False alarms wake orbiting astronauts

HOUSTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- NASA Friday was investigating false fire and depressurization alarms aboard the shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station, officials said.

The alarms woke sleeping astronauts Thursday night with sensors indicating a fire and a dangerous loss of pressure, NASA officials said Friday.

The alarms turned out to be false and the crew was never in any danger, said Mission Control in Houston, which is investigating the cause of the false alarms.

Friday, crew members aboard the shuttle and the space station were to prepare for a spacewalk Saturday by recharging batteries, readying spacesuits and reviewing procedures.

The spacewalk was to involve using the shuttle's robotic arm to lift a cargo pallet of spare equipment from Atlantis payload bay to the space station, NASA said.