STS-122 Mission Updates: Part 2

Atlantis Astronauts Inspect Shuttle
20 February 2008 10:59 a.m. EST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Atlantis shuttle commander Stephen Frick and his crewmates surveyed their spacecraft on the runway here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after their successful morning landing. They are now heading to NASA’s astronaut crew quarters to rest and see their families.

“Atlantis is a great ship,” Frick said from the tarmac. “It brought us home without any troubles.”

The astronauts changed out of their bright orange pressure suits into their blue jumpsuits before inspecting Atlantis and meeting with NASA officials after their successful spaceflight.

Today’s landing occurred on time at 9:07 a.m. EST (1407 GMT), with Frick, shuttle pilot Alan Poindexter and mission specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Dan Tani and German astronaut Hans Schlegel of the European Space Agency.

“We’re going to go now and see our families,” said Frick, adding that shuttle flights and training are tough on the families since they can only watch the spaceflight from Earth. “We’re glad we can bring some release to them.”

Click here for SPACE.com's landing story.

NASA is broadcasting Atlantis’ STS-122 mission live on NASA TV. You are invited to follow the mission using SPACE.com’s NASA TV, feed, which is available by clicking here or using the button at the left.

-- Roger Guillemette

Astronauts Disembark from Shuttle Atlantis
20 February 2008 9:59 a.m. EST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – With today’s successful landing behind them, the seven astronauts of NASA’s shuttle Atlantis have disembarked the spacecraft and are in a crew transporter to complete today’s Earth return.

The astronauts landed successfully at 9:07 a.m. EST (1407 GMT) and stepped out of the shuttle about 45 minutes later. They are expected to take the customary walk around Atlantis to see how the 100-ton space plane handled reentry through the Earth’s atmosphere before heading back to NASA’s crew quarters here at the Kennedy Space Center.

NASA will hold a pair of press briefings, one with NASA officials and the other with the crew themselves should the mission’s commander Stephen Frick sign off on the conference.

Click here for SPACE.com's landing story.

NASA is broadcasting Atlantis’ STS-122 mission live on NASA TV. You are invited to follow the mission using SPACE.com’s NASA TV, feed, which is available by clicking here or using the button at the left.

-- Roger Guillemette

Touchdown! Atlantis Lands Safely in Florida
20 February 2008 9:07 a.m. EST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven astronauts has safely landed at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, following a successful mission to the International Space Station and the installation of the European Space Agency's Columbus research laboratory. After a journey of 5.3 million miles, Atlantis touched down on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at 9:07 a.m. EST (1407 GMT) to conclude the STS-122 mission.

Commander Steve Frick and pilot Alan Poindexter guided the orbiter on its fiery plunge through the atmosphere and hour-long free-fall descent back to Earth, then precisely executed a series of turns and banking maneuvers that bled-off excess speed and slowed the 206,212 pound spaceplane for its powerless landing on the 3-mile long paved runway at the seaside space center. All spacecraft systems performed as expected.

Atlantis' crew included mission specialist Dan Tani, who returns to earth after 120 days in weightlessness as a member of the ISS Expedition 16 crew. During re-entry and descent, Tani was strapped into a special recumbent seat in the orbiter’s middeck, which kept him in a reclined position during the ride home to ease his body’s re-acclimation to gravity.

A convoy of landing support vehicles is now approaching Atlantis and technicians will soon begin to 'safe' the vehicle – purging the spacecraft of its toxic propellants – to be followed by the astronauts' exit and the traditional 'walkaround' of the spacecraft.

Atlantis' touchdown marks the 67th space shuttle landing at the Kennedy Space Center and occurs on 46th anniversary of John Glenn's trailblazing Friendship 7 Mercury spaceflight.

Click here for SPACE.com's landing story.

NASA is broadcasting Atlantis’ STS-122 mission live on NASA TV. You are invited to follow the mission using SPACE.com’s NASA TV, feed, which is available by clicking here or using the button at the left.

