News From Space!

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For sky watchers in the northern hemisphere, this weekend is the best time of the year to experience the mysterious and beautiful Moon Illusion.

Atlantis is back on Earth! The ship touched down at 3:49PM EDT, on Runway 22 at Edwards, with bright, sunny weather on their side. NASA reports:

Atlantis Touches Down in California

Space Shuttle Atlantis arrived back on Earth in California, touching down at 3:49 p.m. EDT. Commander Rick Sturckow and Pilot Lee Archambault guided the vehicle as it made its steep descent from space toward the desert runway, accompanied by two T-38 chase jets. The landing concludes a successful 14-day construction mission to the International Space Station.

A convoy of landing support trucks and equipment headed out to begin safing the orbiter and assisting the flight crew.

After their successful construction mission to the International Space Station, the crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis had another day in space thanks to yesterday’s landing postponement due to bad weather at the preferred landing location, Kennedy Space Center in Florida. That bad weather lingered today, forcing Mission Control to choose California as the landing spot.

Live discussion here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.

After waving off both landing opportunities for KSC, Atlantis is heading to Edwards Air Force Base in California.  NASA reports:

Atlantis En Route to California

Image above: Astronaut Scott Altman approaches the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in a Shuttle Training Aircraft to assess landing conditions. Image credit: NASA TV

STS-117 Commander Rick Sturckow and Pilot Lee Archambault fired space shuttle Atlantis’ engines at 2:43 p.m. EDT to begin the descent for a 3:49 p.m. landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Atlantis’ flight path will bring it over San Diego and just east of Los Angeles before it touches down at Edwards where it will be greeted by fair skies and light winds.

Rain showers forced flight controllers to wave off two landing opportunities at Kennedy.

Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.

Five For Friday: Today we have  2 landing opportunities on the east coast, and 3 on the west coast. NASA reports:

STS-117 Crew Looks to End Mission Today

Image above: Atlantis’ first landing opportunity is at the Kennedy Space Center at 2:18 p.m. EDT. Image credit: NASA TV

Five landing opportunities are available today for space shuttle Atlantis and the STS-117 crew. Flight controllers and forecasters continue to monitor the weather at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., and Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

Atlantis’ first landing opportunity is at 2:18 p.m. EDT on orbit 218. If controllers elect to take it, Commander Rick Sturckow will perform the deorbit burn at 1:12 p.m. to begin the descent to Kennedy. Orbit 219 provides opportunities at both landing sites – a 3:49 p.m. landing at Edwards and a 3:55 p.m. landing at Kennedy.

The second opportunity for the California base is on Orbit 220. The deorbit burn would occur at 4:18 p.m. with the landing at 5:23 p.m. The final opportunity is on Orbit 221 and it calls for the deorbit burn to occur at 5:56 p.m. with the landing at 6:59 p.m.

Thunderstorms in the vicinity of Kennedy forced flight controllers to wave off both opportunities Thursday. Today’s weather forecast for Kennedy calls for the threat of thunderstorms in the area and high winds are a possibility at Edwards. Opportunities are also available Saturday.

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.

Live discussion here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.

After Florida’s weather forced NASA to cancel both of today’s landing opportunities, Atlantis’ orbit will be tweaked to allow for an additional landing shot tomorrow. NASA reports:

Bad Weather Pushes STS-117 Landing to Friday

Image above: A camera atop the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., captured this view of the Shuttle Landing Facility on Thursday. Image credit: NASA TV

The STS-117 crew is getting an extra day in space thanks to poor weather conditions at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Space shuttle Atlantis has five landing opportunities available Friday, with the first at 2:18 p.m. EDT in Florida.

The first opportunity Friday is on Orbit 218 and calls for a deorbit burn at 1:16 p.m. The second is on Orbit 219, with the deorbit burn at 2:52 p.m. and landing at 3:54 p.m. at Kennedy.

If Florida weather does not cooperate, three opportunities are available at Edwards. The first is on Orbit 219. This afternoon, the crew will adjust Atlantis’ orbit to set the stage for this opportunity, which has the deorbit burn occurring at 2:46 p.m. and landing at 3:49 p.m.

The second opportunity for the California base is on Orbit 220. The deorbit burn would occur at 4:21 p.m. and landing at 5:24 p.m. The final opportunity is one orbit later which calls for the deorbit burn to occur at 5:58 p.m. and landing at 6:59 p.m.

Friday’s weather forecast for Kennedy calls for the threat of thunderstorms in the area and high winds are a possibility at Edwards. Opportunities are also available Saturday.

Check the collection of mission news videos at Local6.com.

The first day of summer means an extra day on-orbit. Showers and clouds forced NASA to wave off the second of today’s landing attempts. NASA reports:

Atlantis Return Delayed Until Friday

The STS-117 crew is getting an extra day in space thanks to poor weather conditions at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Space shuttle Atlantis has four landing opportunities available Friday, with the first at 2:16 p.m. EDT in Florida.

Thunderstorms in the vicinity of Kennedy forced flight controllers to wave off both opportunities today. Controllers and the Spaceflight Meteorology Group will closely monitor forecasts for Friday’s opportunities in Florida and at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The first opportunity Friday is on Orbit 218 and calls for a deorbit burn at 1:14 p.m. The second is on Orbit 219, which calls for the deorbit burn to begin at 2:50 p.m. and landing to occur at 3:51 p.m. at Kennedy.

If Florida weather does not cooperate, two opportunities are available at Edwards. The first is on Orbit 220. The deorbit burn would occur at 4:19 p.m. and landing at 5:21 p.m. The final opportunity is one orbit later with the deorbit burn at 5:55 p.m. and the landing at 6:56 p.m.

Opportunities are also available Saturday.

Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.

With about an hour to go until the deorbit burn decision, a landing today appears unlikely. Atlantis has enough fuel and supplies on board to stay in orbit until Sunday. NASA reports:

Atlantis Return Delayed

Image above: STS-117 Mission Control center in Houston, Texas. Image credit: NASA/KSC

Mission Control has given STS-117 Commander Rick Sturckow a wave-off for the first landing opportunity at Kennedy Space Center in Florida due to bad weather. The next chance for landing at Kennedy will be at 3:30 p.m. EDT on orbit 203.

NASA flight directors will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before giving Atlantis the go-ahead to return to Earth. The backup landing sites at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. and White Sands Space Harbor, N.M., will not be considered on Thursday.

Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.