NASA to launch space shuttle Atlantis on December 6

NASA will launch its space shuttle STS-122 Atlantis on December 6 to deliver the European-built Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station (ISS), NASA TV reported.

NASA will launch its space shuttle STS-122 Atlantis on December 6 to deliver the European-built Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station (ISS), NASA TV reported.

The announcement was made at a press conference late on Friday, following a two-day flight readiness review at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

The shuttle mission management team conducts the traditional review two weeks prior to the launch of each space shuttle mission.

This will be the last mission in 2007. 'We have had three outstanding flights this year and we are looking forward to a fourth,' space shuttle programme manager Wayne Hale said at the press conference.

Commanded by veteran astronaut Steve Frick, Atlantis' crew is charged with delivering the Columbus lab, a key component to ISS, to continue construction of the orbital outpost.

Atlantis crew plans to conduct at least three space walks to install Columbus at the station's Harmony connecting node during their 11-day space flight.