Florida ? Atlantis’ astronauts spent their first full day in orbit Friday scrupulously checking their ship for any launch day damage, as they steered ever closer to the international space station.

The shuttle was brimming with birthday presents for the station’s scientific skipper, Peggy Whitson: a $2 billion European lab that she’ll help set up and all kinds of spicy salsas.

Atlantis is due at the space station today, Whitson’s 48th birthday.

“My present is a new module that we’re going to install on board the station,” Whitson, a biochemist, said in a broadcast interview. She put in a special request for different kinds of sauces to spice up the space station food. “It gets a little old after being here for several months.”

As the shuttle drew closer with every circling of Earth, the seven-man crew inspected its wings and nose for any sign of launch damage, using a 100-foot laser-tipped boom. The images were beamed down to Earth for analysis by engineers; a quick look revealed nothing amiss.