The US space shuttle Atlantis this afternoon docked with the international space station on its mission to deliver Europe's first permanent space laboratory there.
The arrival should finally put Europe's €1.3 billion Columbus laboratory into orbit after postponements dating back to 2002.
Firstly because of Russian delays in launching the space station's service module and then by the destruction of space shuttle Columbia in 2003, which grounded the US shuttle fleet.
Atlantis' mission was twice delayed in December by technical problems with an emergency engine cutoff system.
Twenty-three feet long and nearly 15 feet in diameter, the cylindrical Columbus lab has room for three crew members to work on experiments. It was launched with a biolab for cell and tissue studies and an experiment to study the effects of weightlessness on the human body.
The European Space Agency is counting on Columbus' successful deployment and the March 8th launch of a cargo ship to proceed with future space programs, including participation in NASA's plan to return humans to the surface of the moon.