CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Order up a cold beer for Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Turin and a steam bath for International Space Station crewmate Vladimir Dezhurov.
And after being cooped up inside the orbiting outpost for four months, U.S. astronaut Frank Culbertson is yearning for the types of things that you just can't get in space.
"I'm looking forward to a hot shower and some fresh air and some fresh food -- ice cream, salads -- things that you don't have on the station," Culbertson said in a space-to-ground interview Sunday, the eve of a planned holiday season homecoming.
"And I'm really looking forward to seeing my family and friends. There are a lot of nice things about the Earth that I'll be glad to be enjoying -- especially, the Christmas season."
With Christmas just eight days away, four Endeavour astronauts are scheduled to ferry Culbertson and his station crewmates back to Earth at 12:55 p.m. EST (1755 GMT), winding up a 129-day stay in space for the Expedition Three crew.
Weather permitting, that is.
A storm front over the south-central United States stalled over Texas Sunday, prompting NASA meteorologists to issue a generally favorable forecast for the planned landing here at Kennedy Space Center.
The shuttle crew will have two opportunities to land -- the second coming at 2:32 p.m. EST (1932 GMT) -- but the front still could trigger coastal rain showers in Florida, forcing mission managers to keep Endeavour lingering in orbit an extra day."It's going to kind of depend on the speed of that frontal movement. So we're going to be watching that very closely," said NASA flight director Leroy Cain. "We think that we're either going to have a day that is good enough to go, or not."
NASA flight rules call for a landing attempt to be called off if rain creeps within 34.5 (55.2 kilometers) of a shuttle runway. Pelting rain can damage the ship's fragile thermal tiles.
Also a concern: the potential for low-level clouds. Cloud ceilings must be at least 8,000 feet (2,427 meters) to make sure a shuttle skipper has a clear view of the shuttle runway on final approach.
The crew aboard the Endeavour nonetheless will begin gearing up for a high-speed return to Earth about 8 a.m. EST (1200 GMT). The shuttle's cargo bay doors are scheduled to swing shut about an hour later, setting the stage for a planned 11:50 a.m. EST (1650 GMT) firing of the ship's twin maneuvering engines.
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| For the very latest updates on Endeavour's mission to the space station, the first place to look is our Shuttle Missions page. |
The three-minute, three-second burn is designed to slow Endeavour enough to send the ship on an hour-long freefall back to Earth.
A married father of five, Culbertson is expected to have a large family contingent on hand at NASA's shuttle homeport. The children of his cosmonaut colleagues couldn't make the trip from Moscow, but their wives are expected to be here.
Also awaiting the ship's arrival: four U.S. and Russian flight surgeons who will carry out a battery of post-flight medical tests on Culbertson and the two cosmonauts, the three of whom are expected to be a bit weak and woozy.
Long stays in weightlessness weaken muscles and make bones brittle. The inner ear also goes through changes, making it difficult to keep one's balance upon a return to Earth.
Blood and other body fluids also pool in the head and upper torso, only to rush back down toward the feet during atmospheric reentry -- a phenomenon that leaves many returning space travelers dizzy.
"Lightheadedness, as we're all familiar with, is very exaggerated for these folks," said NASA flight surgeon Stephen Hart.
To ward off the potential ill effects, Culbertson, Dezhurov and Turin spent an hour or two a day exercising during their stay onboard the outpost. They ran on a treadmill, pedaled an exercise bike and worked out with a resistive exercise device that enabled them to do orbital calisthenics.
The three returning spacemen also will be strapped down on reclining couches during the shuttle's dive back through the atmosphere, thus decreasing the rush of blood and body fluids from head to toe. "So we're not expecting any blackouts," Hart said.
All three appear to be in good shape, but Hart said the flight surgeons would be ready to help them stand up and walk off the shuttle in any case.
"We'll be there to spot them if they need it," Hart said. "But our expectation -- with all the work they've been doing -- is that they'll be able to walk out under their own power."
A host of initial medical tests will be performed on the runway after Culbertson, Dezhurov and Turin board NASA's "Crew Transport Vehicle," which is a modified version of the type of "people movers" used to haul passengers from one terminal to another at some U.S. airports.
The trio then will be whisked to crew quarters for a brief reunion with family members before heading off for more extensive medical tests.
Consequently, Culbertson and his crewmates will have to wait about four-and-a-half hours for their first meal, but at the point, they can eat whatever they want.
"We're not having to tip-toe around that - it's pretty much per their requests," said Hart. "So those can range from greasy cheeseburgers to ice cream to beer. There's a staff there in crew quarters that's able to accommodate pretty much whatever they're interested in having."
Hart and the other flight surgeons plan on keeping the Expedition Three crew in Florida for two days before the trio is flown back to Houston.
An eight-day flurry of physical therapy and mission debriefings will follow before the two cosmonauts head back to Moscow Dec. 29 -- just in time for holiday festivities there.
"They're very anxious to get back in time for New Year's, which is the kickoff for their holiday season," Hart said. In Russia, he noted, Christmas is celebrated in January.
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