STS-122
Report #18
Saturday, February 16, 2008 - 4:30 a.m. CST
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON In its last full day with the crew at the International Space Station, space shuttle Atlantis?crew will continue with the outfitting of the new Columbus research module, give the station a reboost to get it ready for its next visitors and spend some time talking with reporters on Earth.

The crew was allowed to sleep in about 30 minutes after Friday' long spacewalk. This morning's wake-up call ?? Believe I Can Fly,?performed by Yolanda Adams and Kenny G and played for Mission Specialist Leland Melvin ?came at 2:20 a.m. CST.

Columbus outfitting and transfer operations will continue throughout the day, and the crew will be reconfiguring the tools and suits used during Friday' spacewalk.

At 6:16 a.m., the shuttle will fire its propulsion system for 36 minutes to reboost the orbit of the space station. This will allow the station to achieve the proper alignment needed in advance of next month' arrival of Endeavour on the STS-123 mission.

And then at 7:40 a.m., all 10 members of the shuttle and station crews will participate in the traditional joint crew news conference. Reporters at Johnson Space Center in Texas, Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the European Space Agency's European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, and the French Space Agency Headquarters in Paris will be participating in the question-and-answer session.

Toward the end of the day, Pilot Alan Poindexter and mission specialists Rex Walheim and Stanley Love will have some off-duty time. Walheim and Love performed Friday' spacewalk, and Poindexter worked inside as their intravehicular officer.

The next STS-122 status report will be issued this evening or earlier if events warrant.