Space shuttle Atlantis is expected to dock with the international space station on Sunday after officials decided there will be no need to perform a maneuver to avoid a piece of debris. NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, had considered the maneuver to bypass the debris whose track would take it close to the space station on Sunday. However, officials later determined the object would remain a safe distance away. After lifting off Friday afternoon, crew members aboard Atlantis embarked on their first full day in space for the mission. The astronauts performed a routine inspection of the orbiter before their rendezvous with the space station at 10:27 a.m. ET Sunday. The crew members plan to deliver an integrated cargo carrier and a Russian-built mini research module to the station. They also plan to bring a set of batteries for the station's truss and dish antenna, along with other replacement parts, NASA said. Atlantis blasted off from Kennedy Space Center on Friday afternoon in its 32nd flight, made its maiden voyage in 1985. It carried into orbit the Magellan spacecraft, which went on to map 98 percent of the planet Venus. It also sent the Galileo spacecraft on its way to collect data about Jupiter and its moons for eight years. In addition to the current mission, NASA has plans for two other missions before the space shuttle program ends; one in September for Discovery and the other for Endeavour in November, according to a report of CNN.
