Orbiter: Atlantis
Mission: STS-132
Payload: MRM 1
Launch: May 14, 2010
Time: 2:20 p.m. EDT
Site: Pad 39A, Kennedy Space Center
Landing: May 26 @ approx. 8:30 a.m.
Site: KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility

Mission Video Vault

High Definition Video

NASA TV Schedule

Launch Windows

Countdown Timeline

SRB Case History

Main Engine Data

Ascent Timeline

Master Flight Plan

Tribute to Atlantis

Meet the Astronauts

Mission Preview Story

Another for Atlantis?

Tumultuous times

STS-132 Archive




Mission Status Center

By Justin Ray

Welcome to Spaceflight Now's live coverage of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-132 mission to the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically; there is no need to reload the page.
Follow us on Twitter.

Bookmark and Share

WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2010
The shuttle Atlantis' three-spacewalk flight to the International Space Station will install a new Russian module, a backup Ku-band dish antenna and six massive batteries. This is our 5,300-word mission preview.

Read our full story.
1530 GMT (11:30 a.m. EDT)
The Mission Management Team gathered this morning for its pre-launch meeting and verified all remains on track for shuttle Atlantis' blastoff at 2:20 p.m. EDT on Friday.

"We really had nothing to talk about. In fact, I stretched the meeting out to 18 minutes long today. It was a challenge, but we managed to pull that off," said MMT chairman Mike Moses.

"The countdown is going exceedingly well. We're not tracking any issues right now at all that would prevent an on-time liftoff Friday," shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach says. "Team Atlantis is really hitting the stride right now, we're clicking on all eight cylinders."

After completing tests of the shuttle's pyrotechnic initiator controllers, work to load the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into Atlantis' power-generating fuel cells will begin this afternoon.

The countdown resumes ticking at 12 noon from the planned hold at T-minus 27 hours and will continue until the next hold point at T-minus 19 hours starting at 8 p.m. EDT, which is when the ground team wraps up the fuel cell servicing work.

Atlantis' all-veteran crew was awakened at 5 a.m. today and underwent medical exams. Commander Ken Ham and pilot Tony Antonelli got some landing practice using Shuttle Training Aircraft at the Kennedy Space Center runway this morning, then the entire crew had the opportunity for T-38 flights.
1405 GMT (10:05 a.m. EDT)
The International Space Station residents moved their Soyuz capsule from one docking port to another Wednesday morning, freeing up the spot where space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts will install the new Rassvet module next Tuesday.

Read our full story.
1245 GMT (8:45 a.m. EDT)
Could space shuttle Atlantis get a reprieve from retirement and fly again next year to truck a load of supplies to the International Space Station?

Read our full story.
TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2010
The countdown began Tuesday for launch of the shuttle Atlantis at 2:20 p.m. EDT Friday on its final planned mission. Weather forecasters are predicting favorable conditions at the Kennedy Space Center.

Read our full story.
2002 GMT (4:02 p.m. EDT)
COUNT BEGINS. Countdown clocks at the Kennedy Space Center just began ticking toward Friday's scheduled launch of the space shuttle Atlantis.

The official countdown sequence started at 4 p.m. EDT inside Firing Room 4 of the Complex 39 Launch Control Center. Launch team members had gathered for the "call-to-stations" at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

The count commenced from the T-minus 43 hour mark. But a series of holds are timed throughout the next few days, leading to the targeted liftoff time of 2:20 p.m. EDT.

Activities planned during the early portion of the countdown for shuttle workers include buttoning up launch pad equipment and removing platforms inside the orbiter's crew module, reviewing flight software stored in Atlantis' mass memory units, loading backup software into the general purpose computers and testing navigation systems.
1950 GMT (3:50 p.m. EDT)
Whether it was launching satellites to orbit our planet and even other worlds, breathing new life into humanity's telescope, fostering international relationships or building a laboratory in the sky, the space shuttle Atlantis has been a workhorse for mankind over the past 25 years.

Read our full story.
MONDAY, MAY 10, 2010
2255 GMT (6:55 p.m. EDT)
The space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts traveled from their home base in Houston to the Kennedy Space Center launch site in a wave of T-38 jets Monday evening, trained and eager for Friday afternoon's blastoff.

