New Russian Module Removed from Shuttle Payload Bay

At 5:49 a.m. EDT, space shuttle Commander Ken Ham and Pilot Tony Antonelli maneuvered the shuttle’s robotic arm to remove the Mini Research Module-1, named Rassvet, from Atlantis’ payload bay. They will position it for transfer to the station’s robotic arm.

Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman and Piers Sellers are at the station robotic arm’s controls to maneuver Rassvet to its new position on the Russian segment of the International Space Station. It will be connected to the Earth-facing port of the Zarya module. Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov will monitor the activities from the Russian segment.