The thermal protection system on the bottom of the space shuttle Atlantis is seen during launch from a camera mounted on the external fuel tank in this view from NASA TV September 9, 2006. Astronauts used a sensor-laden robot arm on Sunday to check for heat shield damage to shuttle Atlantis and NASA said all looked well so far.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

  WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Atlantis crew conducted heat shield inspections Sunday as the shuttle continued its chase of the International Space Station, NASA said.

    Early report shows the shuttle looks good and is free from damage, NASA said.

    "I have not seen a single problem with the vehicle," said lead flight director Paul Dye, speaking after astronauts reported no damage to the craft's heat shields.

    According to NASA's website, the crew performed two sets of inspections to see if Atlantis was damaged during its climb into space on Saturday.

    The crew used the orbiter boom sensor system, attached to the end of the shuttle's robot arm, to perform thorough inspections of wing leading edges and the nose cap. After the boom returned to the payload bay, the astronauts used the arm to take a look at the crew cabin and other areas on Atlantis' upper surface.

    According to NASA, crewmembers were making preparations for the upcoming spacewalks. And Atlantis is slated to dock with the orbital outpost at 6:46 a.m. EDT Monday.

    Atlantis' arrival at the station will signal the resumption of on-orbit construction of the station with the delivery of the P3/P4 truss segment and a new set of solar arrays. The crew will conduct three spacewalks to install and prepare the truss and arrays for operation, NASA said.

    The Atlantis crew entered their scheduled sleep period at 4:15 p.m. Sunday and will wake up at 12:15 a.m. Enditem

Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off for construction mission

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis lifted off from its ocean-side launch pad of Kennedy Space Center at 11:15 p.m. EDT (1515 GMT) on Saturday, heading for the International Space Station to resume construction of the space outpost, according to NASA TV.

NASA scraps launch of Atlantis due to new fuel sensor glitch

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- A new fuel sensor glitch forced NASA to postpone Friday's launch of space shuttle Atlantis for another 24 hours, according to NASA's official website.

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