Commander Ken Ham, pilot Tony Antonelli and mission specialists Garrett Reisman, Mike Good, Steve Bowen and Piers Sellers arrived at the Florida spaceport just before 6:50 p.m. EDT to begin their final preparations for blastoff.

"We are ready to launch. We've completed every bit of training we can and we're confident," Ham said.

"We appreciate all the hard work by the (Atlantis) team down here. They've done an amazing job getting the vehicle turned around, on the pad and ready to go. And from absolutely every report I've read, the spaceship is ready to go.

"And we're ready to fly. So look for a good show on Friday."

The crew will head to sleep at 9 p.m. EDT, then be awakened at 5 a.m. for Ham and Antonelli to fly nighttime landing approaches into KSC's runway using Shuttle Training Aircraft. Other members of the crew will spend the morning checking their launch and entry spacesuits. The astronauts have a trip launch pad 39A scheduled, too, to inspect the cargo installed in Atlantis' payload bay before the doors are closed for flight later in the day.

Atlantis' three-day launch countdown sequence begins Tuesday afternoon.
2250 GMT (6:50 p.m. EDT)
The four sleek T-38s jets just rolled to a stop at the Florida spaceport. The crew has arrived for Friday's launch.
2247 GMT (6:47 p.m. EDT)
The T-38s are arriving here at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, which is the three-mile-long concrete strip where Atlantis will touch down to conclude the upcoming mission.
2244 GMT (6:44 p.m. EDT)
Four T-38s just buzzed over the runway in tight formation, headed for a flyby of shuttle Atlantis at launch pad 39A before landing.
2240 GMT (6:40 p.m. EDT)
The astronauts are about 10 minutes from touchdown, NASA says.
2125 GMT (5:25 p.m. EDT)
The shuttle Atlantis astronauts are en route from Ellington Field near the Johnson Space Center in Houston on the plane ride over to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Their touchdown is now expected around 7 p.m. EDT.

After arriving, the crew will pose for photos and make a brief statement to the gathered news media.

If you will be away from your computer but would like to receive occasional updates, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text message updates sent to your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)
MONDAY, MAY 10, 2010
The six jovial guys who will take space shuttle Atlantis on the orbiter's final scheduled voyage are an entertaining bunch and having fun is one their mission priorities.

Read our full story.

The crew is scheduled to arrive at Kennedy Space Center to begin their final pre-flight preps at 7 p.m. EDT today.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2010
NASA managers Wednesday cleared the shuttle Atlantis for launch May 14 on its 32nd and final planned flight, a three-spacewalk mission to the International Space Station. The primary goals of the flight are to replace aging solar array batteries, install a backup Ku-band antenna and attach a new Russian module loaded with supplies and equipment.

Read our full story.
2000 GMT (4:00 p.m. EDT)
The post-FRR news briefing from the Kennedy Space Center is scheduled for 5 p.m. EDT. You can watch right here in our streaming coverage coverage of STS-132.
1955 GMT (3:55 p.m. EDT)
The official target launch time on May 14 has shifted a few seconds to 2:20:07 p.m. EDT.
1946 GMT (3:46 p.m. EDT)
Today's Flight Readiness Review has concluded with a unanimous "go" for launch of Atlantis on May 14. Senior managers reviewed the readiness of the space shuttle and International Space Station for the mission to deliver the Rassvet module, a large communications antenna and fresh batteries for the complex.

A news conference with NASA officials is expected later this afternoon.
1800 GMT (2:00 p.m. EDT)
The solid rocket boosters, shuttle main engines and external fuel tank have been reviewed and deemed ready for Atlantis' mission. The orbiter project is being assessed as the FRR continues.
1545 GMT (11:45 a.m. EDT)
The morning session of the Flight Readiness Review received briefings from the mission operations folks who will run STS-132 from Houston and discussed the status of life-support elements aboard the space station.

After a break for lunch, managers will spend the afternoon reviewing space shuttle topics.

NASA says the FRR could end by late afternoon and the news conference would start at 5 p.m. EDT. However, those times are tentative.
1330 GMT (9:30 a.m. EDT)
The Flight Readiness Review is underway today at the Kennedy Space Center. Senior officials are examining all aspects of mission preparations to ensure space shuttle Atlantis, its astronauts and payloads are ready to go fly the STS-132 mission, as well as the International Space Station is ready to receive this latest construction flight.

