Space shuttle Atlantis, seen blasting off in this photo, is in day two of its 11-day mission to resupply the International Space Station.
AP Photo
The space shuttle Atlantis Wednesday successfully docked with the International Space Station, NASA officials said.
The shuttle and its six astronauts left Florida's Kennedy Space Center without a hitch on Monday on a 11-day voyage to deliver assorted gyroscopes, ammonia tanks and other equipment to the ISS.
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The shuttle's final approach towards the orbiting station was manually completed by the commander Charlie Hobaugh as the two spacecraft hurtled towards each other at 28,000 kilometers (17,000 miles) an hour.
In the final meters (feet), Atlantis approached the space station at a quarter of a centimeter per second, NASA said.
The opening of the hatch separating the two craft was due to take place around 1848 GMT to allow the six astronauts on board Atlantis to carry out the necessary tests. Their arrival on the ISS will be met with a traditional welcome ceremony.
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Atlantis is carrying a haul of spare parts for the International Space Station and some microscopic worms that could explain muscle loss in space.
With only five launches left before the 2010 retirement of the shuttle fleet, NASA officials said the parts were essential for extending the life of the space station.
"This flight is all about spares, basically, we're getting them up there while we still can," said mission director Brian Smith on Monday. "You'll see this theme in some of the flights that are going to come after ours as well."
This fifth and final shuttle mission for 2009 is scheduled to include three space walks to store hardware on the exterior of the space station and bring US astronaut Nicole Stott, who has been on the ISS since August, back to Earth.
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