STS-122 Landing Scheduled For Wednesday

The space shuttle Atlantis crew is expected to complete a 13-day mission to the International Space Station with a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, February 20. Early Monday morning, Atlantis undocked from the ISS, and set a course for home.

"It's been an amazing experience for us," said Atlantis commander Steve Frick, as his crew made their final goodbyes to Expedition 16 commander Peggy Whitson and her Russian and French crewmates. "It's been great having you here," replied a tearful Whitson, reports The Houston Chronicle.

The STS-122 mission began February 7 and delivered the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory to the station. Columbus expands the station's research facilities and provides scientists around the world with the ability to conduct a variety of life, physical and materials science experiments. The mission also included three spacewalks, the delivery of a new crew member to the station and the return of another astronaut after his nearly four month stay aboard the complex.

NASA managers will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting Atlantis to return to Earth. Wednesday landing opportunities at Kennedy are at 0907 and 1042 EST.

The space agency is under the gun -- literally -- to get Atlantis back home, to clear the skies for a planned Pentagon missile launch to destroy a defective spy satellite. While weather conditions are expected to be favorable at KSC for the shuttle's return, NASA also activated the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California -- just to be safe.

There are additional landing opportunities at 1212 EST and 1347 EST at Edwards. The shuttle's other backup landing site, New Mexico's White Sands Space Harbor, will not be activated Wednesday.

Even as Atlantis left the ISS, NASA's next planned mission to the station took another step forward. The space shuttle Endeavour reached the launch pad Monday at 0445 EST Monday, and was secured to the launch pad at 0622.

A full launch dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test, is scheduled to take place at Kennedy from February 23 to 25.

Endeavour is targeted to launch March 11 on a 16-day mission to the International Space Station. The shuttle's seven crew members will deliver the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre. Five spacewalks will be conducted during the flight.

Dominic Gorie will command the STS-123 mission. Gregory H. Johnson will be the pilot. Robert L. Behnken, Mike Foreman, Rick Linnehan, Garrett Reisman and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi make up the rest of the crew. Reisman will remain on the station as a resident crew member, replacing station Flight Engineer Leopold Eyharts of the European Space Agency, who will return home on Endeavour. Eyharts launched to the station with the STS-122 crew February 7.

The STS-123 astronauts and ground crews will participate in the terminal countdown demonstration test. The test provides each shuttle crew with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. STS-123 is the 122nd space shuttle flight, the 21st flight for shuttle Endeavour and the 25th flight to the station.

FMI: www.nasa.gov