HOUSTON, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says it is preparing for the next space shuttle mission -- STS-129 -- scheduled to be launched Nov. 12.
Space shuttle Atlantis' 11-day mission will include three spacewalks and the installation of two platforms to the International Space Station's truss, NASA said. The platforms will hold spare hardware to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired.
Atlantis also will return NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, who will have spent more than two months aboard the orbiting laboratory. The space agency said STS-129 will mark the final time a station crew member will be returned home aboard a space shuttle flight.
Charlie Hobaugh will command Atlantis, joined by pilot Barry Wilmore and astronauts Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Michael Foreman and Robert Satcher. Wilmore, Bresnik and Satcher will be making their first trips into space.
NASA will preview the next space shuttle mission during a series of Friday news briefings at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA Television and the agency's Web site will broadcast the briefings live.
NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information are available at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.
