Back On Earth, Still A Bit Far From Home

ANN REALTIME REPORTING 06.22.07 1549 EDT: Touchdown! Moments ago, the space shuttle Atlantis came to a stop on runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, bringing to close a successful 13 day, 20 hour, and roughly 11-minute flight... with the textbook definition of a perfect landing.

Residents in Southern California were treated to beautiful views of the shuttle passing high overhead, as it travelled north to Edwards. Pilot Lee Archambault then flew a traffic pattern slightly wider (grin) than you'll see at your local GA field, to align the orbiter with the runway.

In the coming days, Atlantis will be defueled, purged of hazardous substances and fitted with a drag reducing tail cone. The orbiter will then be loaded atop the modified 747 NASA uses to transport the shuttles back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Welcome back, everybody!

Original Reports

1420 EDT: "Atlantis, Houston, you are go for the deorbit burn." With that statement, flight controllers at NASA cleared the space shuttle Atlantis for landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, after weather failed to improve at Kennedy Space Center.

STS-117 Commander Rick Sturckow and Pilot Lee Archambault are scheduled to perform the deorbit engine burn at 1443 EDT to begin the descent for a 1549 EDT landing at Edwards.

Rain showers were the reason for the wave off of the first landing attempt at Kennedy. Flight controllers and forecasters with the Spaceflight Meteorology Group continue to monitor the weather at both landing facilities.

NASA reports conditions at Edwards are favorable, for the moment, for landing. High winds at the site had been a concern, although winds typically kick up in the Mojave later in the day.

Atlantis' landing at Edwards will be the first by a shuttle since Discovery's early-morning return from its first "Return to Flight" mission there, in August 2005 (shown below.)

1305 EDT: Uncooperative weather at Kennedy Space Center forced flight controllers to pass on STS-117's first landing attempt. The crew and the Mission Control team have turned their attention to the next orbit, which has opportunities available in Florida and at Edwards Air Force Base, CA.

Kennedy is the primary site, and the next landing opportunity at the Florida spaceport is at 1555 EDT. If flight controllers select this option, Commander Rick Sturckow and Pilot Lee Archambault will perform the deorbit engine burn at 1450 to begin the descent to Florida. The Edwards landing opportunity is at 1549.

Rain showers were the reason for the wave off of the first landing attempt at Kennedy. Flight controllers and forecasters with the Spaceflight Meteorology Group continue to monitor the weather at both landing facilities. Two more opportunities are available today at Edwards, should the next orbit prove to be unsuitable.

1025 EDT: NASA will try again Friday to bring the space shuttle Atlantis back home, after a nearly two-week mission in space. Trouble is, the weather forecast doesn't look a whole lot better than it did Thursday.

The space agency reports the forecast for Kennedy Space Center calls for the continued threat of thunderstorms in the area -- hardly atypical for Florida in late-spring. A further complication is the chance of high winds at the alternate landing site, California's Edwards Air Force Base.

"Obviously, I would like clear skies, unlimited visibility and little wind. But unfortunately, those are not the cards we're typically dealt," NASA flight director Norm Knight told Florida Today.

NASA tells ANN a total of five landing opportunities are available, one more than the agency stated Thursday. The first chance at Kennedy is at 1418 EDT, during orbit 218. Two opportunities exist during the next orbit -- one apiece for KSC and Edwards -- with landing between 1549 and 1555, depending on which site is chosen.

From that point forward, NASA will look only west. The second Edwards opportunity occurs at 1723 EDT, on orbit 220. The final opportunity comes on orbit 221, with an Edwards landing at 1859 EDT.

Got all that? Because there will be quiz later. More landing opportunities exist for Saturday, although options beyond that point are severely limited.

As ANN reported, Atlantis launched June 8 and arrived at the International Space Station on June 10. While at the orbital outpost, the crew installed the Starboard 3 and 4 truss segment and conducted four spacewalks to activate it. During the third spacewalk, the crew repaired an out of position thermal blanket on the left orbital maneuvering system pod.

STS-117 is the 118th shuttle mission, and 21st mission to visit the space station. The next mission, STS-118, is slated to launch in August.

FMI: www.nasa.gov