10.59am Irish time).

Atlantis woke up today to a recording of Celine Dion singing Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi (Don’t Leave Without Me), dedicated to Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean.

“You guys are probably sad to be heading home but it’ll be nice to have a cold beer and a shower,” Lopez-Alegria said, laughing.

“It’s been real short for us,” Jett replied. “It’s kind of funny. You guys are just starting a really long journey in space and our really short one is quickly coming to an end, much sooner than we’d like.”