STS-122
Report #19
Saturday, February 16, 2008 - 1:00 p.m. CST
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

HOUSTON ?Outfitting of the International Space Station Columbus module experiment racks continued today with all 10 crew members working to complete the activation and initialization of the newest addition to the station.

Earlier in the day, space shuttle Atlantis?propulsion system was used to reboost the station' altitude by about 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometers) ?the first reboost of the station using shuttle thrusters since 2002.

The altitude adjustment lasted 36 minutes and used four of the shuttle' vernier jets that produced about 28 pounds of thrust each to gently raise the orbit. The increased altitude will allow the station to be in the proper orbit for next month' arrival of Endeavour on the STS-123 mission.

Early Saturday, all 10 members of the shuttle and station crews held their traditional news conference with media in the United States and Europe. Today set the stage for the final transfer of cargo between the shuttle and station early on Sunday. The crews will bid farewell to one another and close the hatches between the shuttle and station shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday. Atlantis' departure remains scheduled for early Monday.

The next STS-122 status report will be issued tomorrow morning after crew wake-up or earlier if events warrant.