"We are all on track for a launch next Thursday," said William Gerstenmaier who is the associate administrator for space operations at NASA.

The space shuttle Atlantis is now on track for the eleven day mission. It will be launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission will be manned by a multinational crew of seven astronauts led by Atlantis commander Steve Frick.

Around three spacewalks are planned to connect European Space Agency's new Columbus laboratory as well as its external experiment platforms to the station.