Atlantis Docks With Space Station

Space shuttle Atlantis slid up to the international space station and docked, ending a two-day chase and kicking off a week of urgent repairs. Commander James Halsell Jr. guided Atlantis to the smooth linkup. Halsell and his six crew members are the first space station visitors in a year. Flight controllers prepared the station for the astronauts’ arrival by turning up the thermostat and cleansing its stagnant air. No one was supposed to return until a Russian service module was in place. But with the module grounded until at least July and the space station losing its orbit, NASA dispatched a shuttle crew to replace dying batteries and give the sagging station a boost.