At 1945 GMT, the space shuttle Atlantis is set to launch on a 10-day mission to deliver the Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station (ISS). The Columbus laboratory is a European Space Agency module for the ISS and will be used by astronauts to carry out experiments in a weightless environment.
ESA astronauts Leopold Eyharts from France and Hans Schlegel from Germany will be aboard Atlantis and will help commission the laboratory. Former fighter pilot Eyharts will then live on the ISS for the next three months. See: ,
If the Shuttle launches on schedule on Thursday, we should be able to it from Ireland, as it closes in on the ISS for docking. The ISS is currently making very bright evening passes over Ireland. See for all the details and predictions for your own location.