[UPDATE (12:30 MT Sunday): The Shuttle landed safely at 08:39 Pacific time today at Edwards Air Force Base in California, after bad weather in Florida delayed landing for two days. Glad to she her home, and again, my thanks again to the crew of STS-125!]
Bad weather in Florida has delayed the Atlantis from landing once again, so NASA will try again on Sunday. There are four opportunities to bring the Shuttle home (all times are Eastern; add 4 hours to get GMT):
1) 10:11 a.m., Orbit 196, landing at Kennedy (deorbit burn at 8:58 a.m.)
2) 11:40 a.m., Orbit 197, landing at Edwards (deorbit burn at 10:25 a.m.)
3) 11:49 a.m., Orbit 197, landing at Kennedy (deorbit burn at 10:31 a.m.)
4) 1:19 p.m., Orbit 198, landing at Edwards (deorbit burn at 12:08 p.m.)
You can stay up to date by following the NASA Twitter feed or by checking in with NASA TV.
May 23rd, 2009 at 10:32 am
Even though I know it costs a few million bucks a pop, I love it when the shuttle lands at Edwards.
Those sonic booms are neat-o.
May 23rd, 2009 at 10:37 am
@kuhnigget: Me too. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for an Edwards AFB landing tomorrow. I was hoping for sonic booms today, but I’ll take them tomorrow instead.
May 23rd, 2009 at 10:55 am
May 23rd, 2009 at 11:29 am
We drove 2 hours to get there only to find out it was put off another day
When I saw the first shuttle go up it took a few days then too so I’ll be there tomorrow too. It will be worth 8 hour of driving and loss of sleep if it lands tomorrow.
May 23rd, 2009 at 11:36 am
So I wonder what they do during the extra days in orbit?
May 23rd, 2009 at 12:05 pm
@Brian S.
I hope that they have the time of their life… seeing the earth, shooting photos, goofing around… because I think it is usually all work and now play with 8 hours space walks and so on…
I would not be bored one second…
May 23rd, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I’m so tempted to drive down to see if it lands at Edwards. I wish I knew for sure, it’s a long drive.
May 23rd, 2009 at 12:29 pm
I bet the crew have hidden the video camera from Mass. With another “bonus” day in orbit he would probably remake the whole of Star Wars! RayJ as R2D2. Megan as Princess Leia. Scooter as Han Solo. Drew as Luke Skywalker. John as Obi Wan, Bueno as C3Po and Mass himself doubling as both Chewy and Darth Vadar!
May 23rd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
I am looking forward to a shuttle landing at GGG. Shall I hold my breath?
May 23rd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I know this is a bit of a bad thought, but I’m kinda glad for these delays – it means I get another chance to image Atlantis as it passes Sunday evening (here in Australia, that is). I tracked it visually through my scope earlier yesterday evening thinking “this is the last time I’ll ever get to see Atlantis pass over here” – I’m glad it gets an encore!
May 23rd, 2009 at 3:34 pm
@ Chris Owen: Is this Atlantis’s last flight, or just the last one that would take it over where you are?
May 23rd, 2009 at 3:42 pm
@Brian S: The NASA schedule is at http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html, Atlantis’ last mission is scheduled to be STS-132 at May 14 2010, or the third last shuttle mission.
May 23rd, 2009 at 4:16 pm
@ Brian S: I was under the impression that this was Atlantis’s final mission before it was retired. Quickly checking the Atlantis and STS-125 wiki pages, though, I can’t find any reference to this. I guess I heard wrong?
May 23rd, 2009 at 6:16 pm
I’m on my way to Edwards it’s just a few hours from O.C
May 23rd, 2009 at 6:42 pm
$1.8M to transport Atlantis from Edwards back to KSC if they land there tomorrow. With a massively hacked space exploration budget for at least the next three years I can see why they are not eager to have to land there. Cool as a sonic boom would be in California, keeping 10-20 space scientists employed an extra few years is a better way to spend the budget.
May 23rd, 2009 at 8:59 pm
#5
My understanding is that they use the extra time to study the effect of zero gravity on small screws and they play with their ant farm.
