Atlantis glides safely to Earth after minor delays
9:01 a.m. Thursday, September 21, 2006
After astronauts checked the shuttle for damage and NASA officials reviewed video and pictures of the debris, mission managers decided the shuttle was safe to come home.
A piece of plastic - which is used to install tiles - that was on the shuttle before is not there now. It was most likely shaken loose during the flight control system check-out.
Atlantis' mission - billed by NASA as "the return to assembly" - was the first to resume construction of the International Space Station since the Columbia shuttle disaster in 2003.
The shuttle carried a 17.5 ton payload - a large new truss for the unfinished station - and two solar arrays to boost the station's power.
They were installed in a series of three spacewalks.
Aside from a couple of minor mishaps - two bolts that got away during spacewalks - the construction project went as planned.
The new solar panels unfurled slowly like an accordion.
Atlantis undocked from the space station Sunday and conducted a flyaround, providing an opportunity to see the International Space Station with its new addition.
The next shuttle mission is in December, when Discovery will be heading up to the International Space Station to add another truss segment.
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