Near-perfect day for space shuttle

Ageing space shuttle Atlantis was showing no signs of a ship ready for retirement, with a near-flawless first day of its final flight.

Nasa chiefs said the unusually small four-person crew of Atlantis worked through lunch yesterday and finished their tasks in a nearly record time.

After Friday’s launch they inspected the shuttle’s heat shield for launch damage and prepared for today’s docking with the International Space Station.

So far Atlantis does not even have minor glitches. The worst problem is that the crew could not find an eye chart for a vision test, something that caused a chuckle among ground controllers.

“We couldn’t be more happy with what we’ve seen from the crew and Atlantis,” flight director Kwatsi Alibaruho said.

Often the first full day in orbit for shuttles has “little nuisance-type” glitches in setting up life in space and is usually one of the most difficult days in a flight, said shuttle mission management team chairman LeRoy Cain.

But he said hard work and good luck had paid off for Atlantis this time.

And yet when Atlantis lands later this month it will join sister ships Discovery and Endeavour as museum pieces. The 30-year-old space shuttle programme is ending as Nasa hands over the task of flying astronauts to the space station to Russia and private US companies.

Nasa will shift its efforts to deep space missions to an asteroid and eventually Mars.

“Instead of focusing on the irony, I tend to look at the opportunity on this, the last shuttle mission of the programme,” Mr Alibaruho said. “I’m very grateful the shuttle is finishing as it is.”

Mr Cain said mission managers focused on “finishing strong”.

“We wanted the last flight to be the safest flight that we fly. We wanted the performance of the vehicle to be the best it’s ever been,” he said. “I think you’re seeing it play out.”

Early indications are that inspections of the shuttle’s heat shield found no damage from launch to worry about, but closer examination is still needed.

In 2003 the space shuttle Columbia was destroyed when it returned to Earth because of damage during lift-off. Final results will be known until tomorrow or Tuesday.

Atlantis is due to dock with the International Space Station at 4.07pm Irish time to deliver more than four tons of supplies. That docking manoeuvre will be slightly more complicated for the crew because there are fewer people on board to do all the necessary tasks.

By tomorrow or Tuesday, mission managers will know if they have saved enough power on board Atlantis to extend the shuttle’s flight one more day, landing on July 21.

Yesterday morning’s wake-up song – Coldplay’s Viva la Vida – was accompanied by a mass greeting from the numerous employees of Nasa’s Marshall Space Flight Centre in Huntsville, Alabama.

“Good morning, Atlantis,” the workers said in a message recorded before launch. “The Marshall Space Flight Centre hopes you enjoyed your ride to orbit. We wish you a successful mission and a safe return home.”

Pilot Doug Hurley responded, “Thanks for that great message and awesome ride to orbit and the 134 before that with this tremendous space shuttle programme.”