-- Roger Guillemette

Shuttle Atlantis Flying Over Gulf of Mexico
20 February 2008 8:55 a.m. EST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis is passing over the Gulf of Mexico, just west of Cuba, as it continues its long, gliding approach to Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Touchdown on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility is scheduled for 9:07 a.m. EST (1407 GMT). All spacecraft systems are performing as expected.

Atlantis will soon cross over the Florida's Gulf coast in the vicinity of Fort Myers/Naples, just to the west of Lake Okeechobee, on its cross-peninsula landing approach. Commander Steve Frick and pilot Alan Poindexter are piloting the 206,212-pound spaceplane through a series of turns and banking maneuvers to slow the vehicle and dissipate excess velocity in preparation for its powerless landing, culminating with left overhead turn of 247 degrees to precisely align with Runway 15 – the northwest-to-southeast runway.

Weather conditions at the landing site remain favorable with scattered clouds at about 11,000 feet over Cape Canaveral and light winds from the northeast at 6 knots, peaking to 9 knots – well within acceptable limits. Chief astronaut Steve Lindsey is flying the Shuttle Training Aircraft on practice approaches to runway 15 and relaying his observations to flight controllers.

Click here for the full landing preview.

NASA is broadcasting Atlantis’ STS-122 mission live on NASA TV. You are invited to follow the mission using SPACE.com’s NASA TV, feed, which is available by clicking here or using the button at the left.

-- Roger Guillemette

Atlantis Re-Enters Earth's Atmosphere
20 February 2008 8:35 a.m. EST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Shuttle Atlantis is encountering the upper fringes of Earth's atmosphere, known as 'Entry Interface', at about 400,000 feet (122 kilometers) above the southern Pacific Ocean as it begins its fiery descent and a long, gliding approach to the 3-mile (5-kilometer) long runway at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Landing on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility is scheduled for 9:07 a.m. EST (1407 GMT).

With the heat on its Thermal Protection System tiles building to 2,500 degrees F (1,370 degrees C), Atlantis will be flying south to north, cutting across Central America just south of the Yucatan Peninsula, over the Gulf of Mexico just west of Cuba and finally crossing the Florida Gulf coast near Fort Myers, west of Lake Okeechobee on its approach to Florida's Space Coast. All spacecraft systems are performing as expected.

Commander Steve Frick and pilot Alan Poindexter completed a 2-minute, 44-second firing of Atlantis' twin Orbital Maneuvering System engines that began at 7:59:22 a.m. EST (1658:49 GMT) that reduced the shuttle's velocity sufficiently to drop it out of orbit and begin its hour-long free-fall descent back to Earth. Frick and Poindexter will pilot the 103-ton spaceplane through a series of turns and banking maneuvers to slow the vehicle for its powerless touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center.

The Spaceflight Meteorology Group, based at Houston's Johnson Space Center, is predicting thin scattered clouds at about 11,000 feet (3,350 meters) over Cape Canaveral with light winds from the northeast at 6 knots (7 mph), peaking to 9 knots (10 mph) – well within acceptable limits for landing. Astronaut Steve Lindsey is flying the Shuttle Training Aircraft on practice approaches to Runway 15 and relaying his observations to flight controllers.

Click here for the full landing preview.

NASA is broadcasting Atlantis’ STS-122 mission live on NASA TV. You are invited to follow the mission using SPACE.com’s NASA TV, feed, which is available by clicking here or using the button at the left.

-- Roger Guillemette

Atlantis 'Go' for Florida Landing
20 February 2008 7:36 a.m. EST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA managers have cleared shuttle Atlantis for this morning’s planned 9:07 a.m. EST (1407 GMT) landing of the shuttle at Atlantis here at the Kennedy Space Center where weather conditions remain within acceptable limits for the spaceplane's return.

