CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Gliding back to Earth through nearly
cloudless blue skies, space shuttle Atlantis returned to Kennedy Space Center
Friday morning in a picture-perfect touch down.
With Commander Charlie Hobaugh at the controls, Atlantis
looped through the crisp Florida morning to land on time on time, at 9:44 a.m.
EST. It was a brilliant conclusion to an 11-day mission and the next-to-last
flight for Atlantis. NASA has only five more space shuttle flights scheduled
before the program ends in a little more than a year.
“Couldn’t have picked a clearer day,” Hobaugh
said.
It was an especially sweet homecoming for two members of the
crew. Astronaut Nicole Stott was away for nearly three months, living at the
space station. Fellow crew member Randy Bresnik’s baby daughter was born last
weekend.
“Everybody, welcome back to Earth, especially you,
Nicole,” Mission Control radioed.
Stott will be the last astronaut to fly back from the
station aboard a shuttle. From now on, all astronauts will return on Russian
Soyuz spacecraft.
Bresnik’s daughter —- Abigail Mae — was born Saturday night,
right after her father took his first spacewalk. But he’ll have to wait until
Saturday to see her. Bresnik’s wife, Rebecca, stayed home in Houston with
Abigail and 3-year-old big brother Wyatt.
The Atlantis mission was the first of the remaining shuttle
flights devoted to delivering spare parts to the space station to enable it to
function for years after the shuttles are mothballed,
Hobaugh, a Marine Corps colonel, and his crew — the pilot,
Navy Capt. Barry E. Wilmore; Bresnik, a Marine colonel; Mike Foreman, a retired
Navy captain; scientist and former professional football player Leland Melvin;
and Robert L. Satcher Jr., an orthopedic surgeon — spent a week stockpiling
parts and equipment aboard the space station.
They delivered and installed two large pallets of supplies
and spare parts, including an ammonia tank and scientific equipment. The pumps,
gyroscopes and storage tanks should keep the outpost in business for another
five to 10 years, long after Atlantis and the two other shuttles are retired.
With touchdown, Atlantis finished its penultimate mission.
Its final flight is set for next May. The shuttle program is scheduled to end
in late 2010 or early 2011.
Endeavour will make the next flight, in February, delivering
a full-fledged module to the station, complete with a cupola with a domed
chamber that has seven windows for prime Earth gazing.
Endeavour will be followed by Discovery in March.
The last shuttle flight is scheduled for next September, but
that date could slip if any technical or weather issues crop up.
Via McClatchy-Tribune News Service.
