Touches Down At 0907 EST
ANN REALTIME REPORTING 02.20.08 0910 EST: A
mission that got off to a decidely rocky start, ended smoothly
Wednesday morning at the Kennedy Space Center... as the shuttle
Atlantis touched down on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility
moments ago, bringing the STS-122 mission to the International
Space Station to a successful end.
Shuttle commander Stephen Frick brought Atlantis in for a
textbook landing (OK, so he was a tad left of centerline
on final... pick, pick -- Ed.) at 0907 EST,
just over a minute after the orbiter broke through a high overcast
layer at 12,000 feet over the Cape (shown below from the
pilots'-eye-view.)
The STS-122 mission delivered the ESA's Columbus science lab to
the ISS. They also delivered a new crew member to the ISS and
replaced an expended Nitrogen Tank Assembly on the station’s
P1 Truss. Mission Specialists Rex Walheim, Hans Schlegel and
Stanley Love conducted a total of three spacewalks to install and
prepare the Columbus module and replace the nitrogen tank.
Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier
described STS-122 as one of the program's most successful space
station construction missions.
"These missions are extremely challenging, and a great deal of
preparation and teamwork are required to get these vehicles ready
to fly," Gerstenmaier said. "We're focused on completing assembly
and moving into the full utilization phase of the station. This
mission opens the door for another one of our international
partners to join in the important work and science on the space
station."
STS-122 was the 121st shuttle mission, the 29th flight for
Atlantis, and the 24th mission to visit the space station. The next
mission, STS-123, is slated to launch in March onboard Endeavour,
which rolled to the launch pad earlier this week.
As ANN reported, Atlantis'
liftoff came two months after originally planned, due to recurring
glitches with fuel level sensors in the external fuel tank. The
orbiter blasted off without incident February 7.
Atlantis' next mission comes later this year... the STS-125
excursion to repair and modify the Hubble Space Telescope, the last
time a shuttle will ever visit the orbital observation
satellite.
Original Report
0001 EST: NASA tells ANN the crew members of
space shuttle Atlantis spent Tuesday getting ready for their return
home, and the end of the STS-122 mission.
The STS-122 astronauts set up the recumbent seat for Mission
Specialist Daniel Tani, who joined the crew of Atlantis on the
International Space Station. The recumbent seat is a special seat
designed to reduce the stress of gravity on those who have spent
long periods of time in the weightless environment of space.
Tani served as Expedition 16 flight engineer for almost four
months. He was replaced on the station crew by European Space
Agency (ESA) astronaut Leopold Eyharts.
As part of the preparations, the astronauts also performed a
test Tuesday morning of the steering thrusters that will be used to
position the orbiter for re-entry. They did not test the four aft
orbiter maneuvering system vernier thrusters, due to the overnight
failure of the common heater used for those jets, making them
inoperative during the test.
Fortunately, the four steering thrusters are not needed for
deorbit or landing, and will not have an impact on the remainder of
the mission.
The crew members also successfully tested the control surfaces
to be used during Atlantis' flight through the atmosphere.
As ANN reported, STS-122
arrived at the station February 9, delivering ESA’s Columbus
laboratory to the station. The crews installed Columbus February 11
and conducted three spacewalks to prepare Columbus for its
scientific work. They also replaced an expended nitrogen tank on
the station’s P1 truss.
The orbiter is scheduled to land at Florida's Kennedy Space
Center early Wednesday. NASA also activated the backup landing site
at Edward's Air Force Base, but it shouldn't be necessary -- as the
forecast calls for acceptable conditions at KSC for the first
landing opportunity at 0907 EST.
(STS-122 crew photograph courtesy NASA TV)