Commander Steve Frick and pilot Alan Poindexter have been the 'Go' to initiate the de-orbit burn at 7:59:22 a.m. EST (1259:22 GMT), culminating in a landing on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility. Atlantis' landing point was switched to Runway 15 after NASA chief astronaut Steve Lindsey, who is reconnoitering Atlantis’ landing approach path using the Shuttle Training Aircraft, reported strong tail winds at the altitude where Atlantis would have begun its overhead turn to align with the original landing strip.

Atlantis' Orbital Maneuvering System engines will be fired for 2 minutes and 43 seconds, over the Indian Ocean west of the Philippines, to slow the Orbiter's velocity by about 290 feet/second to begin its fiery descent through Earth's atmosphere and a long, gliding approach to the 3-mile long runway at the Kennedy Space Center. Atlantis will first encounter the upper fringes of the atmosphere at about 400,000 feet above the southern Pacific Ocean, cross Central America just south of the Yucatan Peninsula, then flying just west of Cuba and finally crossing the Florida coast near Fort Myers, west of Lake Okeechobee on its approach to Florida's Space Coast.

The Spaceflight Meteorology Group, based at Houston's Johnson Space Center, is predicting just thin scattered clouds at about 11,000 feet over Cape Canaveral with a tailwind of 6 knots, peaking to 7 knots – well within acceptable limits for landing.

Click here for the full landing preview.

NASA is broadcasting Atlantis’ STS-122 mission live on NASA TV. You are invited to follow the mission using SPACE.com’s NASA TV, feed, which is available by clicking here or using the button at the left.

-- Roger Guillemette

Shuttle Astronauts to Take Landing Seats
20 February 2008 7:17 a.m. EST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Astronauts aboard the shuttle Atlantis should be strapping themselves into their seats for today’s planned landing at 9:07 a.m. EST (1407 GMT) here at the Kennedy Space Center.

Atlantis is now approaching a flyover of the northwest coast of South America as it nears the start of Orbit 202, the final planned orbit of its 13-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Mission Control is expected to decide in the next 20 minutes to decide whether Atlantis is clear to fire its twin Orbital Maneuvering System engines at 7:59 a.m. EST (1259 GMT) to begin the descent back to Earth.

Click here for the full landing preview.

NASA is broadcasting Atlantis’ STS-122 mission live on NASA TV. You are invited to follow the mission using SPACE.com’s NASA TV, feed, which is available by clicking here or using the button at the left.

-- Tariq Malik

Shuttle Astronauts ‘Go’ for Fluid Loading
20 February 2008 7:05 a.m. EST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Mission Control has given the seven astronauts aboard NASA’s shuttle Atlantis the go ahead for “fluid loading,” which calls for the spaceflyers to guzzle large amounts of liquids to help prepare their bodies for the onset of Earth’s gravity for today’s planned landing at 9:07 a.m. EST (1407 GMT).

While most of Atlantis’ seven STS-122 astronauts are sitting in seats, mission specialist Dan Tani is in the orbiter’s middeck in a recumbent seat, which keeps in a reclined position for the ride home. Tani is wrapping up a four-month mission to the International Space Station. The recumbent seat is designed to ease his body’s acclimation to gravity after months living in the weighlessness of space.

Click here for the full landing preview.

NASA is broadcasting Atlantis’ STS-122 mission live on NASA TV. You are invited to follow the mission using SPACE.com’s NASA TV, feed, which is available by clicking here or using the button at the left.

-- Tariq Malik

Shuttle Atlantis Switches Runway for Landing
20 February 2008 6:47 a.m. EST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA entry flight director Bryan Lunney has opted to swap runways for today’s planned landing of the space shuttle Atlantis due to high tailwinds anticipated for its initial approach.

Shuttle commander Stephen Frick and pilot Alan Poindexter will now bring Atlantis down on Runway 15 here at the Kennedy Space Center, which calls for a northwest to southeast approach to the three-mile long landing strip. The shuttle was initially targeting a southwest approach toward Runway 33.

“Okay, we copy, KSC weather sounds reasonable,” Frick told Mission Control. “KSC 15 sounds fine to us.”

Today’s is set for 9:07 a.m. EST (1407 GMT).