May 23rd, 2009 at 10:14 pm
@Chris Owen/#13: Back when HST SM4 was scheduled for October, the Flight Manifest at that time did have SM4 as Atlantis’ final scheduled mission (NASA itself made a big to-do over the fact that it was supposed to be Atlantis’ final dance), with the remaining ISS assembly & resupply flights booked on Discovery & Endeavor. However, when the SM4 mission got bumped ’til May, the Flight Manifest got a reset, and Atlantis got a reprieve and picked up another mission or two.
May 23rd, 2009 at 11:13 pm
You would think that something that could go through the Earths atmosphere without burning up could withstand the worst thunderstorm the Earth could throw at it!
LOL! I know it’s all about maintaining communications, safety..etc..but seriously?!
May 24th, 2009 at 12:27 am
@ TheWhitePhoenix Don’t forget a raindrop hits the shuttles tiles with the force of a bullet! Not a good idea.
I love that the crew played “Take me Home” by Phil Collins to the Team at Houston this morning.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:05 am
13. Chris Owen : (May 23rd, 2009 at 4:16 pm)
@ Brian S: I was under the impression that this was Atlantis’s final mission before it was retired. Quickly checking the Atlantis and STS-125 wiki pages, though, I can’t find any reference to this. I guess I heard wrong?
The Aussie news media (both TV and print) certainly claimed it would be the last flight of the ‘Atlantis’ orbiter.
Seems they got that wrong, although I’m not sure where they got that idea from. Perhaps they just thought its 2009, one year to shuttle retirement and there’s three other orbiters to fly then made a lazy assumption? Mind you, even for our media that’s pretty slack.
This misunderstanding was also mentioned and corrected on another BA blog thread about this mission too.
I wish they’d keep the shuttles flying longer. I, for one, will miss them when they’re gone.
Weird to think the last flight is just next year – and that next year is 2010.
One of my big early childhood memories was of staying up very late to watch the first ever shuttle launch – which was actually scrubbed due to computer fault. But still seeing that super, all-white, rocket-cross-spaceplane was like looking at the future. One thatnever quite happened but all the same …
Could they not just refurbish them, maybe improve and upgrade them and keep them going until there’s a better replacement I wonder?
May 24th, 2009 at 2:53 am
I have a question about optimal viewing location. Where do you guys like to watch from? I remember from somewhere people with scanners gathered together to monitor landing communications.
Judging from the groundtracks NASA put out the shuttle would be coming from the west to the east. So is it better to watch from the south of the base somewhere off of Avenue E I’m guessing or from the north of the base off of Highway 58?
Is there like an observation area they let us get to?
May 24th, 2009 at 4:13 am
Well, it’s looking like EAFB. It’s always pretty cool to see the shuttle riding piggy-back on the 747; I’d like more pictures of the shuttle being anchored to the 747 though.
@Chris Owen: This is the final (planned) flight to the HST for servicing. I guess the Aussies have a problem with english and thought it was the final flight for Atlantis. I sure hope it isn’t; I like my astronauts alive and well.
The shuttles have received numerous ’small’ upgrades over the years (replacement of obsoleted parts with newer more reliable parts among other things) but as the shuttles age they take a lot more work to keep in shape. The air frame itself goes through incredible stress on take off and reentry (and so do the passengers). Unfortunately with competing interests and the incredible cost of producing a next generation shuttle, NASA found itself facing a future with no shuttle. I was hoping there was more truth to the rumor of a shuttle without those whopping huge engines – a bit more like the Buran, but capsules won out for simplicity. The closest to a shuttle now is ESA’s Jules Verne which is a robotic supply vehicle; there was talk of going through the routine to certify it for humans in flight. Who knows – maybe the Russians will put some of their gas revenue into building Buran2 (somehow I doubt it).
May 24th, 2009 at 5:02 am
Quite interesting:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8044620.stm
May 24th, 2009 at 7:04 am
Josh R. #17: Ah, that explains why the media has been consistently reporting this as the last mission. They didn’t bother to read the later press releases;).
May 24th, 2009 at 9:39 am
Touchdown!
May 24th, 2009 at 9:57 am
*applause*
May 24th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
You turn your back for 5 minutes…
Wouldn’t you just know it, I’m out walking on Cannock Chase with the family and when we get back I’m straight on to NASA TV and they’re down already. So now I’m scrambling around for a video. Good job Atlantis crew!
Bob(Big)