Today, after a successful docking at 12:17 pm EST, the crew of STS-122 mission entered the International Space Station at 1:40 p.m. EST. Atlantis is the first spacecraft to dock with the Pressurised Mating Adapter in its new location on the Harmony module. Also known as Node 2, Harmony was delivered to the ISS by the STS-120 mission in October 2007 - the crew included ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli.

During the spaceflight, the crew has conducted an extensive inspection of the spaceship's thermal shield, searching for any damage from a loose piece of insulation that broke off during liftoff.

Three small "foam losses" from the shuttle Atlantis' external fuel tank were filmed at 110 seconds, 112 seconds and 7.2 minutes after liftoff Thursday, of which one probably hit the space craft's underside. NASA experts said that its mass and speed were too small, given the altitude at the time, to cause any damage to the heat tiles.

The examination of the shuttle’s heat shield is an established procedure since 2003, after Columbia exploded on re-entry due to a piece of foam that damaged the external heat tiles.

The crew of STS-12 is now preparing the first spacewalk, scheduled to kick off on Sunday at 9:35 am EST.

During the spacewalk STS-122 Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Hans Schlegel will prepare the Columbus module for installation on Harmony. They will install the Power Data Grapple Fixture on Columbus, which will allow the space station’s robotic arm to grab the module and move it from the shuttle’s payload bay to Harmony.

The spacewalkers also will begin work to remove the Nitrogen Tank Assembly, a part of the station’s thermal control system, from the P1 truss. The assembly needs to be replaced because the nitrogen is running low.

Columbus, which can accommodate numerous experiments, is scheduled to be attached to the station at 4:25 p.m. Sunday.

Columbus is about 23 feet long and 15 feet wide, allowing it to hold 10 "racks" of experiments, each approximately the size of a phone booth. Five NASA racks will be added to the laboratory once it is in orbit. Each rack provides independent controls for power and cooling, as well as communication links to earthbound controllers and researchers. These links will allow scientists all over Europe to participate in their own experiments in space from several user centers and, in some cases, even from their own work locations.

It is for the second time in seven years that the ISS gets ready to receive a science laboratory, after the U.S.-built Destiny Laboratory Module, activated in February 2001.

The 17-nation European Space Agency developed the Columbus starting in 1982, aiming to launch it in 1992, to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the great navigator's voyage to the New World.
Columbus is designed for ten years of operation and will be controlled by the special Columbus Control Centre, located at the German Space Operations Centre, part of the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

Atlantis is scheduled to return to Earth February 18. Until then the crew has to complete another two spacewalks.

Image Credit: NASA TV