WASHINGTON, May 31 (Xinhua) -- NASA senior managers on Thursday selected June 8 as the official launch date for space shuttle Atlantis, according to a statement released by NASA after the two-day Flight Readiness Review.

    Commander Rick Sturckow and his six crewmates are scheduled to be lifted off at 7:38 p.m. EDT (2338 GMT) on the STS-117 mission to the International Space Station.

    During the 11-day mission and three spacewalks, the crew will work to install a 17-ton segment on the station's girder-like truss and deploy a set of solar arrays. The mission will increase the power capability of ISS in preparation for the arrival of new science modules from the European and Japanese space agencies.

    A hail storm on Feb. 26 damaged Atlantis' external fuel tank and delayed the originally planned mid-March. The postponement of Atlantis' launch forced NASA to cut the expected number of shuttle flights this year from five to four and pushed back the flight schedule for the rest of the year. ¡¡