Space shuttle Atlantis is being loaded with hypergolic propellants this weekend while launch preparations continue for the liftoff of STS-132, targeted for May 14. Hypergolics are chemicals that ignite when they come in contact with each other. The propellants are used in the maneuvering system called the reaction control system, or RCS, that steers the shuttle in space.
Technicians will also close the aft compartment of Atlantis during work at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.