CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- After an overnight detour to Arkansas, space shuttle Endeavour returned to Florida on Wednesday from its week in the West.
Taking a ride on top of NASA's modified Boeing 747 jet, the shuttle left Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Tuesday. It made a pit stop at Altus Air Force Base, Okla., and spent the night in Little Rock.
Endeavour concluded its 12-day mission to space station Alpha last Tuesday at Edwards because of bad weather at Kennedy Space Center. It costs NASA about $1 million to fly the shuttle orbiter back to Florida.
The aircraft touched down at Cape Canaveral at 2:09 p.m. EDT after making a pass over Orlando and Brevard's northern beaches.
Pilots had the option of stopping over at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida but chose to continue on to the Space Coast.
"We were talking about that until we got past Eglin," said the jet's pilot, Bill Brockett.
Though the shuttle adds weight to the plane, it also provides some lift.
"One interesting part of it is that with the shuttle's wings, it is actually like a bi-plane," Brockett said.
He said with the shuttle on top, the jet makes sluggish turns.
Technicians were scheduled to work all night getting Endeavour off the airplane and were expected to finish by 5 or 6 a.m. EDT today.Its next mission will deliver science experiments to space station Alpha no earlier than Nov. 1.
With all four of NASA's shuttle orbiters back at KSC, NASA had to do some shuffling to make room. Columbia temporarily moved from its hangar to the large Vehicle Assembly Building on Tuesday.
Shuttle Atlantis will move into the building May 20, freeing up another hangar for Columbia. Atlantis is scheduled for liftoff to the International Space Station June 14.
Published under license from FLORIDA TODAY. Copyright © 2001 FLORIDA TODAY. No portion of this material may be reproduced in any way without the written consent of FLORIDA TODAY.
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