NASA's Atlantis shuttle to be launched February 7

NASA announced on Friday that space shuttle Atlantis will be launched February 7, after a delay due to technical problems.

Atlantis was due to be launched last year December 6 but NASA had to postpone the launch indefinitely due to a technical problem with the fuel sensors.

The shuttle will carry the European space laboratory Columbus to International Space Station.

Columbus is about 23 feet long and 15 feet wide allowing it to be able to hold 10 racks of experiments, with the size of a phone booth.

Five racks will be added to the laboratory once it is in orbit creating communication links with the earth that will allow scientists all over Europe to participate in their own experiments in space from several user centers or work stations.