Hatches Open, Crews Begin Joint Operations

Hatches between space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station were opened at 12:18 p.m. EDT.

Crew members will use the station’s robotic arm to move the Integrated Cargo Carrier from the payload bay to the station’s mobile transporter. This will enable the carrier and its attached hardware to be prepositioned for use throughout the mission.

Crew members also will transfer the spacesuits and spacewalk equipment over to the station’s Quest airlock and begin setting up for the first spacewalk.