Atlantis Launches STS-104 to Station with Air Lock

The Shuttle Discovery successfully launched with a crew of 5 from Kennedy Space Center, pad LC 39B, at 0903:59 UTC (2:03:28 a.m. PDT) on July 12. STS 104 is an assembly and service mission to the International Space Station (ISS), carrying the Joint Airlock, named Quest, for installation. Three space walks are planned to install and activate the airlock with the first two being staged using the Atlantis airlock and the third using the Joint Airlock.

The Boeing-built US$164 million Joint Airlock will allow space walks using either U.S. or Russian spacesuits. The hatches on the Russian modules are too small for an American suit to fit through.) The airlock has two chambers: a crew lock where astronauts will enter and leave the station; and an equipment lock where the crew changes into and out of their spacesuits and can stow gear. Once the airlock is installed, the space station will have a habitable volume of about 424 cubic-meter (15,000 cubic feet). With the airlock installed, the hatches between an visiting space shuttle and the space station can remain open. In previous missions the hatches had to be opened and closed several times to maintain correct pressure during space walks.

The shuttle crew is made up of  Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Charlie Hobaugh and Mission Specialists Mike Gernhardt, Janet Kavandi and Jim Reilly.

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