The meeting will culminate with managers setting the formal launch date. The shuttle is targeting a May 14 blastoff.

NASA plans to hold a post-FRR news conference this afternoon. The exact start time has not been determined. We'll post updates on this page and dispatch Twitter alerts as further details become available.
MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2010
A new Russian module for the International Space Station that will double as a docking compartment and a room for science has been loaded aboard the space shuttle Atlantis at the launch pad 39A for the scheduled May 14 blastoff.

Read our full story.
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2010
Kennedy Space Center's launch control room and pad 39A were abuzz Saturday morning as the space shuttle team and the six Atlantis astronauts conducted a realistic countdown dress rehearsal for next month's flight.

Read our full story.
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010
Facing what could be the final voyage in its quarter-century of spaceflight, the shuttle Atlantis emerged from Kennedy Space Center's assembly building bathed in spotlights and traveled to the launch pad overnight.

Read our full story.

Check out Spaceflight Now's two photo galleries of Atlantis' rollout:
1004 GMT (6:03 a.m. EDT)
The mobile launch platform was "harddown" on the pad pedestals at 6:03 a.m. EDT, marking the official time for Atlantis' arrival at pad 39A.
0957 GMT (5:57 a.m. EDT)
The platform is slowly lowering down to the pedestals.
0924 GMT (5:24 a.m. EDT)
The crawler has finished this morning's drive from the Vehicle Assembly Building, delivering space shuttle Atlantis atop launch pad 39A. But the rollout's official conclusion time will be marked when the launch platform is lowered down and secured to the pad pedestals.
0914 GMT (5:14 a.m. EDT)
The crawler is getting the mobile launch platform positioned over the pad pedestals where Atlantis will be perched for its May 14 blastoff.
0856 GMT (4:56 a.m. EDT)
Atlantis has climbed up the concrete ramp of launch pad 39A, its crawler-transporter having used massive hydraulic pistons to keep the mobile platform level.

Now atop the pad surface, a precision laser guidance system will help align the platform over the pad pedestals. The crawler will lower the platform onto the pedestals to complete the rollout.
0831 GMT (4:31 a.m. EDT)
Now passing the five-hour mark into today's rollout.
0825 GMT (4:25 a.m. EDT)
The crawler transporter hauling space shuttle Atlantis is now climbing the concrete ramp to the launch pad.
0815 GMT (4:15 a.m. EDT)
Atlantis has reached the pad perimeter gate.
0750 GMT (3:50 a.m. EDT)
The crawler is making the curve to reach the entrance to launch pad 39A.
0720 GMT (3:20 a.m. EDT)
Check out Spaceflight Now's two photo galleries of Atlantis' rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building.
0705 GMT (3:05 a.m. EDT)
Atlantis has passed by the Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Center observation gantry as the rollout proceeds smoothly.
0630 GMT (2:30 a.m. EDT)
Hauling the shuttle stack out to launch pad 39A on this 3.5-mile trek is one of NASA's two Apollo-era crawler-transporters. The combined weight of the transporter, mobile launch platform and shuttle Atlantis is 17.5 million pounds.

The stone-covered pathway connecting the VAB to the launch pad is 130 feet wide -- almost as broad as an eight-lane highway. Two 40-foot-wide lanes are separated by a 50-foot-wide median strip. The average depth is seven feet.

About 30 people are aboard the transporter to operate it during the rollout, including three drivers -- a prime and backup in the front cabin and one in the rear -- a jacking and leveling operator, a control room operator to run crawler systems and talk with the Launch Control Center, two electricians, two electronic technicians and four diesel mechanics for starting, monitoring and shutting down the transporter's engines. The other team members are mechanics watching over the roll and helping with the platform's docking to the launch pad.

The transporter consumes 126 gallons of diesel fuel in each mile it travels from the VAB to pad. The vehicle has a fuel capacity of 5,000 gallons.
0501 GMT (1:01 a.m. EDT)
Atlantis is making good progress now 90 minutes into the rollout.
0331 GMT (11:31 p.m. EDT Wed.)
ROLLOUT BEGINS. The crawler-transporter has started driving space shuttle Atlantis from the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building to Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A for the ship's final scheduled flight before retirement.

