NASA Preps for Space Walk

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Space shuttle Atlantis is slated for lift off in March to deliver equipment to the International Space Station. NASA began preparing for the launch with a launch drill last week. Space flight veteran Frederick Sturckow will lead the Atlantis crew on its trio to add a third set of solar wings to the space station on mission STS-117. The new add-ons will allow for the European and Japanese space agencies to construct new space laboratories within the station later on this year. When asked about recent murder charges of a fellow astronaut in a news conference, Sturckow said, "I'm quite confident there will be no impact to our mission. We've just been focused on our training, which is pretty intensive at this point."Sturkow will be commanding a crew of 5 for this mission, consisting of Pilot Lee Archambault and mission specialists Patrick Forrester, Steven Swanson, John Olivas, and Jim Reily. The flight, scheduled for 6:43 A.M. on March 15, will be the first of five scheduled launches this year. It is most crowded launch schedule for NASA since 2002. The space shuttle Atlantis in one of the three operational shuttles remaining after the destruction of Challenger and Columbia. The other two are Disvocery and Endeavor.