As Atlantis Preps for Final Launch Tomorrow, Hope Lingers That It May Not Be the Last

The Space Shuttle Atlantis is prepped for its final launch on Friday, when it will embark on a 12-day mission delivering supplies to the ISS, installing a new Russian space station module, and replacing some aging battery packs on one of the station's solar arrays. But while shuttle-philes are lamenting the end of America's first era of manned space travel, shuttle managers are calling Friday's launch the 'last planned flight' rather than Atlantis's grand finale, hoping that Atlantis will fly again. That's because when Atlantis returns from its mission later this month, it won't be parted out or shipped to a museum. It will be refitted for flight, prepped with a fuel tank and boosters in case NASA's next and final shuttle mission -- to be flown by Endeavour in November -- runs into some kind of trouble. Related ArticlesSenate Bill Proposes Extending The Shuttle Program By Another Two Years New Obama...

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