NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis Lifts Off to Put Finishing Touches on the International Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- One of the final space shuttle visits to the
International Space Station began at 2:20 p.m. Friday with the launch
of Atlantis and six astronauts from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in
Florida. The mission will deliver cargo, critical spare parts and a
Russian laboratory to the station.

The third of five shuttle missions planned for 2010, this was the last
planned launch for Atlantis. The Russian-built Mini Research Module-1
is inside the shuttle's cargo bay. Also known as Rassvet (dawn in
Russian), it will provide additional storage space and a new docking
port for Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. The laboratory will
be attached to the bottom port of the station's Zarya module.

Commander Ken Ham is joined on the STS-132 mission by Pilot Tony
Antonelli and Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman, Michael Good,
Steve Bowen, and Piers Sellers, all veteran space fliers. Good and
Sellers rode Atlantis into orbit on their first space missions in
2009 and 2002, respectively.

The shuttle crew is scheduled to dock to the station at 10:27 a.m. EDT
on Sunday, May 16. The mission's three spacewalks will focus on
storing spare components outside the station, including six
batteries, a communications antenna and parts for the Canadian Dextre
robotic arm.

After completing the 12-day STS-132 mission, the shuttle's first
landing opportunity at Kennedy is scheduled for 8:44 a.m. on
Wednesday, May 26. STS-132 is the 132nd shuttle flight, the 32nd
flight for Atlantis and the 34th shuttle mission dedicated to station
assembly and maintenance.

NASA's Web coverage of STS-132 includes mission information, a press
kit, interactive features, news conference images, graphics and
videos. Mission coverage, including the latest NASA Television
schedule, is available on the main space shuttle website at:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

NASA is providing continuous television and Internet coverage of the
mission. NASA TV features live mission events, daily status news
conferences and 24-hour commentary. For NASA TV streaming video,
downlink and schedule information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

Daily news conferences with STS-132 mission managers will take place
at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Johnson will operate a
telephone bridge for media briefings outside of normal business
hours. To use this service, reporters must have valid media
credentials issued by a NASA center or issued specifically for the
STS-132 mission.

Journalists planning to use the service must contact the Johnson
newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 15 minutes prior to the start
of a briefing. Newsroom personnel will verify credentials and
transfer reporters to the phone bridge. Phone bridge capacity is
limited, so it will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Live updates to the NASA News Twitter feed will be added throughout
the mission and landing. To access the feed, go to the NASA.gov
homepage or visit:

http://www.twitter.com/nasa

For more information about the space station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

Source: NASA