First motion was clocked at exactly 11:31:51 p.m. EDT.
0327 GMT (11:27 p.m. EDT Wed.)
The launch platform has been raised off the pedestals, observers on the rollout team report all is in readiness. The top speed for the transporter will be 0.8 mph for today's move.
0310 GMT (11:10 p.m. EDT Wed.)
The crawler-transporter is hydraulically jacking up the mobile launch platform from the Vehicle Assembly Building pedestals. Rollout should begin shortly.
0115 GMT (9:15 p.m. EDT Wed.)
Rollout preparations are once again underway inside the Vehicle Assembly Building for tonight's rollout of the space shuttle Atlantis. Workers report that the crawlerway now looks to be in suitable shape for the shuttle's transfer to launch pad 39A, as long as no further rain falls.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2010
1143 GMT (7:43 a.m. EDT)
The revised plan calls for the rollout team to report on station at 9 p.m. EDT tonight and a first motion of the crawler at 12:01 a.m. EDT. Atlantis should be on the launch pad and secured by dawn Thursday.
1122 GMT (7:22 a.m. EDT)
A very soggy crawlerway has forced the rollout team to call a scrub for this morning's efforts to get space shuttle Atlantis moved to launch pad 39A.

The heavy rains at Kennedy Space Center has left the rocky roadway a mess, something that officials don't want to try moving the shuttle through. A similar situation was experienced last summer.

So the plan is letting the crawlerway dry out today, let the team go home and rest, then try again late tonight.
1020 GMT (6:20 a.m. EDT)
NASA is hoping to get Atlantis' rollout underway between 7:30 and 8 a.m. EDT.
0840 GMT (4:40 a.m. EDT)
It's a stormy morning along the Space Coast, which has again postponed Atlantis' rollout to the launch pad. Ground crews have been prepping for the shuttle's departure from the Vehicle Assembly Building, but the exact start time won't be known until the weather clears.
TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010
1655 GMT (4:55 p.m. EDT)
For the second straight day, concerns about lightning during space shuttle Atlantis' journey to launch pad 39A have led managers to postpone rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building.

The specific worry tonight is the chance of lightning after the shuttle's planned arrival and workers having to deal with the weather while trying to hook up connections.

Rollout has been rescheduled for 6 a.m. EDT Wednesday, after the weather issue passes.
1630 GMT (4:30 p.m. EDT)
NASA is looking at ways to get space shuttle Atlantis' rollout started as quickly as possible this afternoon due to the threat of weather overnight.

Forecasters are predicting a chance of lightning around the Kennedy Space Center from 12 a.m. to 7 a.m.

The plan had called for rollout to begin at 6 p.m. EDT. It takes five-to-six hours for the shuttle to travel from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the seaside complex. Any delay along the way could mean Atlantis isn't at the pad before the lightning concern starts.

The rollout team is completing preps now in hopes of getting the roll started before 6 p.m. EDT.
0056 GMT (8:56 p.m. EDT Mon.)
There will be no rollout of space shuttle Atlantis tonight. Worries about lightning around the Kennedy Space Center initially delayed and has now forced managers to scrub the spaceplane's move from the Vehicle Assembly Building to launch pad 39A.

NASA will reschedule the rollout to Tuesday night starting at 6 p.m. EDT.
0018 GMT (8:18 p.m. EDT Mon.)
NASA has a deadline of about 10 p.m. EDT to get the rollout started or else delay until tomorrow night. That's to ensure the roll is completed before Discovery's landing here at Kennedy Space Center tomorrow morning.
2350 GMT (7:50 p.m. EDT)
DELAY. The concern for lightning, albeit a small threat tonight, has prompted NASA to postpone rollout of space shuttle Atlantis until at least 9 p.m. EDT, an agency spokesperson says. The spacecraft will remain within the safe confines of the Vehicle Assembly Building until weather officials give the all-clear to begin the rollout to launch pad 39A.
2335 GMT (7:35 p.m. EDT)
Weather forecasters say there's a 20 percent chance of lightning within 20 miles of the Vehicle Assembly Building this evening between 8:30 and 10 p.m. EDT tonight. Meteorologists list that as a "red" condition for rollout.

