Shuttle docks at space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis arrived at the International Space Station on Wednesday for a weeklong stay, and the astronauts unloaded a platform full of spare parts needed to keep the outpost running for another decade.

The platform – 16 feet by 14 feet – contained pumps, storage tanks and other equipment weighing hundreds of pounds each. Robot arms did the heavy lifting, just hours after the two craft came together 220 miles above the Pacific, between Australia and Tasmania.

Astronaut Nicole Stott, a space station resident for the past 2½ months, was thrilled to see her ride home. She spotted Atlantis from 3 miles out.

“I have my ticket all ready and stamped, waiting for you guys when you get here,” Stott radioed to shuttle commander Charles Hobaugh.

“Who is this?” Hobaugh teased.

“It’s your favorite passenger,” she replied. “You look beautiful out there.”

Just before docking, Hobaugh guided Atlantis through a pirouette for the space station cameras, for a final check to make sure that there was no damage to the thermal tiles on its belly.

So far, all indications are the shuttle made it through Monday’s liftoff just fine, NASA officials said. The astronauts surveyed their ship Tuesday for any signs of launch damage, and a quick look at the laser images shows everything in good shape. Experts will continue to analyze the data, as well as the almost 300 digital photos that were taken Wednesday.

The only shuttle problem of note – more a nuisance than anything – involved the laptops. The astronauts had to contend with a poky connection rather than the usual DSL-type high speed, which slowed the transmission of pictures, charts and e-mails between Atlantis and Mission Control. Critical operations were not affected, flight director Mike Sarafin said.