Atlantis: Mated and moving to launch pad

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- NASA says space shuttle Atlantis has been mated to its orange external tank and twin solid rocket boosters and is ready to move to its launch pad.

The entire assembly is stacked on a mobile launcher platform at the Kennedy Space Center and is to be moved Thursday to Launch Pad 39A. That will mark the next milestone for Mission STS-117 and its scheduled March 15 lift off -- the first launch from Pad 39A in four years.

The crew's mission will be to continue constructing the space station by installing a new truss segment, retracting an existing set of solar arrays and unfolding a new array.

Frederick Sturckow, a veteran of two shuttle missions, will be in command of Atlantis, with Lee Archambault making his first flight as the shuttle's pilot. Astronauts James Reilly and Patrick Forrester will be returning to the station, while Steven Swanson and John Olivas will join the crew for their first flights into space.