Atlantis’ crew arrived on Monday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for preparing for Thursday's launch of the space shuttle. The crew is made from seven astronauts and its mission is to deliver a European science laboratory into orbit.

Atlantis is set to launch on December 6, at 4:31 p.m. EST, and is to reach the International Space Station on Saturday. Immediately after reaching the ISS, Atlantis’ crew is scheduled to start hooking up the new Columbus laboratory.

The space mission’s three-day countdown clock started yesterday night. During these three days, the seven astronauts are busy with the last preparations and training for their mission.

“We're looking forward to having visitors,” said Peggy Whitson, ISS’ commander, Peggy Whitson, who already completed three spacewalks alongside her two colleagues; they both relocated Columbus’ berth and moved the shuttle’s docking port in preparation for Atlantis’ arrival.

"We basically have the infrastructure and the capabilities for (the) station to support our science research," said Debbie Hahn, a NASA payload manager at the Kennedy Space Center. She added also they are “moving out very quickly to support it with the science laboratories and the experiments and the science that we'd always hoped we'd reach with the International Space Station."

Installation of Europe’s Columbus module is to be followed early in 2008 by Japan’s launch of multi-part Kibo laboratory complex.