Its seven crew members are joining the three aboard the space station to continue building work on the orbiting platform.

They are attaching the S0 truss, a hi-tech girder which will be the basis of the station's future expansion.

The shuttle is also carrying a small wagon which will run along rails on the girder carrying the station's robotic arm.

Launch delay

Atlantis took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US, on Monday after four days of delays caused by fuelling problems.

As part of a new safety policy, the US space agency kept the new launch time secret until Sunday.

The whereabouts of the seven astronauts was also kept secret until they arrived at the pad.

Only then was a video of the crew's breakfast, suit-up and departure for the pad - normally seen live - broadcast by the space agency.

The shuttle is also carrying several scientific experiments, including one to grow wheat and mustard family plants in space.

This is part of a long-term programme to develop potential life support technologies for long space missions.