WASHINGTON - NASA on Monday added one extra day to the final mission of the shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station, bringing the trip to a total of 13 days, a spokesman said.
Engineers also completed a review of the shuttle’s heat shield and determined there was no major damage, said deputy space shuttle program manager LeRoy Cain.
The damage assessment team, which reviews the shuttle exterior for potential problems incurred during flight, “only had a total of five items on the orbiter to review,” Cain said, describing those items as “very, very minor.”
“There will be no focused inspection needed so that is really good news.” After a mission management meeting, NASA unanimously approved the addition of an extra day to the mission, said Cain.
“We are currently at 13 days,” he said, adding the crew would be kept busy unloading more than five tons of supplies from the shuttle to the lab.
“There is a lot of good work that we can help this space station program with.” Atlantis and its four-member crew are now scheduled to return to Earth on July 21, marking the official end of the US space shuttle program after 30 years.
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