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Mission Atlantis: Crew Prepares for Friday Homecoming
By Jim Banke
Senior Producer, Cape Canaveral Bureau
posted: 02:30 pm ET
18 October 2002
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Clear and cool weather is expected over the Kennedy Space Center Friday as shuttle Atlantis and crew are set to come home following a successful construction mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Touchdown on runway 33 at the Canaveral Spaceport is expected as early as 11:44 a.m. EDT (1544 GMT). "The weather at Kennedy, I am happy to report, looks really good," NASA flight director John Shannon said Thursday. "The forecast right now is a 'go' forecast." The five astronauts and one cosmonaut aboard Atlantis spent their day Thursday preparing for the homecoming. Tasks included: - Checking critical systems the crew will rely upon for landing.
- Test firing the shuttle's complement of steering jets.
- Practicing landings on a laptop flight simulator.
- Packing and stowing equipment for the ride home.
"Everything worked out fine, we had no problems at all," Shannon said. "The vehicle looks like it's in great shape to come home tomorrow." There are two landing opportunities in Florida on Friday. The first begins with the shuttle firing its twin orbital maneuvering system engines at 10:36 a.m. EDT (1436 GMT) and landing 68 minutes later. The second calls for the braking rockets to ignite at 12:16 p.m. EDT (1616 GMT) and land at 1:21 p.m. EDT (1721 GMT). Because of the excellent weather forecasts for Friday and Saturday, NASA mission managers have elected not to activate the backup landing site of Edwards Air Force Base in California. Atlantis has enough food and supplies to safely remain in space until Tuesday if a landing is not possible in Florida on either Friday or Saturday, said Shannon. Managers at that point would begin to consider bringing the shuttle home to California. Assuming Atlantis does wind up making a return to its Sunshine State launch site, the event will mark the 60th shuttle landing in the history of the program.
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