Space Shuttle Atlantis Docks to International Space Station

Space shuttle Atlantis docked to the station at 11:51 a.m. EST. The shuttle is delivering two pallets carrying more than 20,000 pounds worth of spare equipment too large to be launched into space aboard any other vehicle.

The morning focused on preparations for the rendezvous and docking to the station. Commander Charles Hobaugh and Pilot Barry Wilmore performed a few final corrective jet firings to refine the orbiter’s path to the station and position the vehicle for its rendezvous pitch maneuver 600 feet beneath the station.

After a series of leak checks, the hatches between the two vehicles opened and the two crews began their joint operations.

The hatch opening marked the end of astronaut Nicole Stott’s two-and-a-half-month tour of duty as a space station flight engineer.