Atlantis' crew awoke at 09:28 UTC and began the rendezvous operations two hours into the day.
Guided by a series of maneuvers—NH, NC-4 and the Terminal Insertion burns to refine the shuttle's trajectory—Atlantis closed in on the space station.
Before the shuttle docked STS-129 Commander Charles Hobaugh performed what is known as the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver (RPM) beginning at 15:52 UTC above the Atlantic Ocean, while Station astronauts Nicole Stott and Jeffrey Williams photographed Atlantis' underside with handheld digital cameras equipped with 400- and 800-millimeter lenses as part of post-launch inspections of the heat shield.
The photos were down-linked to mission control for review.
The pitch maneuver was completed at 16:01 UTC.

Docking to Harmony/Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 occurred a couple of minutes ahead of schedule at 16:51 UTC.
The joined spacecraft were orbiting 220 miles above Earth at the time of docking, above Australia and Tasmania.
After leak checks, the hatchway between Atlantis and the space station was opened at 18:28 UTC.
The traditional welcome ceremony and the station safety briefing followed, and shuttle and station crews began their joint operations for the rest of day.
The astronauts worked to move the spacewalking suits carried up on Atlantis over to the Quest airlock for use in the EVAs.
After the hatch opening, astronaut Nicole Stott's tenure as a station Expedition 21 flight engineer came to an end as she joined the Atlantis crew.

Later in the day at 19:52 UTC, shuttle's robotic arm operated by Mission Specialists Melvin and Bresnik lifted the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 1 which it had grappled on Flight day 2 out of the payload bay.
After handing over to the station's Canadarm2 controlled by shuttle Pilot Wilmore and station Flight Engineer Williams, the carrier was attached to the ISS's Port 3 truss at 21:27 UTC.

Mission Specialists Michael Foreman and Robert Satcher spent the night in the Quest airlock as part of the overnight "campout" procedure to help them get prepared for next day's spacewalk.

During the post MMT briefing Leroy Cain noted that the shuttle continues to perform flawlessly with no significant problems to report.
Furthermore, he added that NASA is not tracking down any significant issues with Atlantis.
Atlantis' crew awoke at 09:28 UTC and began the rendezvous operations two hours into the day. Guided by a series of maneuvers—NH, NC-4 and the Terminal Insertion burns to refine the shuttle's trajectory—Atlantis closed in on the space station. Before the shuttle docked STS-129 Commander Charles Hobaugh performed what is known as the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver (RPM) beginning at 15:52 UTC above the Atlantic Ocean, while Station astronauts Nicole Stott and Jeffrey Williams photographed Atlantis' underside with handheld digital cameras equipped with 400- and 800-millimeter lenses as part of post-launch inspections of the heat shield. The photos were down-linked to mission control for review. The pitch maneuver was completed at 16:01 UTC.
Docking to Harmony/Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 occurred a couple of minutes ahead of schedule at 16:51 UTC. The joined spacecraft were orbiting 220 miles above Earth at the time of docking, above Australia and Tasmania. After leak checks, the hatchway between Atlantis and the space station was opened at 18:28 UTC. The traditional welcome ceremony and the station safety briefing followed, and shuttle and station crews began their joint operations for the rest of day. The astronauts worked to move the spacewalking suits carried up on Atlantis over to the Quest airlock for use in the EVAs. After the hatch opening, astronaut Nicole Stott's tenure as a station Expedition 21 flight engineer came to an end as she joined the Atlantis crew.
Later in the day at 19:52 UTC, shuttle's robotic arm operated by Mission Specialists Melvin and Bresnik lifted the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 1 which it had grappled on Flight day 2 out of the payload bay. After handing over to the station's Canadarm2 controlled by shuttle Pilot Wilmore and station Flight Engineer Williams, the carrier was attached to the ISS's Port 3 truss at 21:27 UTC.
Mission Specialists Michael Foreman and Robert Satcher spent the night in the Quest airlock as part of the overnight "campout" procedure to help them get prepared for next day's spacewalk.
During the post MMT briefing Leroy Cain noted that the shuttle continues to perform flawlessly with no significant problems to report. Furthermore, he added that NASA is not tracking down any significant issues with Atlantis.
STS-129