The probability of lightning declines to an acceptable 10 percent after 10 p.m. and throughout the night. Rain is likely to continue but that's not a problem for rollout, and winds are well within the limits.
MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2010
The giant sliding doors on the Vehicle Assembly Building are open, the crawler transporter has been positioned beneath the mobile launch platform and final preparations are underway for tonight's rollout of the space shuttle Atlantis.

The ground crew reported for duty at 4 p.m. EDT today, targeting an 8 p.m. EDT first motion of the voyage to launch pad 39A.

Weather here at Kennedy Space Center is a potential concern for the trip, just like it was earlier this morning when conditions prevent shuttle Discovery from returning to Earth to land at the spaceport.

A weather briefing for managers is coming up at 7:30 p.m. EDT.
THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2010
While shuttle Atlantis was inside the Vehicle Assembly Building getting hooked up with its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters, the mission's payloads drove by the landmark facility Thursday evening en route to the launch pad.

Packed within a special transport canister shaped like the shuttle's 60-foot-long payload bay, Russia's Mini Research Module 1 and an American cargo-carrying pallet destined for the International Space Station arrived atop NASA's seaside pad at nightfall.

Ground crews went to work hoisting the canister up the gantry to place the payload into the pad's cleanroom for its eventual insertion into the shuttle. Atlantis is targeting a Monday night rollout from the 52-story assembly building beginning around 8 p.m. EDT. The journey to pad 39A should take about six hours from start to finish.

The Mini Research Module 1, dubbed Rassvet or "dawn," will be attached to the Russian Zarya module and serve as a new docking compartment.

The shuttle mission also includes delivery of fresh batteries for the station's Port 6 power truss, a new space-to-ground Ku-band communications antenna and an additional handling device for the Canadian Dextre robot.

Launch remains scheduled for May 14 at 2:19 p.m. EDT.

Astronaut Ken Ham commands the 12-day flight. He will be joined by pilot Tony Antonelli and mission specialists Garrett Reisman, Mike Good, Steve Bowen and Piers Sellers.

See our photo gallery.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2010
After rolling into the Vehicle Assembly Building around midday Tuesday, the shuttle Atlantis was rotated vertical to be lifted into adjacent High Bay 1, where an external fuel tank and two solid rocket boosters were ready to welcome the orbiter.

Lifting operations began around 7 p.m. EDT Tuesday, and the heavy-duty crane turned Atlantis upright about a half-hour later.

The 100-ton shuttle was raised high into the massive assembly building overnight and lowered next to three attach points on the external tank Wednesday morning. After Atlantis is firmly bolted and wired to the fuel tank, workers will transport the shuttle stack to launch pad 39A on April 20.

Atlantis is scheduled to launch May 14 with a cache of supplies and a Russian module for the International Space Station.

The rollover and lift operations occurred exactly 25 years after Atlantis first arrived at the Kennedy Space Center after a cross-country trip from the shuttle factory in Palmdale, Calif. Atlantis is being prepared for its 32nd and final scheduled mission.

See our photo gallery.
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010
For the final scheduled time, the shuttle Atlantis rolled out of its processing bay this morning. The shuttle pausing for several hours along the quarter-mile route to the Vehicle Assembly Building, allowing employees to pose for photographs with the spaceplane. Atlantis entered the Vehicle Assembly Building around 11 a.m. for attachment to its external tank and solid rocket boosters.

See our photo gallery.
1505 GMT (11:05 a.m. EDT)
After stopping for employees to take pictures and celebrate space shuttle Atlantis, the orbiter has arrived inside the Vehicle Assembly Building now.
1142 GMT (7:42 a.m. EDT)
At the Kennedy Space Center, the roll of shuttle Atlantis continues slowly. The spacecraft's tail has emerged from its garage as the technicians back the orbiter outside for today's move to the VAB.
1121 GMT (7:21 a.m. EDT)
Down at the Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Atlantis has begun its departure from the orbiter processing facility this morning. Mounted atop a trailer-like transporter, Atlantis is being moved over the Vehicle Assembly Building for mating to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters in preparation to launch next month.

Coverage sponsored by

USA CFSE
BoeingLockheed Martin


Shuttle Atlantis on launch pad 39A.
Spaceflight Now photo by Justin Ray.