05.31.07 - 3:45 p.m. EDT
Following the Flight Readiness Review meetings on May 30 and 31 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA's senior managers have signed the Certification of Flight Readiness confirming that Space Shuttle Atlantis, her flight crew and payloads are fit to fly. Officials approved June 8 as the scheduled launch date for the STS-117 mission to the International Space Station.
"We had a very good review for the past day and a half," said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations. Referring to the repairs on the external tank, Gerstenmaier said proudly, "I don't think I've ever seen an effort done better than was done by the external tank team…they did a phenomenal job to give us a flight-ready tank to go fly."
"We're good to go," said Wayne Hale, Space Shuttle Program manager. "We have no show stoppers ahead of us."