DeKALB | Astronauts on Atlantis thought something might go terribly wrong when a bolt, spring and washer floated away from them Tuesday.

After reviewing to see if the bolt would cause a problem, however, NASA Mission Control declared all was OK. The otherwise successful space construction mission put the astronauts ahead of schedule an the International Space Station.

But before anything could be connected, the shuttle had to deliver the giant framework to the space station in a delicately choreographed “unberthing” that later involved the handoff of a 17 1/2-ton construction piece. Both were built in Canada.

“Once they put up more modules, they will be able to do more experiments at the station,” said Eric Johnson, a junior applied physics major and president of the NIU Astronomical Society.

NASA is using experiments thought up by students in regard to other missions, Johnson said.

The space station has been installed with hopes that astronauts will find ways to improve life on Earth.

“NASA will build more bases on the moon starting in 2018 and then on Mars by 2030,” Johnson said.

Atlantis lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center Saturday after almost a week of delays.

“The delay on Wednesday was caused by a voltage spike in the coolant pump of the fuel cell,” said physics professor Suzanne Willis.

NASA found the voltage spike right before they were about to load the shuttle with 500,000 gallons of propellant.

After being delayed again until Saturday because of a problem with the fuel cut-off sensor system, the shuttle finally took off.

Officials drained the fuel tanks and tested to see if the sensors worked and later cleared the launch with three of the four sensors working, Willis said.

These sensors provide a back-up that ensures the engines don’t stay on too long. The shuttle’s systems and water supply are run by the electricity provided after mixing the hydrogen from that tank with the oxygen from another.

The shuttle is expected to return to earth Sept. 20 just before 6 a.m.

Christopher Schimmel is a City Reporter for the Northern Star. The Associated Press also contributed to this article.