The Atlantis shuttle is ready to launch on August 27 on the first mission to resume construction of the International Space Station since the 2003 Columbia disaster, NASA said Wednesday. "We have set the launch date again for the 27th (of August)," Bill Gerstenmaier, the NASA associate administrator for space operations, told reporters.
"We are ready to go for that."
The decision to confirm the launch date was taken following a two-day flight readiness review.
The Atlantis shuttle is the first of 16 planned flights aimed at completing the International Space Station (ISS) by 2010.
After two successful Discovery shuttle flights aimed at improving shuttle safety in the past two years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said it was ready to get back to ISS construction work. The laboratory is a cornerstone of US ambitions to send manned flights to the moon again, and eventually to Mars.
Ensuring that the astronauts return home safely remains a top priority, however, as safety measures tested in the two post-Columbia flights will also be used in the Atlantis mission.
Cameras will record the shuttle's launch to detect any potentially damaging debris, the astronauts will use the shuttle's robotic arm to scan its heat shield in orbit and the commander will maneuver the vessel into a backflip so its underbelly can be photographed.
NASA has said it still expected foam insulation to peel off the shuttle's external fuel tank during liftoff, but not of the size that doomed Columbia three years ago.
In 2003, a 700-gram (1.5-pound) chunk of foam peeled off Columbia's external tank shortly after launch, damaging the shuttle's thermal shield and leading to the disintegration of the craft on reentry of the Earth's atmosphere, killing the seven astronauts aboard.
Discovery's safe return on July 18 after a smooth 13-day mission marked a milestone for the US space program, which has been plagued by continuing problems and safety concerns since the Columbia disaster.
Following the mission, NASA said it was ready to resume ISS construction.
The Atlantis mission will be the first to attempt the assembly of a major portion of the ISS since December 2002. The six Atlantis astronauts will deliver a pair of giant solar antennas that will double the station's ability to generate power from sunlight.
They will also install a 17.5-tonne structure that will serve as a foundation for European and Japanese laboratories in future missions.
Three spacewalks are planned for the construction work during the 11-day mission.
The crew will be commanded by Brent Jett and co-piloted by Chris Ferguson. The four mission specialists will be Daniel Burbank, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper, Joe Tanner and Canadian Steve MacLean of the Canadian Space Agency.
